Thursday, June 21, 2012

makin my JAM

mr p wanted me to help him do something in the kitchen the same night was making strawberry rhubarb jam. i was right in the middle of a "very important step" in the jam-making process, when he beckoned for me.


"baaabe. i'm makin my jaaaam"
(was my reply in my most ghetto voice i could immitate)


it's a good thing i didn't let him interrupt me, because this stuff turned out perfect .

my jam is nothing more than fresh rhubarb, fresh strawberries, sugar, and lemon zest.  with this recipe, there's really no reason for commercial pectin from a box, unless you want it to be more like a jelly than a jam.

some recipes will have you mix and let sit in the fridge overnight, strain the juices, put the solids with the jucies again, etc. etc. etc.  if you want a jam like you would buy it in the store, just buy it in the store! if you want something more rustic, keep reading!!




Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

3 lbs of rhubarb (a little less once trimmed)
2 lbs of strawberries
5 cups of white sugar
zest of 1 lemon

quarter the strawberries and toss in a large pot or dutch oven. mash the strawberries to release a lot of the juice. clean and trim the rhubarb, chop into 1/4" slices and toss into the pot with the strawberries. add 4 cups of sugar and lemon zest.  bring the pot to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes.  add last 1 cup of sugar, and boil for another 10 minutes.  turn off heat and allow to cool completely, then skim off white foam on top.  blitz with an immersion blender quickly, or pulse a few times in a food processor or blender (i made sure to leave a few chunks, but if you want it super smooth, blend it longer!).   lastly, transfer to jars!



oops! forgot to mash the strawberries!! time to get mashing!

(wooden spoon didn't work so well... mr p came to the rescue with the pestle from our mortar and pestle... worked like a charm!)

boiling!! starting to get foamy on top.

foam removed, time to blitz!

smooth with some chunks.  just the way i like it!

this makes a large batch (2 quarts), so make sure you share ;)

i'm sure you could can some of this with slight modifications, but i'm still TERRIFIED of the idea of canning, so i haven't ventured down that route... yet .  yes, yet .  i'll get the guts someday... there are too many things that go to waste that could have been canned and saved!! (possibly my tomatoes that are now starting to grow!!?)


enjoy the jam! we layered it in homemade ice cream last weekend for the cookout and it was SO good... especially when i bit into a chunk of slightly sour rhubarb with the super sweet vanilla ice cream!!

cheers!

3 comments:

Jannae said...

strawberry rhubarb jam sounds amazing. a coworker made strawberry rhubarb pie for a potluck at work and I loved it.

new follower from living in yellow. :)

tiff@thecoffeehouse said...

ok, that jam looks ahhhmazing. and I'll take a few scoops of that homemade ice cream too. I want to come live with you!

jenn @ beyond the stoop said...

ahh strawberry rhubarb pie is my FAVORITE!! my first blog entry was about making rhubarb jam POPTARTS!! (this is practically a pie in handheld form). so good.

and tiff, you can certainly come grab some ice cream ;) we have all the ingredients waiting in the fridge right now, just waiting to be turned into more ice cream!