#rhubarb stew

- Stewed rhubarb recipe - A Bunch Of Wild

"I thought I’d share with you a couple of variations on how to stew rhubarb.
Our rhubarb at The Haven is at its best right now and I’m pulling it by the arm load.
There are crumbles to be made, cordial and sauces, plus I shall freeze a load.
One of my favourite things to do with it and the easiest is to stew it.



Here’s how I do mine.

In a pan on the hob:
You will need
400g of chopped rhubarb,
60g caster sugar (I like to add a star anise) and enough water to just cover the bottom of the pan.
Place on the hob and bring to the boil, stir once then turn down to simmer and leave for 30-45 mins or until you have a nice consistency.
Leave to cool then decant and keep in the fridge.

In the oven:
This gives you a more caramelised taste with a bit more depth.
Same measures as above for rhubarb and sugar, a good glug of ginger syrup, a dash of water.

Place all of the ingredients in a baking tray with sides.
Pop in the oven at gas 4 (180C = 350F = Gas Mark 4), check after 15 mins and give a stir, keep checking it every 5 minutes till you are happy with the consistency (there is no right or wrong, it’s how you like it), then leave to cool before popping in a bowl, keep it in the fridge till needed.

I love to have mine on natural yoghurt sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and drizzled with blossom honey, delicious!"

Blood Orange Marmalade Small Batch - 500g of blood oranges.

Citrus needed a more specialized treatment.
You either need to cut away the tough, white pith or treat it in some way so that it tenderizes and loses its chewy bitterness.
This recipe uses an overnight soak to help break down the pith, providing a far superior product to the old blood orange marmalade recipe you’ll find on this site.
The fruit becomes tender and it fully suspended in a ruby-hued jelly.
Here’s how you do it:
- Take 500g of blood oranges (approximately 4-5 tennis ball-sized oranges) and wash them well.
Trim away both ends and slice the oranges in half.
Using a very sharp knife, trim away the core of the oranges and pluck out any seeds that you find.
Set the cores and the seeds aside.
Not all blood oranges have seeds, so don’t stress if you don’t find any.
Cut the orange halves into thin slices.
Go as thin as you can manage (I recommend sharping your knife before starting this project).
Finally, cut each sliced half in half again, so that you have a number of thin blood orange quarters.
Bundle up all those seeds and pithy cores in a length of cheesecloth and tie it tightly so that nothing can escape.
Put chopped oranges in a medium bowl and cover with 3 cups water.
Tuck the cheesecloth bundle into the bowl and cover the whole thing with a length of plastic wrap or a plate.
Refrigerate it overnight.

When you’re ready to cook your marmalade, remove the cheesecloth bundle.
Combine the soaked fruit and water with 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar.
If you happen to have a copper preserving pan, make sure to fully dissolve the sugar into the fruit before pouring it into the pan.

Bring the marmalade to a simmer and cook until it is reduced by more than half, reads 104C/220F on a thermometer and passes the plate/sauce/wrinkle test.
When it is finished cooking, pour marmalade into prepared jars.
Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

When all is done, you should have about 900ml (2x370g + 1x200) of the most vivid red blood orange marmalade.
I’m extraordinarily fond of this particular preserve on scones, stirred into yogurt or with crumbly homemade shortbread.

Blueberry Rhubarb Jam With Maple Syrup,

Blueberry Rhubarb Jam With Maple Syrup Recipe | Serious Eats:
Ingredients
1+1/2 cups jam sugar
3 cups chopped rhubarb/400 grams, diced (about 6 stalks)
200g blueberries
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1/2 vanilla bean, split
1 cup pure maple syrup

Directions
1. Combine rhubarb and 1/4 cup water in a large saucepan.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer just until rhubarb breaks down, 10 to 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, puree blueberries in a food processor or blender.
OR:
Wash rhubarb, top and tail then chop into evenly sized pieces (I usually run a knife down the middle of the stalks then chop into roughly 1cm sized pieces).
Place in a glass bowl and pour the sugar over the top.
Cover with a plate or cling film and leave overnight, by which time the sugar will have soaked up the juice from the rhubarb.

