Simple Rhubarb Jam (No Commercial Pectin)

At the end of the month I am teaching a canning rhubarb jam workshop and I need to settle on a recipe.  I have been making a Rhubarb Apricot Jam for the last few years now, but in that jam the rhubarb only plays a supporting role to the apricot.  The workshop schedule was set in early March, so I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do before there was any rhubarb to play with.  Looking through my cookbook collection and online for rhubarb flavor pairings I found the ubiquitous strawberry rhubarb, ginger rhubarb, vanilla rhubarb, rhubarb and beer etc but nothing that inspired me.  Earlier this week I finally found rhubarb at my local food co-op and I bought enough for one test batch of jam along with several ounces of loose tea I thought I might add.

In the end I decided to highlight the subtle flavor of the rhubarb instead of cluttering the jam with lots of other noise.  The sugar is scaled back from many traditional rhubarb jams, allowing the subtle tartness to blend with the sugar instead of being drowned by it.  The more I play with rhubarb, whether it is in a savory rhubarb recipe or a simple jam the more I fall in love with its complexity.  This jam has a lot going on, especially for such a simple list of ingredients.  I will be making many more batches of it before the end of the rhubarb season, not just for my own toast.  Sebastian, my 9 year old declared it his second favorite jam.  His first favorite will probably always be Tomato Orange Marmalade.  For now, it is the only jam I want on my toast.

Before I make another batch of jam I need to wait for the plants in my yard to cooperate.  Although while waiting I need to find a use for the tiny stalks I picked for the photos!

Simple Rhubarb Jam
Yield 4 half pint and one 4 oz jar

1 Kilogram rhubarb, stalks halved lengthwise and then chopped into 1/2 inch or so pieces
600 grams sugar
juice of one lemon (I like to microwave my lemon for 40 seconds before squeezing it to get the most juice out)

Combine all the ingredients in a non reactive pot or bowl (non reactive means, anything but copper, aluminum or cast iron).  Stir well and cover with a lid or a towel before placing in the fridge at least over night, I usually allow mine to rest for 24 hours.

Remove the pot from the fridge and uncover it, stir well and place over high heat.  Heat the jam over high heat, once the fruit is boiling stir constantly until the setting point is reached.  With this jam I used the cold plate test to test the set: Place a dollop of  your jam on a plate you have previously set in the freezer. Place the plate and jam in the fridge. After about 5 minutes test the jam by pushing it with your finger, if it wrinkles up it is gelled and it's time to can your jam.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean with a damp paper towel or cloth and place on 2 piece lids and tighten by hand. Place filled jars in a water bath canner with water covering the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring water back to boil. Boil for 10 minutes more, when the 10 minutes is completed turn off the heat, remove the lid and leave the jars in the canner for another 5 minutes. Remove jars and place on a towel, dish cloth or receiving blanket or a cooling rack, with at least 1 inch between jars. Allow to cool completely, 12 to 24 hours. Once cool take off the bands, test the seal by pushing up on the lid with your thumbs. Any jars that have not sealed properly can be placed in the fridge. Clean the top of the jars, label and store in a cool dry place.

Sour Cherry Petit Petit Jam (Apple and Lemon Pectin)

It doesn't matter if I don't have a decent photo of this jam yet (I can always edit the post later) or if I have other things I should be doing other then try to come up with adjectives that describe why you should make this jam.  I need to post the jam recipe before I lose my notes on it again.  This recipe has already moved up to the must have jams category, so I need to preserve it here.  It really is a miracle I found my notes at all, after all they were tucked into my favorite jam cookbook, a place so sensible I I surprised I thought to look there.

When I was first planning on what to do with all my sour cherries I had no plans on incorporating wine.  I knew I would make one with raspberries and after that I had several other combinations I was imagining.  However after spending the morning picking 10 pounds of sour cherries, I took a moment before melting in the kitchen to post about my haul and dreams of flavor combinations on Hippo Flambé's Facebook page.   One reader was reminded of an ice cream topping she loved and wrote, "There is an ice cream shop on Cape Cod I used to frequent when I lived there and they cooked down sour cherries with balsamic vinegar, bordeaux, and sugar, and drizzled it over vanilla ice cream. It was my kind of heaven."  I could immediately taste the sauce in my head and it sounded like my kind of heaven as well.  So I quickly updated my plans to include a jam with similar ingredients.

