Honeydew Melon Jam
Ingredients:
1 small (1 and 3/4 lb) honeydew melon, seeds & skin removed, diced to 1/4-inch cubes (yield 1 and 1/2 lbs)
1 cup forsythia syrup or lavender, lilac or wisteria syrup. (or simply use 1 cup of granulated sugar in place of the syrup)
1/2 cup sugar (organic evaporated cane juice)
sea salt
1 lemon, preferably organic, juice & zest
1 orange, preferably organic, zest
1/2 box (7/8 oz) low/no-sugar pectin
Directions:
1. Day 1. Peel lemon zest in long strips with a
vegetable peeler. Store, wrapped in plastic wrap, refrigerated
overnight. Juice the lemon.
2. Add diced melon, forsythia syrup, sugar, a large pinch of salt and
lemon juice (1/4 cup) to a medium glass or ceramic bowl. Allow fruit to
macerate for 1 hour. Transfer fruit mixture to a large saucepan and
bring to a simmer over high heat. Return to bowl, cover and refrigerate
overnight.
3. Day 2. Peel orange zest in a similar manner to the
lemon (reserve orange, wrapped, for another use). In a small saucepan,
boil the orange and lemon zest in about 1 inch of water, with a pinch of
salt added, for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Julienne the
zest strips to matchsticks about 2 inches long.
4. Transfer melon/sugar mixture to a large sieve; lightly press on melon pieces to drain juice. (At
this point, measure liquid and adjust amount of pectin needed
accordingly; 1 box of Ball pectin will set 4 cups of juice; I yielded
about 2 and 1/2 cups liquid). Transfer liquid to a medium stockpot
and bring to a boil over high heat. Stirring occasionally, heat liquid
until it thickens, becomes syrupy, and reaches 220 degrees F about 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, sterilize your jars, heat lids, and set up your canning station. Or, skip this step and use the refrigerated jam within 3 weeks.
6. Add pectin to boiling syrup; whisk quickly to dissolve (syrup will
foam). Boil for 1 minute; add drained melon and citrus zest to the syrup
(along with any additional drained juices). Bring back to a boil, and
continue to boil over high heat until the temperature reaches 220
degrees F, or the jam thickens, the foam subsides, and the jam when
stirred spits and leaves a clean stripe across the bottom of the pan (about 218 degrees F for this batch).
Remove from heat and quickly fill and seal jars. Either allow to rest
at room temperature, undisturbed, until sealed, or process for 10
minutes in a boiling water bath to effect a seal (sealed jars will keep longer in the refrigerator).