2. Measure 2 cups of stewed rhubarb (reserve any extra rhubarb for another use).
Return 2 cups of rhubarb and the pureed blueberries to the saucepan.
Add lemon juice, butter, cinnamon stick, star anise, and vanilla bean and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add maple syrup and jam sugar and return fruit mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
Boil hard for one minute.

4. Remove pot from heat and skim any foam from surface of the jam with a cold metal spoon.
Remove and discard star anise, cinnamon stick, and vanilla bean.
Ladle jam into hot sterilized jars and process them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

OR:
- Growing and making jam with blueberries | Life and style | The Guardian: By Gloria Nicol
recipes using some shop bought berries alongside seasonal rhubarb.

Makes 1.25kg
600g rhubarb
300g blueberries
2 limes, the zest and juice
700g sugar

Wash rhubarb, top and tail then chop into evenly sized pieces (I usually run a knife down the middle of the stalks then chop into roughly 1cm sized pieces).
Place in a glass bowl and pour the sugar over the top.
Cover with a plate or cling film and leave overnight, by which time the sugar will have soaked up the juice from the rhubarb.

Place the grated lime zest and blueberries in a pan, adding 3 tblsp of lime juice. Heat gently and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on, until the berries are cooked and surrounded by juice.

Pour the rhubarb and sugar into a jam pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Add the blueberries and lime, turn up the heat and cook at a rolling boil until setting point is reached (a small dollop of the syrup on a cold plate will readily form a skin when left to cool slightly).
It took me 10 minutes to achieve this and I advise that you keep an eye on it and give the occasional stir whilst it cooks as the mixture is apt to burn if you're not careful.

Skim if necessary.
our into hot sterilised jars, put a circle of waxed paper on the surface of each one and seal.

This jam has a nice soft set that suits me fine. If you prefer your jam to 'cut' rather than dollop substitute all or half of the sugar with preserving sugar that includes added pectin.
- Blueberry Jam, 3 Ways | Love and Olive Oil:

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Sweetness of Spring: Strawberry Clafoutis.

Sweetness of Spring: Strawberry Clafoutis : NPR:
Clafoutis is the epitome of the French grandmotherly dessert: unpretentious, easy to make, and blissfully comforting.

– 55 g unsalted butter
– 600 g fresh strawberries (I added Rhubarb!)
– 60 g all-purpose flour
– 50 g whole blanched almonds
– 100 g granulated sugar
– 1 tablespoon cornstarch
– A pinch of salt
– 3 large eggs
– 185 ml milk
– 1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)
– Confectioner’s sugar
– Oven temperature: 180°C

Coulis:
– 200g fresh strawberries
– 2 tablespoons sugar
– 2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F and grease an 20cm/8-inch-square glass or ceramic baking dish (or 6 1-cup ramekins for a more elegant presentation) with one tablespoon of the butter.
Melt the remaining butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat (or in a small bowl set in the microwave for a few seconds) and set aside.

Rinse the strawberries under cool water — do not soak or they will loose some of their flavor.
Drain in a colander for a few minutes, and gently pat dry with a clean dishtowel.

In a food processor or blender, mix together the flour and almonds until finely ground.
Add the sugar, cornstarch and salt, and mix again.
Crack in the eggs one by one, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
Pour in the melted butter, milk and rum if using, and mix again until well blended.
The mixture will be thin, like crepe batter.

Hull the strawberries, cut in halves or quarters depending on their size, and arrange in a single layer in the prepared dish or ramekins.
Drizzle the batter over the strawberries, and put the dish in the oven to bake for 40 minutes (30 minutes if you use ramekins), until puffy and set.

Transfer dish to a rack, and let cool to room temperature.
Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar, and serve directly from the baking dish or ramekins.
Clafoutis is traditionally served on its own, but if you like you can add a few fresh strawberries on the side, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a little whipped cream.

Strawberry Coulis
1 cup fresh strawberries, rinsed and patted dry
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water

Hull and quarter the strawberries.
Combine with the sugar and water in a food processor or blender, and mix in short pulses until smooth. Pour into an airtight container, and cover.
Refrigerate for up to a day, or freeze for up to a month.

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Rhubarb pickle.

