With an abundance of late croppers, it’s time to make Feijoa & Ginger Jam.

Maybe it’s the Waikato weather, maybe it’s just a late cropper, but my Feijoa tree seems to always be months behind the rest of New Zealand when it comes to harvest time.

It’s not just me, it’s my neighbour’s tree too — although late doesn’t mean feeble, they had PLENTY to share (very lucky me).

So this feijoa season I thought I’d try my hand at a couple of new recipes. I have already mastered Skin-On Feijoa Chutney and Skin-On Feijoa Cordial (skin-on saves so much fuss).  With the abundance of fruit in my hot-little-hands, I thought I’d try Feijoa & Ginger Jam.  To be honest, I haven’t been a massive fan of jam-making in the past….only because I don’t eat a lot of it, but my B&B guests do, so I have found!

I don’t eat a lot of jam, but I do make this specifically for my slow cooking recipes. When cooking corned silverside (corned beef) for example, I use a bottle of beer, a few bay leaves, and half a jar of Feijoa & Ginger Jam. The result is delicious!

Skin On, Skin Off?

Searching for inspiration, there are a couple of things to consider. Skin-on is do-able, but as the skins are very bitter you’ll need a lot of sugar to counter-balance that. I didn’t want to overdo the sugar, so decided to scoop out the flesh. It sounds arduous, but it’s not – especially when the feijoa are ripe: cut in half, scoop, chop a little, done.  Some recipes call for ‘peeling feijoa first’ but that sounds crazy, so scooping it is.

If you are a conscious cook in the kitchen, consider what you’ll do with those leftover skins: compost or freeze them, or make Feijoa Fizz which takes a few days of fermenting first.

Setting Sugar, Extra Pectin?

Feijoa has a relatively high pectin level when compared to some fruits (again very lucky me) so there is no fussing with setting sugar required, or added pectin…unless you are struggling to hit the magic setting point. The trick really is getting the jam to a rapid boil. Some recipes call for 1kg of sugar (approx 5 cups) but that’s way too much sugar. I used 3 cups and it was MORE than sweet enough. You could use less but as sugar is part of the preserving process, you may need to keep it in the fridge and/or it may not last as long as you would usually imagine. Please note that a less-sugar jam tends to be slightly sloppier.  If you do use setting sugar, I tend to sprinkle it in near the end of the cooking process (just a couple of teaspoons at a time) until I’m happy with the texture.

Jam or Sauce?

If you are not wanting a jam, this recipe makes a delicious sauce too – lovely poured over ice-cream or with white meats. In this instance, use a stick blender to puree the mixture so it’s nice and smooth before bottling.

Ginger?

Feijoa has a unique aromatic flavour and ginger just adds that special ooomph to make it even more special. Some recipes call for fresh ginger – I’ve gone for crystalised ginger (you can buy it in the baking aisle of your local supermarket).

Sterilising your Jars

This is such a quick recipe when it comes to actual cooking.  I’d highly recommend that you get your jars and lids ready before you bring your jam to a rapid boil. I keep my sterilised jars in a low-temperature oven so they are ready when I am!

Feijoa & Ginger Jam

Makes: approx 1 litre

Ingredients

• 1kg feijoa flesh, roughly chopped
• 3 cups white sugar
• 6 cubes of crystallised ginger, finely chopped (approx 2 Tbsp)
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp butter

Method

1. Prepare your sterilised jars and lids, and put a saucer in your freezer.
2. In a large pot, combine the feijoa flesh, crystallised ginger, sugar and lemon juice. Over a low heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved (and nothing catches on the bottom of the pot and burns).
3. Add butter, then crank up the heat to a rapid boil for 5 minutes.
4. Remove pot from the heat then test a small dollop of jam on the extra-cold saucer so it cools down rapidly. The surface of the jam should crinkle if you press it with a finger or spoon. If it’s not quite to your liking, put the pot back on the test and re-test it a few minutes later.
5. When sufficiently settable…bottle immediately with clean, sterilised jars and lids.