I didn't have any bordeaux in the house but I did have Michael David's Petit Petit which has the rich flavor of ripe cherries when you drink it.  So I rushed to the kitchen and started a batch of sour cherry jam with a cup of petit petit wine.  I had every intention of adding balsamic vinegar at the end but I tasted the jam first and could not bring myself to change anything.  Just to be sure, I served the foam over a bowl of vanilla ice cream and further sampled its flavor before happily sealing the jam in jars.

The jam has a richness, intensity and depth that reminds me of chocolate.  It is the perfect topping for vanilla ice cream but is equally at home on a slice of toast.  I imagine this winter I will drizzle it on cheesecake and layer it with poached pears and whipped cream.  I also know next summer I will be back in the kitchen making more.  Like my other sour cherry jams this one does not use any commercial pectin.  It relies on apple and lemon pectin instead and so has less sugar to mask the flavor then would be needed with commercial pectin.  I used apples from the orchard where I picked the sour cherries.  In early July they are completely unripe and full of natural pectin.  If you don't have access to unripe apples you can use granny smith apples or crab apples.  The apple pectin combined with the pectin in the lemon peels makes this jam set up beautifully.

Sour Cherry Petit Petit Jam

If you need detailed canning instructions they can be found on last summers sour cherry jam recipe.  I also have a recipe for sour cherry raspberry lime jam.

1 kilogram (2 1/4 lb) pitted sour cherries (1.25 kg or 2 3/4 lb unpitted)

800 grams sugar (3 3/4 cups)

1 cup Michael David Petit Petit Wine (or substitute another rich, fruit forward red wine)

150 grams unripe apples (3-4 small apples) or 300 grams granny smith apple (1-2 granny smith apple)

Peels and pits from the apple placed in a large tea ball or muslim bag

Juice of 1 lemon (1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp)

rinds from the lemon

Place a small saucer in the freezer for testing the jams set.  Combine all ingredients except the lemon rinds and the apple peels and pits.  Puree the ingredients in a large pot with an immersion blender or in a blender.  Add the spent lemon rinds and the peels and pits of the apples (apple pieces placed in a large tea ball) in a large pot and bring to a simmer.  Simmer gently, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.  Increase the heat to high and boil the jam, stirring frequently at first and as it cooks down stirring more and more to prevent scorching.  The jam is done when it is 220° on a thermometer and it passes the cold plate test.

To test the jams set with a plate, turn off the heat under the jam.  Remove the saucer from the freezer and place a small dollop of jam on the plate.  Return the plate to the freezer and allow it to cool for 5 minutes.  If the jam is set it will wrinkle on the surface when you push the dollop with your finger.  The jam will still be a liquid in the pot when it is set.  Jam becomes runny again when it is heated so do not expect it to look like jam in the pot.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace and seal in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Sour Cherry Raspberry Lime Jam (No Pectin)

Last years sour cherry jam was a success because it set without using commercial pectin, it made a really beautiful translucent jam with preserved cherries suspended within, and many who scored a jar raved about it.  The only problem is my family did not like it.  Turns out we prefer a jam with a more consistent texture and flavor, one where the whole fruit adds body to the whole jam instead of occasional solids floating in jelly.  We are not big jelly eaters and missed the body of the jam having more substance and texture.  Which is fine with me as French preserves are more time and labor intensive requiring multiple steps, fruit straining, simmering etc.  So this year I got to start over after picking 12 pounds of sour cherries at a local orchard.

Last years jam was really just the cherries, so this year I decided to play a little more.  Plus I have a friend with a flat of raspberries at home who I saw in the fields.  So my first inspiration was sour cherry raspberry.  I decided to use lime in place of the usual lemons after seeing raspberry jam recipes made with lime.  Plus my newest summer drink obsession means I have been stock piling limes.  This recipe depends on the pectin in the limes, especially the peels to to gel.  Probably a little easier for the average person to get then unripe green apples.