- Life Love Food – A Recipe Journal by Venetian Food Writer Valeria Necchio:
- Rhubarb pickle recipe - Telegraph:
This pickle works wonders with oily fish like mackerel or sardines, either smoked or grilled, as its acidity will cut through the fat and create a nice contrast of textures.
INGREDIENTS
500g rhubarb stalks (4 large stalks)
2 tsp peppercorns
½ tsp cloves
1 tbsp sliced fresh ginger
3 bay leaves
2 dry red chillies
250ml (1 cup) apple cider vinegar
250ml (1 cup) water
200g (1 cup) caster sugar
½ tsp fine grain salt
METHOD
Line two sterilised pint jars with lids.
Rinse the rhubarb stalks, scrubbing any residual soil, and trim the leaves and brown ends.
Cut into 2-cm long pieces and pack them into the two jars. Divide the rest of the spices between the two jars, then set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine the cider vinegar, water, sugar and salt and bring to a boil.
Whisk often to help dissolving the sugar and salt.
As soon as the pickling liquid is boiling and the sugar and salt are dissolved, pour it into the jars until the liquid covers the rhubarb pieces.
Close immediately with the sterilised lids.
Allow to cool before storing in the refrigerator.
Let the rhubarb pickles cure for at least 48 hours before eating, then enjoy within two weeks from opening.

- In a Pickle: Pickled Rhubarb Stalks | Serious Eats:
Any variety of rhubarb works for this recipe.
Don't avoid the pale green stalks, they may not look as pretty in the jar, but they make up for it in good texture and flavor.
If you like a less sweet pickle, feel free to reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe by up to half.
I like the balance that it achieves as written, but the beauty of making your own pickles is that you can adjust the flavors to suit.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound rhubarb stalks (4 to 6 large stalks)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine grain salt
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
2 star anise
DIRECTIONS
1.Prepare two wide mouth pint jars and lids.
2.Wash rhubarb stalks well and trim to fit into the jars.
If the stalks are broad, slice them into lengthwise sections.
In a small saucepan, combine the apple cider vinegar, water, sugar and salt and bring to a boil.
3.Divide the mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves and star anise between the two prepared jars.
Pack the rhubarb pieces into the jars above the spices.
4.Once the pickling liquid has boiled and the sugar and salt are dissolved, pour it into the jars over the rhubarb, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Tap the jars gently to dislodge any air bubbles.
If the headspace level has dropped significantly, add more pickling liquid.
5.Wipe jar rims, apply lids and rings and process jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
When time is up, remove jars from canner and set them to cool on a folded kitchen towel.
When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and test seals.
If jars are at all sticky, wash them to remove that residue.
Sealed jars can be stored in the pantry for up to 1 year.
Unsealed jars can be stored in the refrigerator and eaten within 2 weeks.
6.Let this pickle cure for at least 48 hours before eating.

- pickled rhubarb | Punk Domestics:
Sweet Rhubarb Pickles
I used four large stalks of rhubarb
Start by peeling the rhubarb
then cut each stalk into thirds.
Combine
1/4 tsp of vanilla,
3/4 c brown sugar,
1/2 c white sugar,
1 tsp salt, and
2 c vinegar in a small saucepan.
I used equal parts balsamic and raspberry red wine vinegar, and tossed in a handful of frozen raspberries to amp up the berry flavor.

Heat on medium–high, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, then boil for about a minute.
Scoop out the raspberries (don’t toss them, they’re amazing over vanilla ice cream), then pour the hot vinegar mixture over your rhubarb and screw the lid on the jar.
Refrigerate for at least two hours, or up to one week, and enjoy!

- Pickled Rhubarb and a Couscous Salad:
Couscous Salad with Grapes, Feta, and Pickled Rhubarb
2 cups dried couscous (I used Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat couscous)
3 tablespoons good, fruity olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 cup diced pickled rhubarb*
2 cups halved red grapes
1/3 cup chopped parsley
6 ounces brined feta, crumbled
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Prepare couscous according to the instructions on the package.
Pour the cooked couscous into a large bowl.
Dribble with olive oil and lemon juice, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Toss lightly with a fork, making sure to not mash the couscous.
Add pickled rhubarb, grapes, parsley, feta, and red pepper flakes (if using).
Toss lightly again, and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately.
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Rhubarb.

