You'll have to wing it. I don't have a recipe, just a method.

Two options:

1. Poach a good amount of chopped young spring ginger (the smooth pink kind) in some Lyle's Golden Syrup until tender and thoroughly infused with the sugar. Then puree or grind.

2. Cook chopped candied/crystallized giner in a bit of water until tender and water is fully flavored. Then do the same - puree or grind to a paste.

Carol

This may not be much help, but the other day on the Cooking Channel I saw Nigella Lawson open a jar of ginger jam during her Nigella's Kitchen show. I've also been looking for a recipe ever since.

Cindy

I Googled 'ginger jam' and found several recipes. But I have never made it. I do occasionally make Marrow and Ginger Jam and can recommend that, although it's not the right season at the moment. Marrows are overgrown courgettes, aka zucchini.

Usual disclaimer - note that in the UK this recipe is not canned. You might want to do so.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marrow and Ginger Jam

LOL I saw those links too when I was searching for a recipe. I thought marrow was short for BONE marrow, lol! I thought it was a mincemeaty kind of thing!

GINGER JAM
1/2 lb unblemished young and pink ginger
6 cups water
1/2 cup strained lemon juice
4 cups sugar
pinch of salt (optional)
1 pouch (3 oz) liquid pectin

scrape the skin off the ginger, Rinse and pat the ginger dry, chop finely You should have 1 1/2 cups ginger.

In a pot, combine the ginger with six cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat, and simmer 1 1/4 hours. Remove from heat, let cool, and measure the mixture. You should have 3 cups.

in a clean pan Add the ginger and liquid I blended mine lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Bring to a hard boil and boil exactly one minute. Stir in liquid pectin and return to a hard boil. Boil one minute and remove from heat.

Stir jam for five minutes to cool slightly, then ladle into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace PROCESS IN BWB 10MIN

Freegard THANKS. That recipe sounds like a lot of fun to make. I may try it with candied ginger, save the peeling part, and also I don't think I can get good young ginger around here, all I've ever seen is the tough woody stuff. But I have a ton of candied ginger.

I got lucky the other day and found some ginger spread in the international section of my local Wegman's. That might have to do for BF's present and the rest may have to wait until I get back from Christmas. I have a long drive back to MI and then home again ahead of me.

For those who do NOT have access to pink spring ginger are the following recipes:

Ginger Jam
2 lemons
8 medium size tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 7 cups)
2 1/2 c water
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 c chopped crystallized ginger

Grate lemon peel, reserving skin. Cut lemons in half and squeeze for
juice. Reserve.

In a large saucepot cook apples, water, lemon peel, juice and ground
ginger until apples are soft. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

Boil mixture rapidly 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until candy or
cooking thermometer reaches 220 degrees F.

Remove from heat and stir in crystallized ginger. Skim off foam and let
jam stand 10 minutes.

Ladle into prepared jars, leaving a 1/2" headspace. Process for 10
minutes in a boiling water bath. Adjust time according to altitude.

Makes: 10 half pints Recipe courtesy of Darlene S. in British Columbia

Gingered Pear Jam 11-07
3 lb Fresh NW Bartlett pears
1/2 c Diced candied ginger

1 Orange
1 pk Powdered; (1-3/4 oz.) fruit

1/2 Lemon
5 c Sugar

Directions for Gingered Pear Jam

Core and finely dice pears to make 4 cups. Put orange and lemon through food chopper, or process coarsely. Combine pears, orange, lemon, candied ginger and fruit pectin. Bring to boil. Add sugar and bring back to full rolling boil. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim with metal spoon. Cool 5 minutes, skim again. Put in sterilized jars and seal. Process according to manufacturers directions. Quantity: Makes approximately 6 half pints. Always be sure to use ripe pears. Per serving: 3937 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (0% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 1017g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 11mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1 Fruit; 0 Fat; 67 Other Carbohydrates Recipe by: http://www.usapears.com/ Converted by MM_Buster v2.0n.

Jim in So Calif

How much of a difference does the pink ginger make?

And - can candied ginger be substituted and as a result reduce the amount of sugar?

Cindy

I provided an alternative for the ginger spread (as opposed to jam or preserves) which does call for crystallized ginger rather than fresh spring ginger.

The pink spring ginger is very tender and wouldn't even require peeling but older ginger can be tough and fibrous. It would definitely require peeling and even then, depending upon the ginger, could yield disappointing results.

Carol

I use the older cream colored fresh ginger all the time. As Carol said, the tender ginger is without the wood fibers that you will want to "tenderize" before using.
For this task, I use the standard microplane brand grater as it is sharp enough to cut through the fibers and make a paste out of the woody stalk. In this form (grated), the ginger is fine for stir frying, baking, or jam making. I always have a piece in the refrigerator. Those living way out or in areas where it is not always available, freeze the roots and grate what they need frozen. You are supposed to peel it first, but if frozen, I wouldn't bother.
With respect to sugar reduction if using a candied type, I think it depends on the type and your taste.
Trader Joe's in my area for example sells 8 ounces of candied ginger WITHOUT the sometimes attached sugar crystals. I would say that for the usual amount of ginger used in recipes, that the amount of sugar is pretty much not relevant as it is so little.
On the other hand, I always taste jams, preserves, spreads, etc. for sweetness as many use way too much sugar for my taste (so I cut back on the amount of recommended sugar or sweetener).
As a separate aside thing, remember you CANNOT substitute dried powdered ginger for fresh ginger as the two DO NOT taste the same.
Hope some of this helps.
Merry Christmas Carol, Dave, Linda Lou, Anne, Ken Rogers, and all the rest of you fine folks who provide time, thoughtful responses, and fine information to those seeking food preservation knowledge.
Jim in So Calif

Sorry, Carol. I had forgotten your previous post.

