Anyone who is well up on their jams, jellies and preserves will tell you that a preserve is something where the fruit is more whole than a mushier jam. I would of course agree with this but have you ever tried to ram a whole pumpkin into a jam jar? Possibly not. Now I could have called this Hot’n’Spicy Pumpkin Jam but you know the whole PP thing really got to me, so it just had to be Pumpkin Preserve. Huge appologies to all you preserve purists out there.
This is a great way of using up that omnipresent pumpkin, and this way you get to have the damn thing taking over the pantry for months to come.
Aaaargh, there is just no escape from the dreaded pumpkin!
I just used half of my pumpkin for this (we have gone through a few pumpkins this week what with one thing and another) and got 4 good sized jars of jam which is more than enough for the time being.
This is so unbeleivably yummy. So far we have had it on toast, with cheese and crackers and on scones. Did I mention I had given up that silly diet I was on?
Enjoy!
Karon x
Pumpkin Preserve
Ingredients
- 750 g/1lb 11oz pumpkin
- 350 g/12oz oranges 2 medium sized oranges
- 350 g/12oz lemons 3 large lemons
- 40 g/1 1/2oz fresh ginger
- 1 red chilli pepper medium sized
- 700 g/1lb 9oz granulated sugar
Instructions
- Cut the pumpkin into chunks and cut off the peel, now cut into pieces abour 2cm square and toss into a large pot/preserving pan.
- Slice the oranges and lemons into small pieces (peel and the inner flesh too) and add these to the pan.
- Cut the skin from the fresh ginger root and grate it into the pan. Now finely chop the chilli (remove the seeds, we don't want to go too over the top here) and toss this in too.
- Add 600ml/1 pint of water and bring this to the boil. Now lower the heat and let it simmer away for almost an hour, or until all the citrus peel is very soft. The pumpkin will be really soft by then too.
- Add the sugar and stir until it has completely dissolved. Raise the heat and bring it to the boil and keep it bubbling madly until it has really thickened so that when you put a spoonful on a saucer and run your finger (let it cool first!) through it, you get a clear channel and it doesn't flow back together again.
- Spoon into sterilised jars and pop on the lid.
Thanks for sharing all these recipes for jams and jellies. This makes me think of my dear Grandma who put up a wonderful grape jam every fall. She was an expert canner and I remember fondly watching her work in the basement. I was fascinated by all she was able to do. She even made her own sausage! She was an incredible woman.
Thanks, Karon.
Patti xoxoxo
I’ve tried this one and it’s delicious ! I didn’t have chili pepper so I added a pinch of chili powder and it’s so spicy ! But still it’s great 🙂 Greetings from Poland 🙂
Hi Patrycja
Glad you liked it so much and good idea on the chilli powder.
K x
Mouthwatering Pumpkin dish looks delicious.. thanks for sharing
Could you tell me how long this will last in a pantry please? Looks great! I’m going to have a trillion pumpkins left over after Halloween so I intend on making a looot of jam jars, so many recipes say to store in the fridge for a month (before opening) but that isn’t an option for the vast quantity there will be lol
Hi there, with the amount of sugar in this recipe it should keep in the larder for about 6 months, store in fridge once it has been opened.This is a preserve not a chutney so can be used right away.
K x