Rhubarb Jam.
9 cups rhubarb, cut up
9 cups sugar
3 oranges

Mix cut up rhubarb and 6 cups of sugar, let stand overnight.
Grind orange pulp, reserving juice, add remaining sugar.
Let stand 30 minutes.
Grind orange peel and boil in water for 10 minutes, drain.
Combine all ingredients and boil for only 30 minutes.
Process as usual.

Confiture of Rhubarb, Orange and Apple.
1/2 pound (200g) oranges
1 pound 9 ounces (700g) rhubarb, 1 pound 2ounces (500g) net after being cleaned
1 3/4 pounds Ida Red apples, 1 pound 2 ounces (500g) net
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar plus 3 3/4 cups (880g)
100ml water
Juice of one small lemon

Wash the oranges in cold water and slice them into very thin rounds.
In a preserving pan, poach the slices with 1 cup sugar and the water.
Continue cooking until the slices are translucent.
Add the washed unpeeled rhubarb, which has been but into dice, and the apples, which have been peeled cored, and cut into thin slices, the lemon juice, and sugar.
Bring everything to a boil and cook 5 minutes, stirring gently.
Skim carefully and return to a boil.
Skim again if needed.
Check the set.
Put the jam into jars immediately and seal.

Rhubarb-ginger Jam.
Makes 1 1/2 Cups.
1 1-pound package frozen sliced rhubarb (unthawed)
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger (about 1 ounce)
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan.
Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves.
Bring to boil.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer until jam thickens and mounds on spoon, stirring often to prevent scorching, about 20 minutes.
Transfer to bowl.
Cover; chill. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead.
Keep chilled.

Spelt And Rhubarb Cake.

Recipes: The spell of spelt - Telegraph:
Spelt's nutty flavour goes well with rhubarb.
Champagne rhubarb from Yorkshire is at its prime right now, so snap it up while you can.
It's delicious (look out for Fergus Henderson's poached rhubarb recipe in Weekend in a couple of weeks' time) and you'll be supporting growers struggling to survive the competition from Dutch imports.

5oz/140g butter
7oz/200g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
4 pieces of stem ginger in syrup, chopped
7oz/200g spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
14oz/400g slender rhubarb stems
Caster sugar to finish

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
Line a cake tin about 7inx11in/17cmx27cm with baking parchment.
Melt the butter and stir in the soft brown sugar.
Allow to cool slightly, then mix in the eggs, ginger, flour and baking powder.
Scrape the mixture into the lined tin and spread out.
Trim the rhubarb to fit the tin lengthways and lay over the top of the mixture, packing in as many stems as you can.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the cake is risen, golden and cooked through.
Brush with some syrup from the ginger jar, dredge well with caster sugar and allow to cool in the tin.
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Early rhubarb jam.

Early rhubarb jam | River Cottage:
This is one of Pam's favourite ways to capture the earthy flavour of rhubarb.
It's a plant that contains very little pectin so the jam definitely requires an extra dose.
This light, soft jam is good mixed with yoghurt or spooned over ice cream, or you can warm it and use to glaze a bread and butter pudding after baking.

Method
Wipe and trim the rhubarb (1kg) and cut into 2–2.5cm chunks.
Pour a layer of sugar (900g) into the bottom of a preserving pan, then add a layer of rhubarb.
Repeat, continuing until all the sugar and rhubarb are used, finishing with a layer of sugar.
Pour juice of one orange over the top.

Cover and leave for at least an hour or two – preferably overnight.
This draws the juice from the rhubarb and the resulting syrup helps keep the rhubarb chunks whole when boiled.

Gently bring the mixture to the boil, stirring carefully without crushing the rhubarb pieces.
Boil rapidly for 5–6 minutes, then test for setting point.
Remove from the heat and rest for 5 minutes before pouring into warm, sterilised jars.

Seal immediately, use within 12 months.

I have about 500g of fresh chopped rhubarb. Recipe makes around 800 ml of jam.
Variations
Add 100g chopped crystallised stem ginger to the fruit, omitting the orange juice.

