Tomarrow, tomarrow, I love ya tomarrow...

The marrow that has been in residence in my fridge has finally met its demise. It wasn't consigned to the bin, nor was it re-gifted at a harvest festival to some poor unsuspecting sod who staggered home with it, only to consign it to the bin a week later.

After much deliberation, it has been turned into marrow and ginger jam.

And then it will be re-gifted. At Christmas. Along with the sage.

This is my first foray into jam making and here's what I did.

Take...

• One forlorn but organic marrow, peeled, with the seeds and fibre removed and chopped into 1cm cubes (about 1.4kg)
• 1 kg jam sugar and 400g granulated sugar
• 50g fresh ginger
• 3 unwaxed lemons
• You will also need to buy some muslin and kitchen string (because who has this stuff in the cupboard!) and possibly some jam jars
  

And...

• Chuck the marrow and half the sugar into a bowl, cover with cling film and put in the fridge.
  
• Go have a restorative gin and tonic because peeling a marrow is a nightmare.
  
• Overnight the marrow and sugar produce a load of syrup. The next day, tip the marrow, sugar and syrup concoction into a very large pan or stockpot.
• Remove the lemon zest with a potato peeler and squeeze the lemons, keeping rind, juice and shells.
  
• Cut 40 g of ginger into smaller pieces and with the lemon shells tie into a muslin bag. Bash the bag with a rolling pin to bruise it. Add to pan with the lemon juice.
• Heat up slowly to dissolve sugar and then simmer for 30 minutes. Put a saucer into the freezer.
  
• Have another gin and tonic.
  
• Fish out the muslin bag, squeezing out any liquid.
  
• Peel and grate the last 10g ginger and thinly slice the lemon zest. Chuck this into the pan with the other half of the sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves and then boil for a further 20 minutes.
• Test to see if the jam has set by dropping a bit into the saucer - let it cool and then push it with your finger (it will wrinkle if it is ready). If it isn't ready just boil it for longer.
• Pour into sterilised jam jars (wash them in hot soapy water and then chuck them in the oven at 175°C for 10 minutes) and seal whilst still hot.
• Allow to cool at room temperature then store somewhere cool and dark.
• Reward yourself with another gin and tonic for turning a harvest festival reject into a sugary delight.