Pie Melon & Ginger.Jam

jimmy.k, Mar 21, 3:15am
x1
I made a batch of this today. Quite nice, "But", Recipe called for 2kg Pie Melon, 2kg Sugar and 30g ground Ginger & Lemon /Lime juice.Now, should I have used fresh chopped Ginger or the powder? The jam turned out brown and set quite stiff.. I have been told that the jam should be runny and clear. What have I done wrong?.

cgvl, Mar 21, 4:35am
the only difference to your recipe is that I use crystalised ginger rather than ground.
Setting quite stiff .... jam should not be runny, you should be able to cut it with a knife then spread ..... firm like jelly in this case.
Turning out brown not sure what colour it should have been but the ground ginger could/would have added a slight colour to it maybe.
Tis a while since I have made pie melon but from memory I think we put it through muslin before adding the sugar so if this is what you did then is it possible that you squeezed the (bag) muslin in which case yes you will get discolouration.

noelinevc, Mar 21, 7:16am
My grandmother always used stem ginger in syrup and her pie melon jam was translucent and a light golden colour. The set was a soft jelly, not runny but definitely not stiff. It was not a strained jelly it had the chunks of melon and slivers of preserved ginger.

jimmy.k, Mar 22, 2:16am
Many thanks, Is stem ginger just ordinary root ginger? . I am keen to make another batch as my dear old mum used to make it years ago, and I remember the flavour well. Cant remember how she made it though

jimmy.k, Mar 22, 3:15am
I made a batch of this today. Quite nice, "But", Recipe called for 2kg Pie Melon, 2kg Sugar and 30g ground Ginger & Lemon /Lime juice.Now, should I have used fresh chopped Ginger or the powder! The jam turned out brown and set quite stiff. I have been told that the jam should be runny and clear. What have I done wrong!.

cgvl, Mar 22, 4:35am
the only difference to your recipe is that I use crystalised ginger rather than ground.
Setting quite stiff . jam should not be runny, you should be able to cut it with a knife then spread . firm like jelly in this case.
Turning out brown not sure what colour it should have been but the ground ginger could/would have added a slight colour to it maybe.
Tis a while since I have made pie melon but from memory I think we put it through muslin before adding the sugar so if this is what you did then is it possible that you squeezed the (bag) muslin in which case yes you will get discolouration.

jimmy.k, Mar 23, 2:16am
Many thanks, Is stem ginger just ordinary root ginger! . I am keen to make another batch as my dear old mum used to make it years ago, and I remember the flavour well. Cant remember how she made it though