Sharper-tasting maincrop rhubarb can also be used for this recipe – try adding a few young angelica leaves or a handful of fragrant rose petals.

Fruit, pectin, acid and sugar are the four ingredients required to produce the magic result known as a set' - ie, the right wobbling, spreadable consistency.
In July we have the soft fruit, the strawberries, raspberries and the currants, and then later things put on their thicker coats like apples do, marrows do and onions do.
The hedgerow glut is in September and then there's marmalade oranges from Seville that arrive in early January and rhubarb in January and February.
I always say that it is rhubarb that links the preserving season.
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Blood orange, rhubarb and cardamon marmalade.

Makes approx 1.3kg (3lbs)

0.4Kg (1lb) rhubarb
1kg (2.2lbs) sugar
juice of 1 lemon
seeds from 14 cardamom pods, crushed
800g (1.75 lb ) blood oranges

Rinse the rhubarb stems and chop into 1cm (1/2 in) evenly sized pieces, slicing thicker stems lengthwise to make the pieces uniform.
Place them in a bowl with the sugar and lemon juice.
Tie the crushed cardamom seeds, pods and all, in a piece of muslin and push them inbetween the rhubarb, then cover with baking paper or clingfilm and leave overnight or for up to 24 hours, so the juices ooze out of the rhubarb and turn the sugar to syrup.
Wash the blood oranges and remove the peel with a sharp knife or potato peeler, leaving as much of the pith on the fruit as possible.
Finely cut the peel into shreds.
Squeeze the fruits, collecting the juice and tie the remaining pulp, pith and pips together in a muslin bundle.
Place the shreds, juice and bundle in a pan, add 1.4ltr (2 1/2pt) water and simmer for 2 – 2 1/2 hours until the peel is cooked through and tender.
Remove the muslin bundle and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze the juice from it back into the pan, then discard.
Pour the peel through a sieve and collect and measure the liquid, adding more water if necessary to make it up to 1ltr (1 3/4 pts).
Prepare the jars and canner if you plan to hot water process the marmalade, otherwise, make sure your jars and lids are clean and place them in a warm oven to heat and sterilise.
Place the cooked shreds, cooking liquid and the contents of the rhubarb bowl in a preserving pan and bring slowly to the boil, stirring to make sure all the sugar is dissolved.
Bring to a rolling boil and cook on a high heat until setting point is reached, that is when a small blob of the syrup on a cold plate quickly forms a skin when you run your finger across the surface.
It took me 20-25 minutes for the marmalade to reach setting point at a fast rolling boil, showing 104C (220F) on a thermometer.
Remove the cardamom bundle.
Fill the jars, leaving the appropriate amount of headroom for canning, and seal.
Hot water process for 10 minutes, then remove from the canner, leave till cold and test that the lids are sealed.
Label and store.
Alternatively, without canning, top jars with sterilised lids or use traditional wax paper circles and cellophane with elastic bands to seal.
This marmalade should store safely without canning, but hot water processing will make doubly sure that your jam will keep and store without a hitch.

From - http://www.laundryetc.co.uk/2014/02/02/blood-orange-and-pink-rhubarb/

Carrot & rhubarb jam. By Gloria Nicol.

Makes approx 1.5Kg (3lbs 5oz)

500g (1lb 2oz) carrots, peeled, topped and tailed
500g (1lb 2oz) rhubarb, washed and trimmed
1 unwaxed lemon
800g (1 3/4lbs) sugar (use jam sugar with added pectin for a stronger set)
60g (2oz) stem ginger (approx 4 balls)
150g (5oz) candied peel (any citrus or melon will do)