The results were an unmitigated success.  The boys have enjoyed it drizzled over ice cream and have happily greeted it on toast for 2 mornings in a row without complaining.  Truth be told, after the first breakfast they looked critically at the 4 jars lined up on the counter and told me I needed to make more.  My boys have learned how to judge how many jars of jam they will need to get through a winter.

When I tasted it I was surprised at all the flavors, wondering at first at a subtle background taste I could not place.  Then I remembered the lime, which adds more to the overall taste then the bright acid flavor from lemon juice.  It is tart and sweet with a richness that is addictive.  Plus it set up beautifully with a minimum of hanging over a hot pot in July.  Last summer my kitchen scale broke and has refused to measure in anything other then ounces, or allow me to tare out the weight of anything on top.  I replaced it with a new scale that remembers the previous weight when it turns itself off.  Now as long as I pay attention to when the display goes blank I can slowly weigh cherries as I pit them.  A vast improvement over my old scale where I had to occasionally write down the weight I was at and start over.

Sour Cherry Lime Jam

Note: There is sugar listed twice as it gets added with the raspberries and with the cherries.  I have given conversions from Metric but they are just approximate, I created the recipe using weight.

600 grams [1 1/3 pound] raspberries (mine were frozen, I just put them in the pot still frozen)

200 grams [7/8 cup] granulated sugar

500 grams [1 lb 2 ozs] pitted sour cherries (I have a book that says this is 600 grams or 1 1/3 lbs before pitting, I don't know, I weighed them as I pitted them.  Why measure them twice?)

500 grams [2 1/4 cups] granulated sugar

Juice of 1 lime 2-3 Tbsp (rinds reserved)

Bring raspberries and 200 grams sugar to a simmer, simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn off and allow to cool slightly (I let it cool just long enough to set up my Fruit and Vegetable Strainer).  Set the raspberries aside and combine the pitted cherries, 500 grams sugar and lime juice in a large pan.  Bring up to the simmer and simmer gently for 5 minutes, crushing the cherries with a potato masher as they cook.

Remove the seeds from the raspberries in a food mill, chinois, sieve or a Kitchen Aid attachment. Add the raspberries to the cherries along with the reserved lime peels.  Heat the jam over high heat,  once the fruit is boiling stir constantly until the setting point is reached (this jam was set for me at 220°). You can also do the cold plate test, when you think your jam is set place a small amount on one of the plates in the freezer and place it back in the freezer for several minutes. Test the dollop of jam by pushing it with your finger, if it wrinkles up it is gelled and you can can your jam.  Remove the lime peels from the jam before canning.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe the rims clean with a damp paper towel or cloth and place on 2 piece lids and tighten by hand.  Place filled jars in a water bath canner with water covering the jars by at least 1 inch.  Boil for 10 minutes, when the 10 minutes is completed turn off the heat, remove the lid and leave the jars in the canner for another 5 minutes.  Place the jars on a towel, dish cloth or receiving blanket or a cooling rack, with at least 1 inch between jars. Allow to cool completely, 12 to 24 hours. Once cool take off the bands, test the seal by pushing up on the lid with your thumbs. Any jars that have not sealed properly can be placed in the fridge. Clean the top of the jars, label and store in a cool dry place. 

Tomato Orange Marmalade

My addiction to canning began 7 years ago with this recipe, all that I love about canning is present in tomato orange marmalade.  It is a product that is inaccessible if you do not make it yourself, one that looks beautiful cooling on your counters for weeks longer then necessary, an enjoyable almost meditative cooking process and of course a flavor that is well worth all the time you invest in it.  The flavor is one that provides a bright sweet flavor to a long winter of stored root vegetables.  I was recently asked what compelled me to make this recipe when I first saw, tomato is not well known as a sweet preserve and many would not even try it.  Honestly I do not remember, it may have been my love of tomatoes, or the way I was imagining it would taste in my head or just an adventurous streak.  Although we should remember that tomatoes are a fruit, so really it should be less of a mental leap then making a tasty dessert with rhubarb, which is a vegetable.

