Rabarbaramauk - Rabarbarahlaup - Rabarbarasulta

Icelandic rhubarb jam

Waffle with rhubarb jam and cream

at Café Simbahöllin in Þingeyri

Oh yes, everything is difficult!

Jam refers to a fruit spread that is made “from fruits boiled down with sugar,” whereby no pieces of fruit must be visible in the end product. In the EU, with a few exceptions, the term "jam" can only be used for jam made from citrus fruits; for other types of fruit, spreads made from sugar and boiled fruits are referred to as jam. Jelly is gelatinous fruit juice without fruit pieces.

There are also different terms in Icelandic: Mauk, Hlaup and Sulta.

"Mauk" means something like "fruit pulp", "jam".

"Hlaup" means "run", the word is used in various contexts, for example for "jökulhlaup" = "glacial run" (a glacial burst) or for brawn or jelly - everything that "runs".

"Sulta" means "jam" or "marmalade", but Icelandic "Rabarbarasulta" is not only used as jam, but is also the classic Icelandic accompaniment to meat dishes - in terms of use, it is Icelandic, so to speak Ketchup.

Lamb, fries and rabarbarasulta

I was recently asked about Icelandic recipes for rhubarb jam on Facebook - and realized that I actually didn't have a corresponding recipe in my blog, even though I've cooked different versions so many times. So I really wanted to make up for this omission - here are recipes for rhubarb jam, rhubarb jelly and "Rabarbarasulta"!

Rabarbaramauk

Ingredients

1 kg rhubarb
850 g sugar
ground vanilla, if desired


Preparation

Wash the rhubarb well, do not peel it and cut it into pieces of approximately the same size, approx. 2 cm thick.

Put the rhubarb in a pot, add the sugar and let it steep overnight.

The next day, pour everything through a thin cloth, filter and use the resulting liquid...

...bring to the boil in a new pot and cook over low heat until it begins to thicken.

In terms of consistency, it would actually be more like "Hlaup", it's thick like honey - but not jelly.

Rabarbarahlaup

Ingredients

1 kg rhubarb
125 g strawberries
500 g water

1.2 kg sugar
2 sheets of gelatin


Preparation

Wash and clean the rhubarb and strawberries and put them in a large pot with the water, then let them cook for about 20 minutes.

Then drain everything through a muslin diaper, collect the liquid and pour it into a second pot.

Add the sugar and let everything simmer for about 15 minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat.

Soak the leaf gelatin in cold water for about 5 minutes, then remove it from the water, squeeze it out lightly with your hand, add it directly to the hot but no longer boiling fruit mixture and stir until the gelatin has dissolved.

Then pour directly into freshly washed jars that have been rinsed with boiling water and seal airtight.

Rabarbarasulta

Ingredients

1 kg rhubarb
800 g sugar


Preparation

Wash, clean and cut the rhubarb into small pieces, then put it in a large pot with the sugar and let it steep overnight.

The next day, bring the whole thing to the boil briefly, then reduce the heat and simmer on a low heat for about 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally and skimming off the resulting foam.

When the mixture becomes thick, pour it into hot-rinsed jam jars and seal airtight.

[Translated from here.]