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Rhubarb Marmalade No. 1
Wash and cut rhubarb into small pieces, weigh and put in preserving kettle. Over this put 1 pound of sugar to every pound of rhubarb, and to every 2 pounds of rhubarb slice thinly 1 lemon and half an orange. Let stand 24 hours, then place over fire and boil 1 hour, or until thick, being careful to stir, as it easily burns. When thick, place in jars while hot and seal.
A straightforward equal-weight preserve that depends on the overnight maceration to draw juice before any heat is applied. Two things need updating: how you judge the set, and how you close the jars.
- Leaves off, alwaysOnly the stalks are used. Rhubarb leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid and related compounds and are not edible in any quantity; trim and discard them before weighing.
- The ratio is the recipeOne pound of sugar to one pound of trimmed, cut rhubarb, plus one lemon and half an orange per two pounds of rhubarb. Weigh after trimming, not before, or the preserve will be undersweetened and slack.
- Preserving kettleA wide, heavy-bottomed pan; stainless or enamelled cast iron is the safe modern choice. Unlined aluminium reacts with the acid, and unlined copper — traditional for preserving though it is — also reacts with acidic fruit. Width matters more than depth, since evaporation is what thickens this.
- The 24-hour standNot optional. The sugar pulls juice from the rhubarb so the mixture comes to the boil in its own liquid rather than scorching dry. Cover and leave it at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator.
- Citrus preparationSlice the lemon and orange as thinly as you can, peel and all, and pick out the pips — they are bitter and will not soften. Some cooks simmer the citrus slices separately in a little water first, as thick winter peel can stay tough within the hour of boiling.
- Judge the set, not the clock"Boil 1 hour, or until thick" is a guide only. Test with a thermometer at 220F (104C) at sea level, or chill a spoonful on a cold saucer and push it with a fingertip; it should wrinkle. Rhubarb is low in pectin, so the citrus and the long boil are doing that work.
- StirringThe warning is genuine. Sugar at this concentration catches quickly once the free liquid has boiled off, and scorched marmalade tastes burnt all the way through. Stir often near the end, reaching the corners of the pan.
- SealingHot-filling and sealing was standard practice when this book was published. Current guidance is to ladle into hot sterilised jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace and process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes, or simply refrigerate the cooled jars and use within a month.
The Five Roses Cook Book was published by the Lake of the Woods Milling Company as a promotional book for its flour, and it gives rhubarb generous space. Rhubarb — long called pieplant in North America — was the first thing the kitchen garden offered after winter, weeks ahead of any true fruit, and it was treated as fruit accordingly: sweetened heavily, stretched with citrus, and put up in quantity. Calling this a marmalade rather than a jam reflects the sliced lemon and orange suspended in it.