I ended up making Tomato Orange Marmalade in my No Added Pectin Jam Making Workshop last Saturday and I think it is safe to say it surprised all the participants.  Everyone immediately fell in love with it.  One attendee said, "This is my new favorite thing."  A sentiment I fully understand as it is a spread that is just the right side of sweet to be perfect spread on toast or filling a French crepe, but would also be happy paired with chevre.  The tomatoes serve to balance the citrus and temper the bitterness that is usually so prevalent in marmalade.  In the end I think everyone was happy that I called it in to pinch hit for the seedless raspberry jam I originally had planned.

Raspberry jam seemed perfect to teach now as the season was just beginning, giving the participants plenty of time to make it on their own before the season was over.  However I failed to think through the nature of farming and availability.  I was happily remembering picking fall raspberries in the height of the season, when you can take less then thirty minutes to fill a flat with berries.  However this is the start of the fall raspberry season and the picking is frustrating at best.  So in the end I had enough local raspberries to make a batch in my workshop but not enough to swap in and out various steps like a Food Network Star.

In case I have not sufficiently piqued your interest to try this marmalade recipe perhaps my eight year old's undying love for it can persuade you.  This has been Sebastian's favorite since he was 3, the year I ran out mid winter and unable to imagine his diet without it found out a quart jar of home canned crushed tomatoes would work in the recipe.  Every time Sebastian introduces someone to it and they fall in love it makes his day.  He loves knowing that other people have discovered one of his favorite culinary joys.  If you do try this please let me know in the comments, I know he will love to read them.

Tomato Orange Marmalade
Adapted from Gourmet 2003

It is important that you use the best quality tomatoes you can for this recipe.  You can use any color of tomato you want, a mix is especially striking.  Don't use paste tomatoes as they do not have enough liquid in them.  If need be in winter you can make a batch using 1 quart jar of home canned crushed tomatoes.  However supermarket tomato look alikes will not work.  A friend tried that once and when I asked how it was she replied, "Well... I ate it."  Which meant no one else would.



3 pounds peeled, cored and chopped ripe heirloom tomatoes, including juices (the weight is after peeling, coring and chopping, including the weight of any juices)
3 cups sugar
2 organic juice oranges, washed
1 organic lemon, washed
1/8 tsp salt

Place peeled, chopped tomatoes and their juices in a 5 to 6 qt or larger, wide pot, (the ingredients will all fit in a smaller pot but you need to leave space so they will not bubble over, ideally it should be at least 9 1/2 inches wide to encourage rapid evaporation).  Slice oranges and lemons as thinly as possible, including peel and pith.  I slice mine on my mandolin using the thinest insert and then remove all the seeds and slice the rounds into 4 pieces (and the pieces that are only peel I julienne, you can also quarter the fruit and then slice it as thinly as possible with a knife.

Place the lemon and orange slices in the pan with the tomatoes, checking again for any citrus pits you missed, in the pot with the tomato.  Add the sugar and salt and place over moderate heat while stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.  Turn the heat to high and continue to cook until the setting point is reached.*

Using a canning funnel ladle hot marmalade into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Run a bubble wand or small knife around the inside of the jar to remove air bubbles.  Use a damp paper towel to clean the surface of the rims, place a clean lid on top, add the rings and tighten as tightly as you can with your hands.  Place the filled jars in a water bath canner and process for 10 minutes.  After the 10 minutes is up remove the lid, turn off the heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes before removing the jars to cool on a towel or receiving blanket.

*How to test the setting point of jam:
This recipe is a great one to learn how to make preserves without added pectin as it gives you a visual cue when to begin testing.  At first the ingredients all look like separate items, tomatoes, juice and citrus slices.  I never begin to test this recipe until the ingredients take on a cohesive look, like they are all one product and most of the liquid is evaporated.  When making jam do not expect it to look like jam when it is still hot, hot jam is still a liquid unless you have moved beyond the gel stage and gotten to the cement stage.