Jim-

Thanks for the additional helpful information. I'll be heading to Trader Joe's after work.

FWIW, frozen ginger grates quite well and seems to be less fibrous. Fibers must be breaking down from the freezing process.

Cindy

Not a problem, Cindy. It's easy to lose track of posts.

I store ginger in sherry (in the fridge). It keeps a long time that way and the sherry works well in stir-fry sauces.

Here we have access to Asian markets and can purchase spring ginger, available seasonally. But obviously not everyone has that opportunity.

I can see several recipes on this thread that are appealing. I can't wait to try some.

Carol

lpinkmountain,

Ellie Topps Small Batch Preserving book has a recipe for Rhubarb Ginger Jam with Honey that I like very much---it's usually the first thing I can in the spring when the rhubarb's up.

I know it's not what you are looking for here---it's got a nice gingery zing (especially if you double the amount of chopped crystallized ginger, as I often do) but it is still a gingery fruit spread, not a ginger spread.

But I thought I shd mention it in this thread. You can really taste the honey, too, quite distinct from a jam made with sugar. I use a local wildflower honey and it's amazing.

Z

jimnginger - where's the sugar in your ginger jam. It says to add it but it is not in the recipe.

Nancy

NANCY - OOPS!
I can;t remember where I got the recipe but here are a couple more you
may like to try. One is like this one...Apple Ginger

Apple Ginger Jam

2 1/2 lb cooking apples
2 large lemons
2 tsp ground ginger
3 cups water
5 cups sugar
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger (or more to taste)

Place a couple of small dishes in the freezer.

Peel, core, and coarsely chop the apples, reserving the peels and cores.
Put the peels and cores in some cheesecloth or another clean cloth and
set aside, then put the fruit into a large saucepan.

Finely grate the zest of the lemons, using a Microplane or similar
grater, then juice the lemons and add the zest and juice to the pot (I
added the juiced lemon "shells" to the cloth, too), along with the
ground ginger and water. Now tie up the cloth "bag" and add that to the
pot, as well. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and allow
to simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

Remove the cloth "bag", squeezing as much of the juices out of it as you
can, add the sugar to the pot, and stir till completely dissolved. Bring
back to a rapid boil and continue to cook without stirring for an
additional 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and do a gel test by putting a little of
the liquid on one of the frozen plates and return to the freezer for 2
minutes. If the liquid wrinkles when you push it with your fingernail or
the tip of a spoon, you're ready to jar up. If the liquid remains runny,
return the pot to the heat, bring back up to a boil and cook for an
additional 5 minutes. Repeat the test and then repeat cooking/testing if
necessary.

After removing from the heat finally, stir in the chopped crystallized
ginger.

Fill prepared jars with the hot jam leaving a 1/4" headspace. Process in
a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Adjust time according to your
altitude.

Makes: 8 half pints
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ginger Jam

1 pound (approximately) fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 3/4 ounce package powdered fruit pectin
5 cups granulated sugar

Remove outer skin from ginger root and cut ginger into 1-inch thick
slices. Place in a 5 quart microwave-safe casserole and fill 3/4 full
with cold water. Microwave on HIGH (600 -700 watts) 25 minutes (it
should boil for 15 minutes and will take about 10 minutes to reach
boiling point). Drain ginger in colander. Return to casserole and fill
3/4 full with cold water. Microwave on HIGH until ginger is tender-crisp
and can be pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes. Let stand, covered,
about 10 minutes.

Drain in colander, return to casserole and fill 3/4 full with fresh cold
water. Let stand 15 minutes, then drain well. In food processor or by
hand, chop ginger until it is the size of rice grains. Do not puree.
There should be about 2 1/2 cups of chopped ginger. Place it in the
casserole. Add 1 cup cold lemon juice and fruit pectin. Microwave on
HIGH until mixture comes to a full boil, about 5 minutes. Immediately
stir in all sugar. Continue cooking on HIGH until it reaches a rolling
boil. Allow it to boil hard for a full minute. Remove from microwave and
use a metal spoon to skim off any foam that might appear on the top.

Immediately ladle into hot clean jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
Process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Adjust time
according to your altitude.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----

Savory Ginger Jam

This jam is naturally spicy and delicious. It is perfect served as a
condiment with duck, pork, turkey, or any white meat. This jam is simple
to make and provides a different flavor from normal relishes and chutneys.

1 lb peeled and chopped gingerroot
1 cup white sugar
6 finely chopped garlic cloves
1 large ripe chopped tomato (remove the seeds)
Dash salt
Dash black pepper

Place all the ingredients into a heavy saucepan and boil together over
medium heat until the gingerroot is soft and cooked.
Cool mixture for five minutes before filling sterilized jars to within a
1/4 inch of the rims.

Place lids and bands on the jars and screw bands finger tip tight.
Process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.Adjust time
according to your altitude.

Again with the assistance of my Canadian friend Darlene.
Jim in So Calif

Hi there, Nal's Kitchen has an artisan product - Ginger Spread. It is sweet and savory. it is delcious! Website: www.nalskitchen.com. Hope you get a chance to try it.