Stuff I Made

Home Sweet Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Jam!

Last week, I got one of my crazy ideas again! I decided I should learn to make my own jellies and jams. It seems as if I need a new challenge every so often and decide to take on something fairly random. Now, I know a person can purchase a reasonably priced jar of the mass produced stuff at the local grocery store. However, if you have ever tasted really good quality homemade jam or jelly, you'd know why a person would go to the trouble of making at home for themselves.

Last week's adventure was grape jelly. Since it was my first time making jelly as well as canning, I choose the simplest recipe I could find. How did it go... let's just say I had a molten grape jelly lava explosion on my stovetop that took DAYS to remove! UGH! Add to this mess of an experience, I didn't boil it long enough with the pectin in it, so it has a less than perfect texture. But it is still pretty good. I plan to find lots of uses for grape jelly/syrup asap!

This week, I tried making Strawberry Rhubarb jam. At our current home, we have 4 rhubarb plants that have always been generous with us. So, I decided "hey, I better use that rhubarb before we don't have it anymore!" I found a recipe that mimics my DH's recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie--which is freaking awesome! And made this...

I used the following recipe:

3 c chopped rhubarb

3 c chopped strawberries

2 c white sugar

1 T ground cinnamon

1/2 c water

1 (2 oz) pkg dry pectin

1. In a large saucepan mix together the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, water and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until the fruit is soft. (I cooked mine longer since I wanted a more condensed flavor) Stir in the pectin and boil for 5 minutes.
2. Ladle into sterile jars, wipe rims with a clean cloth or paper towel, and seal with new lids. Process in a bath of simmering water for at least 10 minutes, or as recommended by your local extension if you are at a high altitude. Store unopened jars in a cool dark place. Refrigerate jam after opening.

I taste-tested the jam this morning (on a couple of slices of bread, ya gotta make sure, ya know, lol!) Delicious! Very impressed with this recipe and a little impressed with myself too. Not too bad for someone who had no idea what she was doing, right? :)