Finely grate the carrots and place in a pan with 500ml (3/4pt) of water.
Finely grate the zest from the lemon, squeeze out the juice and place to one side.
Chop the lemon halves, pith and all, into chunks and place them and any pips in a muslin bag tied closed with string or a knot and add them to the carrots.
Bring to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 20 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Chop the rhubarb into 1cm (1/2in) sized cube pieces.
If the sticks are thick I slice them lengthways once or sometimes twice before chopping into equally sized small chunks.
Place the rhubarb in a bowl, add the lemon zest and juice and pour the sugar over it.
Cover and leave for an hour or two until the juice starts to run from the rhubarb.
Tip the contents of the rhubarb bowl into a preserving pan and add the cooked carrots, cooking liquid and muslin bundle.
Add the finely chopped stem ginger and candied peel cut into thin slivers.
Heat slowly, stirring all the time until the sugar is completely dissolved, then turn up the heat bring to a rolling boil and cook until setting point is reached (this took me around 25 minutes). (Test for a set on a cold plate or use a jam thermometer.)
Discard the muslin bag.
Pour into hot sterilised jars, leaving 1 – 2cm (1/2 – 3/4in) headspace, screw on the lids to fingertip tight and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath.
For more info about how to hot water process your preserves, refer to the guide here.
Leave your jars until cold and don’t forget to label and date them.

Gloria Nicol grows many of the ingredients for her preserves on an allotment close to her home in the Forest of Dean. She writes the blog www.laundryetc.co.uk, where you can read more about her preserving.

Blueberries.

Growing and making jam with blueberries | Life and style | The Guardian
The only way I'll ever have enough blueberries for preserving is to grow my own.
We don't seem to get them in any quantity in the UK and those cartons in the supermarket are far too small and too expensive to use as a serious jam ingredient.
Sometimes I've been lucky enough to come across berries with a yellow sticker at a bargain price that are close to their 'sell by' date but still fresh enough to make use of. I buy them up and fill the freezer.
When preserved in combination with another fruit, a little goes a long way, so is a good compromise, but I'd love to have a plentiful supply to feature blueberries as the main player.
For that reason it's time to plant some blueberry bushes on the allotment.

Planting for preserving has specific considerations.
You are aiming to create a glut rather than avoid one and instead of varieties with staggered ripening times, you want enough to harvest all in one go.

Most blueberries you buy are also fairly sweet and nondescript and for jam making a tarter fruit works better for a distinctive flavour once cooked.
As blueberries benefit from company, it is advised to grow at least two varieties side by side for higher yields.
I've chosen Darrow and Jersey, both attributed with a sharper flavour ideal for cooking and I already have Bluecrop growing neglectfully in a pot, that deserves to be liberated.
As they need acid soil to prosper and my soil isn't quite acid enough, I've dug out each planting hole and filled with a mixture of ericaceous compost mixed with about a quarter bark chippings.

I'll be mulching them too with coffee grounds and composted pine needles and watering them only with collected rain water if need be, to keep them happy.

In the meantime, here is one of my favourite recipes using some shop bought berries alongside seasonal rhubarb.

Makes 1.25kg
600g rhubarb
300g blueberries
2 limes, the zest and juice
700g sugar

Wash rhubarb, top and tail then chop into evenly sized pieces (I usually run a knife down the middle of the stalks then chop into roughly 1cm sized pieces).
Place in a glass bowl and pour the sugar over the top.
Cover with a plate or cling film and leave overnight, by which time the sugar will have soaked up the juice from the rhubarb.

Place the grated lime zest and blueberries in a pan, adding 3 tblsp of lime juice.
Heat gently and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on, until the berries are cooked and surrounded by juice.

Pour the rhubarb and sugar into a jam pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Add the blueberries and lime, turn up the heat and cook at a rolling boil until setting point is reached (a small dollop of the syrup on a cold plate will readily form a skin when left to cool slightly).
It took me 10 minutes to achieve this and I advise that you keep an eye on it and give the occasional stir whilst it cooks as the mixture is apt to burn if you're not careful.

Skim if necessary.
Pour into hot sterilised jars, put a circle of waxed paper on the surface of each one and seal.

This jam has a nice soft set that suits me fine.
If you prefer your jam to 'cut' rather than dollop substitute all or half of the sugar with preserving sugar that includes added pectin.

Rhubarb meringue pots.

Slow poached rhubarb.

Rhubarb and a handful of raspberries cooked in their own juices with a splash of Amaretto.
Very simple and unbelievably good.
Spooned into pots and topped with meringue. (190°C, 10 min)
Inspired by Good Food.