Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam for Beginners

Did you know rhubarb is a vegetable? So this is a fruit and vegetable jam. Tell that to your kids…or not.

Rhubarb has a stringy outer layer that makes chopping annoying (all those slices stick together), so scrape it off with a knife before chopping, or cut off just the edges and then peel any loose ends that are created from the top of the stalk to the bottom. And the leaves are toxic if eaten, so toss them out! For the strawberries, some people just take a paring knife and cut off the entire top quarter of the strawberry. It’s time-efficient but not fruit efficient. If you don’t have an actual strawberry huller use that paring knife to carefully remove only the green on top and the white pithy section where the green meets the fruit. Yes, it takes awhile, but you’ll save a lot of strawberries. Recruit friends and family if you’re making a big batch. If not, turn on the radio. You have one of those still, right?

Jam i the easiest thing in the world to make, if you don’t actually can it. Below are instructions for jam made without sterilizing and water bath-ing jars, and instructions for properly canned jam. Beginners who want a few bottles of fridge jam that’s safe in the fridge for about a month can follow the first recipe, while adventurous folk with jar lifters or tongs, a giant canning or soup stock pot and a bit more patience can opt for the full canning recipe.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam (makes four 250mL jars of jam)

4 cups chopped strawberries
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 3/4 – 2 cups sugar
zest and juice of 1 – 2 lemons

Fridge Jam Instructions

All you do is hull and slice the berries and peel and slice the rhubarb (both into about 1/4″ slices or chunks) and let them sit in the sugar for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight (if you do overnight, place them in the fridge to keep away flies or insects). Then bring them to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes occasionally so the strawberries and rhubarb don’t burn or overflow the pot (you can turn it down to medium-high if necessary, but keep it boiling steadily or the jam won’t thicken. If it burns, transfer to a new pot immediately). Add the lemon zest and juice (not all at once, and then add more to taste if desired) and cook about 5 minutes more. Store in 3 clean glass jars in the fridge for up to a month. You can test the jam (if you want) with a candy thermometre, waiting until the jam reaches 220 F. Or put a plate in the freezer when you start boiling the fruit. When you think the jam is done use a spoon to drop just a few drops on the frozen plate, then put it back in the freezer for 30 seconds. Remove the plate and press down on the jam with your index finger. If the indentation created by your finger stays in the jam, it’s done.

Storing fridge jam: If you can’t eat four jars of jam in 1 month, you can put two of your jars of your jam in the freezer (use recycled canning jars if freezing, though, since they’re designed to withstand heat and lack of heat, while regular glass jars are not). Then when you take them out of the freezer they’ll still have a one-month fridge life each.

 

 

Canning Instructions for Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

A magnetic lid-lifter, a funnel, and jar-lifters will make your canning life easier. These can all be purchased for about $17 at a hardware store or wherever canning supplies are sold. Online, I’m sure. You can also buy an actual canning pot or a metal frame to put inside your giant stock pot, but you can also just put a kitchen towel on the bottom of your pot so the cans don’t touch the bottom and are completely surrounded by water.

Hull and slice the berries and peel and slice the rhubarb (both into about 1/4″ slices or chunks) and let them sit in the sugar for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight (place in fridge if macerating – soaking in sugar – overnight, to keep away pests).

Sterilize Cans: Wash your jars, screw bands and lids in hot, soapy water. Then place the jars and screw top lids (not the replaceable wax-rimmed lids) in a giant canning pot of warm water (or cold, but it will take less tie to heat if it’s already warm, but you won’t burn yourself since it’s not hot). The jars should be covered by 1 inch of water. Bring the water to a boil, and boil for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes in the pot, turn off the heat and leave them in the water on the hot burner until you need them.

Only after water has come to a boil above, start making the jam itself. (Put a small plate in the freezer now if you don’t have a candy thermometre – see below). Bring the strawberries and rhubarb in sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes occasionally so they don’t burn or overflow the pot (you can turn it down to medium-high if necessary, but keep it boiling steadily or the jam won’t thicken. If it burns, transfer to a new pot immediately). Add the lemon zest and juice (start with zest and juice of one lemon, and then add more to taste if desired) and cook about 5 minutes more.

In this five minutes remove your jars and screw-bands from the large canning pot with tongs or jar lifters. Place on a kitchen towel. Place the wax-rimmed lids in a small pot of water and bring to just below a boil. Turn off the heat and leave the rims until you need them (they need to sit at least 5 minutes in the hot water).

Test the jam with a candy thermometre, waiting until the jam reaches 220 F. Or take your small plate out of the freezer and use a spoon to drop just a few drops on the frozen plate, then put it back in the freezer for 30 seconds. Remove the plate and press down on the jam with your index finger. If the indentation created by your finger stays in the jam, it’s done. Take the jam off the heat. Use a funnel (if you have one) to pour the jam into the hot jars, being careful not to touch the rims or the filling with your hands.

Use a wooden chopstick or something long, thin and not metal or plastic to remove any air bubbles from the jars. Wipe down the tops of the jars with a clean, wet paper towel. Sticky, syrupy rims don’t help the seal.

Now use your chopsticks or magnetic lid-lifter to place a wax-rimmed lid on each jar and also to place a screw band ring on top. Tighten as much as you can using just your finger tips of your strong hand. You don’t want to over-tighten or under-tighten.

Place the jars in the huge pot of water you used to sterilize the jars earlier using your jar-lifters, cover, bring the pot back to a boil, and start the timer for 15 minutes only when the water comes back to a rolling boil.

After 15 minutes remove the pot from the heat, remove the jars from the pot to a kitchen towel, let cool overnight, and store in a cool, dark, dry place. Oh, and label them!

Yay! Jam!