Once it begins to look cohesive begin testing, for this recipe I rely almost exclusively on the cold plate test.  I place 2 saucers in the freezer and when I want to test the set I place a dollop on the plate, remove the marmalade from the heat, and place the plate in the fridge.  After a few minutes check the plate, the marmalade should remain in a mound that does not run if it is done, if you run your finger through it it should leave a line.  If you want a firmer set it should wrinkle before your finger if you push the mound, I personally prefer a softer set then that with this one.

If you do not trust your set testing abilities do the cold plate test and when you think it is set take the pot off the heat, place it in the fridge and test the set the next morning.  If it is set heat it back up to boiling before ladling into hot jars and canning (the product must be hot to safely can it).

Sour Cherry Jam (No Commercial Pectin)

This winter as I am spreading tangy sweet sour cherry jam on my toast I know I will romanticize everything that went into making it.  I will bite into my breakfast and the vivid tart cherry flavor will fill my mouth (a flavor that oddly cannot come from sweet cherry jam) and I will have fond memories of picking the cherries with my family.  I will remember my strange enthusiasm and zeal while picking in the heat, which caused me to pick close to 20 pounds.  My memory will gloss over the time I spent, during an unbearably hot, record breaking, July heat wave, cooking batch after batch of boiling jam.  I will no longer remember the blanket covering the door to the kitchen so the heat would not poison the rest of the house.  I may even conveniently forget resorting to cooking in my bathing suit.

The jam will only remind me of the best of sour cherries, the taste of them in your mouth, my boys working together to pick enough for their crazy mother,  everyone in the family taking a turn swinging maniacally across the fields on a rope at the orchard, going to the beach together after picking to jump in the cold water and for the boys to dig extensive tunnel systems in the sand.  The jam will provide me with happy memories of the summer just as this blog serves to preserve the best parts of raising my children.  Like sitting here with them in my room, with the air conditioner turned on, listening to Sebastian read to Julian, while I write this post.  Without recording the screaming stand offs between parents and children, like the one we had at dinner the other night.

Arguments over leaving the table, not coming to the table in the first place and the general rudeness of children whose job it is to think only of themselves.  In my memory this jam will be just like those family dinners, the ones we are constantly told to have as they are the cornerstone of strong families, because clearly they never dissolve into the general mayhem and unpleasantness which cause Lewis and I to look  at each other, trying to remember what dinners were like pre-children.  Twenty years from now I will look back at our dinners as a magical part of raising my boys where they shared what they were thinking and doing and enjoyed ALL the food I lovingly prepared and served.

If you want to make cherry jam so you can wistfully dream about the feeling of the sun warming you this winter you will need to add some form of pectin as cherries are low in natural pectin.  Personally I do not like using commercial pectin (except for in my strawberry freezer jam with cointreau and drambuie).  Commercial pectin requires a large quantity of sugar to gel, producing a jam that is overly sweet for my taste and does not highlight the flavor of the fruit.  Some folks use Pomona's Pectin as it does not need any sugar to gel, however when I tried it there was a chalky texture to the jam that I found unpleasant.  For pectin in this jam I used unripe apples from the same orchard where I picked the jam.   If you do not have access to unripe apples you can use granny smith or crabapples instead.  If you have a local pick your own apple orchard it is worth asking to pick some fruit now to use as pectin.  I was given my pectin apples for free because I only took the apples that had been damaged by hail, and only a few from each tree.

No Commercial Pectin Sour Cherry Jam
(Be sure to check out my newest no pectin sour cherry raspberry lime jam)
This is not a complicated recipe, I just have a lot of information on canning in the directions.

