Pumpkin jam is an easy sweet vegetable preserve that’s great for using up a harvest time glut. A favourite in North America, Brazil and Portugal, it suits a little seasonal spice.
Pumpkin jam
Pumpkins are one of those vegetables that tend to either famine or feast. They are cheap and plentiful in the shops around Halloween, and many of us have some to use up after setting one in the window for visiting children.
See also
- This mixed berry jam is intensely flavoured and uses a bag of frozen berries
- All my hints and tips on how to make jam
- Pumpkin ginger jam is a delicious twist on this recipe
- One of my favourite jams is fig jam
- Bacon jam is savoury, sweet sticky and oh so good.
If you are looking for a way to use up the flesh from all that pumpkin carving, this pumpkin jam is an easy introduction to vegetable jams and a great way to avoid food waste.
This lightly spiced preserve actually behaves rather more like a chutney or fruit butter, so you don’t need to worry about setting point – a huge bonus for many jam makers. It is nevertheless a sweet preserve.
A sunshine breakfast
Obviously, pumpkins are something of a new world treat and pumpkin jam is popular in Brazil where grated coconut is a popular addition. From Brazil, both pumpkins and jam were taken back to Portugal where walnuts or blanched almonds may be added to the jam or served on the side.
In Portugal, pumpkin jam (doce de abóbora) is a particular breakfast favourite.
Why make pumpkin jam?
- a great waste not, want not recipe
- easy to make with no setting point issues
- an unusual and delicious jam
- a taste of sunshine!
Pumpkin jam ingredients
- Pumpkin – Smaller culinary pumpkins wil have more flavour than the remains of giant carving pumpkins. Other autumn squash will work too.
- Orange zest – Pumpkin and orange pair so well, and it suits the spicing too.
- Lemon – Although this is not a very ‘jammy’ jam, you still need some pectin, and lemon is great for this.
- Sugar – Regular white granulated sugar. You could also use half and half with some golden or light brown for a richer flavour, but the ordinary white granulated sugar needs to make up at least half of the mix.
- Cinnamon – For extra flavour and a traditional match for pumpkin. You can leave out if you don’t like cinnamon. Add other sweet spices to taste in moderation: cardamon, cloves, vanilla or even a pinch of pumpkin spice seasoning.
How to make pumpkin jam – step by step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step One – Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut into wedges, peel the skin and cut the flesh into 2.5 cm / 1” chunks. You do not need to be very accurate, but keep the pieces close in size for even cooking.
Transfer to a pan, cover in water and gently simmer for about 25 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft.
Step Two – Drain and allow to steam dry.
Step Three – Put the pumpkin back in the pan and give it a good mash. You want to retain some texture, so a lumpy puree is ideal.
Step Four – Add the finely grated orange zest (a microplane is ideal), the sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. If you are not used to making jam, I know it looks like there is too much sugar. Don’t worry, it is fine.
Get jars in the oven to sterilize/warm, along with a jam funnel and pyrex jug.
Step Five – Start cooking the jam over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir to keep the heat even through the mixture.
Step Six – Keep cooking, stirring all the time until you can draw a line across the bottom of the pan with a spoon without the mixture filling it back in. This will take about 30 minutes.
Remove the cinnamon stick. The mixture can spit a little, so use a long-handled spoon to do this.
Step Seven – Transfer to clean, warm jars. I like to use a jam funnel and a pyrex jug to fill the jars as it helps to avoid messy splashes and scalds. Seal and store in cool dark place.
Serving suggestion
Perfect on toast or with good fresh bread for breakfast or elevenses.
Variations
- Vary the spicing but go gently. Flavours will develop with keeping and while you can always add a little, you can’t take it out, so use vanilla, cardamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves with care and respect.
- Stir in some blanched almond slivers, grated coconut or walnuts towards the end of cooking.
Storage
Store your pumpkin jam in sealed jars in a cool dark cupboard where it will last for about a year. Once open, keep the jam in the fridge and use within a few weeks.
If you find that a jar has failed to seal correctly, keep it in the fridge and treat as if opened.
Hints and tips
- Use a really sharp vegetable peeler, as pumpkin skin is tough. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. You can reserve them to clean up and toast as a garnish for soups and salads.
- Let the pumpkin steam dry and don’t rush to move on. You don’t want excess water in the pumpkin jam.
- Keep stirring/scraping sides bottom of pan when cooking, so that the mixture does not catch.
- Go easy on the spices. The cooking process and then maturing in the jar does intensify the flavour.
- Jam making is all about the ratios. The sugar should be three quarters of the weight of the prepared pumpkin. Allow the zest of one orange and juice of one lemon per 500 g pumpkin.
FAQs
Choose anything that has a good flavour. Generally, smaller pumpkins are sweeter and less watery than the very large ones grown for size competitions or Halloween carving. Other autumn/winter squash are good too.
Yes! Really. If you’ve never eaten vegetable jams, this is a great place to start. It is extremely popular in Brazil and Portugal, and surely all those people can’t be wrong, so why not try it?
Treat it as you would any sweet jam, and enjoy it with bread and butter, or do as the French do and add serve it with a cheese board.
More pumpkin recipes
- Fried pumpkin gnocchi with sage – an Italian masterpiece
- Pressure cooker pumpkin soup with apple – a spectacular seasonal soup
- Spiced pumpkin, carrot and sweet potato soup – rich and warming
Pumpkin Jam
Ingredients
- 500 g (4.3 cups) pumpkin (peeled and deseeded)
- 1 orange (zest only)
- 1 lemon (juice)
- 375 g (1.9 cups) granulated white sugar (or half white and half light brown sugar)
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut into wedges, peel the skin and cut the flesh into 2.5 cm / 1” chunks,500 g pumpkin
- Transfer to a pan, cover in water and gently simmer for about 25 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft.
- Drain and allow the pumpkin to steam dry.
- Return the pumpkin to the pan and mash.
- Grate in the orange zest, and add the lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar. Put your jars, jam funnel and a pyrex dish in the oven to sterilize/warm.1 orange, 1 lemon, 375 g granulated white sugar, 2 inch cinnamon stick
- Start cooking the jam over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir to keep the heat even through the mixture.
- Keep cooking, stirring all the time until you can draw a line across the bottom of the pan with a spoon without the mixture filling it back in. This will take about 30 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and put the jam in a warmed pyrex jug. Use this to pour the jam into jars and seal.
Notes
Storage
Store your pumpkin jam in sealed jars in a cool dark cupboard where it will last for about a year. Once open, keep the jam in the fridge and use within a few weeks. If you find that a jar has failed to seal correctly, keep it in the fridge and treat as if opened.Hints and tips
- Use a really sharp vegetable peeler, as pumpkin skin is tough. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. You can reserve them to clean up and toast as a garnish for soups and salads.
- Let the pumpkin steam dry and don’t rush to move on. You don’t want excess water in the pumpkin jam.
- Keep stirring/scraping sides bottom of pan when cooking, so that the mixture does not catch.
- Go easy on the spices. The cooking process and then maturing in the jar does intensify the flavour.
- Jam making is all about the ratios. The sugar should be three quarters of the weight of the prepared pumpkin. Allow the zest of one orange and juice of one lemon per 500 g pumpkin.
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