Backyard Vine

LIKE THE CHOKO, THIS HARDY, PROLIFIC MELON HAS A SENTIMENTAL PLACE IN AUSTRALIAN FOLKLORE

- Jennifer Stackhouse

My friend Liz Gower, aka The Jam Lady, who makes lots of jams and preserves to sell at local markets, found she was being asked frequently for melon jam.

It seems that melon jam, which is made from a watermelon relative called jam melon, has sentimental appeal to many older Australians. It was popular in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s at a time when it and other easy-to-grow crops such as choko and Jerusalem artichoke were often found in backyard vegie patches.

Keen to keep the customers happy, Liz tried to source locally produced jam melons without luck. This summer it won’t be a problem as she plans to grow her own in her Tasmanian garden.

Also called citron melons, jam melons are small and round with striped green skin and white flesh studded with reddish brown seeds. They make a sweet, transparent golden jam that sets easily due to their high pectin content. They are often combined with other fruits such as lemon, orange, passion fruit, pineapple, berries and ginger to produce a more strongly flavoured jam.

JUST ADD SUGAR

My slightly faded copy of The Presbyterian Cookery Book — an Australian cookbook first published in 1895 but revised in 1950 by a Mrs McCallum — has several detailed recipes for melon jam.

One calls for “21lb citron melon, 21lb sugar, juice of 8 lemons, 3 jars of preserved ginger”. For those without imperial weights and measures at their fingertips, the measurement “lb” represents pounds. There are 2.2 pounds to a kilogram, so this recipe uses lots of sugar and melon and produces a huge amount of jam.