1200 grams pitted sour cherries (approximately 6 cups pitted and halved sour cherries)
700 grams granulated sugar (approximately 4 cups, really 3.65 but 4 cups will work)
4 small unripe, still green apples roughly chopped, core and all (approximately 2 cups)  If you don't have access to unripe apples use granny smith or crabapples
Juice of 1 small lemon (pits reserved, they are high in pectin as well)

Put the sour cherries lemon juice and sugar in a large non reactive pan.  Place the chopped apple and lemon pits in a giant tea ball or a muslin bag and add to the pot.  This makes it possible to remove the apple mush and lemon pits later.  Bring the mixture to a rolling boil while stirring and cook for 5 minutes, the sugar should all be dissolved and the apple pieces should start to soften a little.  Turn off the heat and cover with a pan lid and place in the fridge overnight, I usually refrigerate mine for at least 24 hours, but that is only because I do almost all of my canning at night.

The next day, or night, place two small white plates in the freezer to test the jam with, put the pot back on the stove and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, while prepping your jars, lids and canning pot.  You will need approximately 5 half pint jars, I always prep extras to be safe.*

Once the fruit is boiling stir constantly until the setting point is reached.  When you think your jam is set place a small amount on one of the plates in the freezer and place it back in the freezer for several minutes.  Test the dollop of jam by pushing it with your finger, if it wrinkles up it is gelled and you can can your jam.  The setting temperature for jam is around 220°, begin testing when the temperature is around 218° to 219°. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says the temperature test is the most dependable, however I have made syrup by relying only on temperature so I use both temperature and the clean plate test.

When your jam is sufficiently gelled remove the jars from the canning pot and fill the clean jars using a canning funnel.  Leave 1/4 inch headspace on the jars and clean the jar rims using a dampened paper towel before placing on the lid and tightening the screw on bands with your hands, before placing in the canning pot.  Bring the canning pot to a boil and boil hard for 5 minutes for sterilized jars and 10 for unsterilized jars (sterilizing jars can only happen in a boiling water canner,  not the oven or dishwasher).  Once the jars have boiled for the correct time turn off the heat and take off the  canner lid.  Allow to cool with the lid of for 5 minutes before using a jar lifter to remove the processed jars.  Place the jars on a towel, dish cloth or receiving blanket or a cooling rack, with at least 1 inch between jars.  Allow to cool completely, 12 to 24 hours.  Once cool take off the bands, test the seal by pushing up on the lid with your thumbs.  Any jars that have not sealed properly can be placed in the fridge.  Clean the top of the jars, label and store in a cool dry place.


*To prep your jars and lids, wash the jars and place in a caning pot on a canning rack with hot water to cover.  You now have 2 choices, you can bring the canning pot to a rolling boil and boil the jars for 10 minutes.  If you do this you only need to boil the filled jars for 5 minutes.  Alternatively you can bring the canning pot to 180°, with this option you will boil the filled jars for 10 minutes (this is what I do, it means less time heating the kitchen with a giant canning pot of boiling water).

Rhubarb Apricot Jam: Our New Favorite

When Sebastian was first eating "solid foods" all his favorites were orange. He realized this as well and started to look at the spoon as it came towards his mouth to check and make sure we were not trying to slip another color past him. He loved carrots, sweet potatoes and winter squash as well as the combination purees that included any of these foods. The only orange baby food he did not like was apricots.

However I continued to buy him apricots, feeding him sample bites of every new jar. Every jar of apricots I would open he would take a small taste make a face and demand a different orange food. Once Sebastian refused apricots again I would gleefully take the jar for myself. You didn't think I was buying all those jars because I was committed to him loving him apricots did you? You see I had discovered the first time he rejected the apricot puree that it was delicious, especially delicious in fact when spread on a slice of challah french toast. It was tart and sweet and balanced the eggy richness of the french toast.

Last week I created a new jam and it is just as good as the apricot puree was, actually it is even better. I combined dried California apricots with rhubarb from my garden. The rhubarb added a bright tartness, helping to make the apricot flavor more true. Some jams are mostly sweet, this one tastes of ripe fruit. Since first making it this jam has become the whole families favorite. The day after I made it I was compelled to bake challah so I could make french toast for breakfast. We all agreed it was perfect, a flavor combination we would not grow tired of, (after trying apricot puree so often as a baby Sebastian now loves apricots).

