Wednesday, May 5, 2010

rhubarb jam for moms

Saturday was an out of control kitchen day for me. I think I was trying to make up for the last few months all in the space of one afternoon. After a nice morning of spinning (Yay! I can go to an adult workout class!) and then a stroll with the family around the farmer's market, I came back to our house and proceeded to turn the kitchen upside down. For no good reason at all, except that I was apparently desperate to make things.



One of those things being jam for our moms for Mother's day. (Hi Mom! If you're reading this I spoiled part of your pressie.) I love making jam. It's so simple and so charmingly old fashioned. I have a bunch of jars on the shelf in our service porch (read laundry room, extra pantry, seed storage, etc), but instead of eating those, I continue to make more. Ah well. When a woman needs to create, she needs to create.



This time, Strawberry-Rhubarb. I love rhubarb. One day I will have my own plant, but I think I'll wait until we buy a house (or our house?) because the plants are perennials and last for decades. Neat.

This recipe is crazy simple. I found it through the magic of google on the most random site: rhubarbinfo.com. If you're looking for rhubarb recipes, this is a good place to start, though can't vouch for any of them .

Here it is:

2 pounds strawberries (4 cups, mashed)
2 pounds rhubarb (8 cups, cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
6 cups sugar

Cover cut rhubarb with half of the sugar and let stand 1 to 2 hours. Crush berries and mix with remaining sugar and combine with rhubarb. Place mixture over low heat until sugar is dissolved, then boil rapidly, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Cook until thick.

I turned my batch on and off 3 times to tend to baby and definitely burned it a titch. I don't recommend this technique, but it's still pretty good. If you DON'T mess around with the timing and burning, I'm sure it's delicious.

UPDATE:

The jars are Weck, which are entirely superior in design to any other canning jars out there. You can buy them from a few different places, but the only one I can think of at the moment sans google search is Heath.

And, I did actually "can" the jam so it can be wrapped properly as a present. It's so super easy. Don't be afraid. Especially with something like jam that isn't known to grow botulism or anything fatal. It's the green beans you need to worry about. Or other things without enough salt, acid, or sugar to properly preserve whatever you've made.

21 comments:

jessica said...

strawberry rhubarb is one of my favorite flavor combinations. what type of jars did you use? they are so cute and a nice change up from the regular mason jars i use.

Anonymous said...

what a sweet idea! i totally want to make jam for my mom one day too, but i'm running out of time for this mother's day. next year! :]

RILEY said...

Mmmmm... this sounds so good! I am a straight up sucker for rhubarb, though I've never made jam. For some reason it's always scared me, though I'm not sure why. Maybe I'll give it a go.

I've begun finding all sorts of neat old glass jars at estate sales... they are practically begging for something to fill them!

Rachel said...

So cute! Do you go through the whole sterilizing bit? Or just assume they'll keep it in the fridge?

I know the sterilizing isn't hard, but I'm reluctant to make jam in my apartment, since I lack a dishwasher for the jars.

Caroline said...

Oh my I will have to make this .... I just purchased one large crate of strawberries from my local farmers' market for 5 dollars!!! I whipped up fresh cream last night to dip them in but know they would love to be boiled into a jam ... how long does the jam keep? Love this post and thank you for this recipe XO!

wishful nals said...

i love the packaging of that jam. so sweet!

kristina said...

Jessica- the jars are Weck. They are the most cutest canning jars out there. I bought some from Sur la Table a few years ago and they're also available from Heath. You can keep using them over and over as long as you buy new gaskets each time you "can".

Rach- I did sterilize. I don't have a dishwasher either, I just sterilize in the boiling water for 10 minutes before I put the jam in. Do it!!!

Caroline - In the fridge, they say it keeps a few weeks, but if you actually "can" it, it will keep a long while on the shelf before you open it. Perfect for huge boxes of strawberries from the market!

bigBANG studio said...

Huzzah. As a rhubarb-obsessed Yankee I've had to hunt hi and low for the stuff out here in the desert, but believe me it's been in steady breakfast and dessert rotation in this house.

I can't wait to get busy with this recipe when things quiet down. Thanks for the great, simple, totally doable recipe, and for the info about the Weck jars! And psst...you might this loose-form rhubarb tart...

http://bigbangstudio.blogspot.com/search?q=rhubarb

Simply Mel {Reverie} said...

Two of my favorites ~ rhubarb and strawberries! And yes, the Weck ROCKS!

Michelle {lovely little things} said...

I love rhubarb!!

becca said...

You are making the rest of the new moms look bad. Please stop canning jam and going to spinning class with such a little baby.

Just kidding, of course. :)

Rachel said...

I might have to try this. I am not a huge fan of rhubarb but I know people who are.

(the jam making course that I went on said to hand wash the jars in hot soapy water, rinse in hot water and then put wet into a low oven to dry)

ashley maureen said...

ohh, i might have to make this today! the simplicity of the recipe is my favorite part. others i've come across call for flavored gelatin, but i'd like to keep the jam as natural as possible. the jars are beautiful- how many did you end up with?

S + V said...

This looks amazing! I love the jar:)

Meghan said...

I need to make this jam and get over my fear of canning. If I can homebrew, I should be able to can, right?

Fern and Feather said...

the jam looks amazing but I have to say I am the most obsessed with the jars. sigh.

Yumi @ Natsukashii said...

oh my! so yummy looking. i love heath - i've been wanting to buy some weck jars for a long time. this has inspired me to go! :) thanks for sharing here and at 100 layer cake. love it!

Caroline said...

I am making some tomorrow morning .... this recipe is a treasure ... Thank You!! xo

caitlindentino said...

I just found Weck jars on terrain.com - they have the smaller 7.4 oz ones, but they also have a larger set of 19.6 oz. I think the big guys would be great for pickling. I'm sure folks have found them other places via google, but as I just saw them, thought it would be worth the comment, a few days late... Happy First Mother's Day Kristina!

caitlindentino said...

oops - the website is shopterrain.com

Connie said...

This is too perfect! I've been reading your blog for a *long* time, and this week I've been trying to work out what to do with my rhubarb glut...thanks so much!