See, all the major players in this post - the strawberries and rhubarb in the jam, and the bread in the photo - were all given to me. The strawberries and the homemade whole wheat bread are from my generous mother-in-law, and the rhubarb was a gift from one of husband's co-workers (those Rhubarb Pie Cupcakes I sent him to work with must have been ok :p).
The other "invisible" key player in this post is the food science lesson I learned thanks to Christina over at Form V Artisan. She has a couple of posts where she generously explained the science behind making strawberry jam - all about negatively charged pectin and candy thermometers - the whole bit. So I took what I learned from her and applied it to my own jam concoction, and I have to say, it worked out just as she said it would!
So you see, all you need sometimes to be inspired to get in the kitchen is the generosity of others!
Now on to the recipe - it was my first attempt ever at homemade jam... I usually leave the jam making to my aunt who generously brings some to Newfoundland for me each summer. But I decided I am a big girl now and it is time to figure out how to do it myself. The jam has a great texture - thick, smooth, and sticky :) Husband would have liked some more fruit chunks, but what can I say, I like smooth jam so I mashed away at the fruit while it was cooking :) There is a touch too much cinnamon so next time (yes, there will be a next time) I will add maybe just half. And oddly enough, the one little apple I added for extra pectin packed a lot of punch. Next time maybe just half an apple.
So there you have it - my first ever homemade jam! Hope you enjoy :)
Ingredients
2 2/3 cups rhubarb, chopped (if frozen, let thaw first)
1 cup strawberries, chopped (if frozen, let thaw first)
1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 1/3 cup sugar (don't skimp! see this post)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Steps
-Add rhubarb, strawberries, and apple to a large pot and put over medium heat. Stir occasionally until some liquid has been released (3-5 minutes).
-Add sugar and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Let boil for 3 minutes, then add lemon juice.
-If you have a candy thermometer, attach it to your pot and continue to boil, stirring occasionally until you get to 220F. (If you do not have a candy thermometer, continue to boil, stirring occasionally until mixture is thick and resembles syrup - about 15-20 minutes. You will see the bottom of the pan as you stir.)
-Transfer to sterilized jar(s) and let cool completely before refrigerating.
*I got two small jars of jam, which would be about one large jar. If you double, triple, quadruple, etc this recipe be sure to do so precisely.