As the jam maker in my family for me it is truly perfect because of how easy it is to make. The rhubarb macerates overnight in the fridge with sugar and lemon juice while the chopped dried apricots soak in water. The next day (or night as I prefer to make jam when my boys are sleeping), The apricots and any remaining water are combined, brought up to a boil and then you immersion blend them. "Immersion blend" is Julian's verb for pureeing something using an immersion blender.

After immersion blending the hot mixture it is now ready to ladle into jars. The apricots do not fully hydrate when soaking so it becomes jam right away, no need to spend hours over a boiling pot worrying about whether you will have jam or syrup when you are done. Although I don't understand the problem if you accidentally make syrup. Fruit syrup can be drizzled on ice cream, waffles, pancakes, cake or really anywhere.

Rhubarb Apricot Jam

500 grams chopped rhubarb (about 4 cups chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces)

700 grams (3 cups) sugar

juice of 1 lemon

250 grams dried California apricots (about 2 cups chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces). Please only try this with California dried apricots, the regular ones really taste like noting when they are rehydrated

2 cups water (460 grams)

Chop the rhubarb and place in a non reactive pot large enough to make the jam in or a non reactive bowl. Add the sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Cover with pot lid or saran wrap and place in the fridge to allow the rhubarb to macerate at least overnight, I let mine sit 24 hours. Chop the dried apricots and place in a non reactive bowl with the 2 cups of water, cover with saran wrap and soak in the fridge as long as the rhubarb macerates.

Begin the next day by prepping your jars, lids and rings and heating the jars in your water bath canner. You can also just freeze the jam or seal by putting the hot jam in a jar and sealing. There is no risk of botulism with this jam as it is high in acid, however if you do not water bath can it there is a risk that it will mold and you will lose some of your work. I know I would hate to lose my jam mid winter so I use the water bath canning method.

Add the apricot and any remaining liquid in the bowl to the rhubarb in a preserving pan and bring to a boil. Once the jam comes up to a boil immersion blend the mixture until it is the consistency you want (I left some whole pieces of rhubarb and apricot in mine). If you do not have an immersion blender you can use a food processor or blender, just take care when pureeing the hot jam.

Ladle the hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace, wipe the jar lids with a damp cloth or paper towel and place on the lids and rings until fingertip tight. Place the filled jars in a boiling water bath canner filled with water at around 180°, make sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 to 2 inches. Place the canner cover on and heat on high until the water comes to a vigorous boil. Once boiling vigorously set the timer for 10 minutes for unsterilized jars and 5 for sterilized (to sterilize jars place in a boiling water bath canner with the water boiling for 10 minutes). The canner must remain covered for the entire time it is being processed, the heat can be lowered as long as the water in the canner continues to be at a full boil for the entire processing time.

Once the process time is complete turn off the heat, remove the lid and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing the jars. Remove the jars using a jar lifter to a counter that has a clean towel, cooling rack or receiving blanket placed on it. Make sure there is at least 1 inch between all the jars while cooling.

Traditional Strawberry Jam

This morning the boys and I went strawberry picking for what I guess will be the last time this summer. We went to a farm in Monkton which we were introduced to earlier in the season by friends. They have lambs, chickens, currants, strawberries etc and are really nice. The first time we went the owner told me to make sure the boys tried some of the berries in the field. Not a problem, my boys regularly eat Julian's birth weight when picking berries (Julian was 8 pounds 14 ounces when he was born, Sebastian was 6 weeks premature and only 5 pounds 10 ounces).

That first time we went we visited the bottle fed lambs and the chickens and the boys ran around pretending to play basketball in the court with friends. Everyone had a great time, although I got a shock on the electric fence around the baby lambs as I did not know about disabling it and I was happily taking photos. Today it was only me and the boys and they played together and grazed while I picked. Like that first time at the beginning of the season it was hard work picking. The boys are also a little "picked out" after being dragged out to the fields on several occasions. I'm hoping that in a week when we can start picking black currants they will rally. I tried one at the farm today and now my brain is buzzing with jam ideas.

As for the strawberries, I think I picked enough for the last batch of freezer jam I need as well as some to chop, measure and freeze for strawberry ice cream this year. However I have received several requests for my no pectin (or really no commercial pectin) traditional strawberry jam recipe. Many folks don't have enough freezer space for jam and so the traditional one is easier to store.

Strawberries are a low pectin fruit which makes it difficult to get jam to set. One trick is to have about 1/4 of the fruit you use be underripe. Unripe strawberries contain more pectin because as strawberries ripen they lose their pectin. Many folks just use commercial pectin to make strawberry jam. However with most types of commercial pectin you have to use more sugar then fruit. Which is why so many strawberry jams taste "red" and not of berries. While I am fine with using white sugar I would not feel good about feeding that much of it to my family. There is Pomona's pectin that does not require any sugar to set, many people love and swear by it. I however noticed a chalky texture when I tried Pomona's pectin. Some of my jam making friends also commented on a chalky texture when they tried it.

The other reason I don't like to use commercial pectin is how finicky it is. Commercial pectin often does not set correctly. Then you are left with runny jam. The runny jam can be "remade" by adding more pectin and cooking again. My understanding is often this results in a rubbery texture. Personally I would either label runny jam as syrup and use it on ice cream, pancakes, waffles etc or I would add the orange I use in this recipe and cook it again that way.

Because strawberries are so low in pectin and I did not want to use commercial pectin I decided to add some setting insurance in the form of an orange, peel and all to this recipe. Citrus fruits are very high in pectin, especially in the peels and pits. The tiny pieces of cooked peel ended up being really tasty, and the jam sets reliably.

As a note on safety, this jam should be processed in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes, or 5 if the jars had already been sterilized in boiling water for 10 minutes. Many folks don't water bath can their jams, insisting that they have always done it that way and been safe. Personally I have never been in a car accident but I still wear my seat belt. While botulism is not an issue for jam because it is high in acid the boiling water bath gives a tighter seal and kills mold spores. After all that work picking the fruit and making the jam I am not interested in losing the results to a seal failure or mold.

Traditional Strawberry Jam with Cointreau and Drambuie

6 cups roughly chopped strawberries (measure the 6 cups after chopping), About 1/4 not fully ripe

Juice from 1 juice orange, peels, pits and pulp reserved (chop half the peels and all the pulp finely and reserve, the other half and the pits should be placed in a tea ball or cheesecloth bag

3 cups white sugar

3 Tbsp Drambuie (optional)

1 Tbsp Cointreau (optional)

Place 2 small plates or saucers in the freezer to test the jam later. Put the chopped strawberries and all the other ingredients (including the bag or tea ball of pits and peel) in a 5 - 6 qt heavy saucepan at least 9 inches in diameter (a Maslin pan would be ideal. If you get one please send me one as well). Bring to a boil stirring constantly, if any foam forms on the top skim it off and either discard or place in a small bowl as a treat later. Cook until the jam is set, knowing when the jam is set is an art form. I use both temperature and the cold plate test to determine when my jam is done. When the jam reaches a temperature of 218° - 222° I take a dollop and place it on one of the plates in the freezer. Allow the jam to sit n the plate for 30 seconds to cool. If the jam on the plate has formed a skin that wrinkles when you push it the jam is set. If you don't have a candy thermometer you will have to test more often.

Ladle the hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top of the jar. Wipe the lids clean with a damp paper towel, use a plastic spatula or bubble remover to remove any air bubbles and screw on the lids and bands. Process the jam in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes for unsterilized jars and for 5 minutes for jars that have been sterilized in the boiling water bath empty for 10 minutes. After the jam has been boiling for the correct length of time turn off the heat and remove the lid, wait 5 minutes before removing the jars from the canner.

If this is your first time making jam, welcome to a new addiction, um... hobby. Also check out the processing guidelines here. Now that you are happily making jam and want more recipes check out the jam swap on Under the Highchair. I am sure there will be enough there for all of us to be chained to our stoves next summer.