Saving summer as fast as I can

The past few weekends, I've had the miraculous luck of finding rhubarb at the South Anchorage Farmers Market. It must be a magical, fairy variety as all of my friends swear the season ended early this year. No matter! I found it and after the first rhubarb crisp that I ended up eating by mysef, I realized some sort of preservation was needed.

I was raised on Strawberry-Rhubarb pie. I think my mom just might have invented the combination sometime back in the 80s (ha! I kid!), but she had the chemistry down. It always seemed heavy on the tart rhubarb, easy on the strawberries, and light on the sugar. (My mom, to this day, is the anti-sugar queen. Rightfully so, I suppose.)

I searched and scoured, scoured and searched and took parts of this recipe and parts of that one (a no-no for first time jam makers, I'm sure) and in the end, at the bottom of my notes and scrawled out measurements, I came up with the recipe I'll share below.

I was not going to be satisfied with some sort of freezer jam, though I need to say upfront that I have never had a freezer jam, nor do I know what it really means. I just knew I wanted to go old fashioned with my jam making and can the things. I bought my Ball pint-sized jars. I boiled them, the lids, the screw tops...the whole nine yards.

I dusted off the ol' Dutch Oven for the fruit simmering. A side note: I love, love, love my Dutch oven. No, seriously. I feel all Paula Deen or Ina Garten-esque when I get a chance to pull it out and it doesn't crash down on my head in a blaze of escaping-pots-and-pans glory. Something so sexy and grown up about a Dutch Oven.

So with jars sanitized and in place, I cut the fruit and followed the following recipe. (This was altered and adjusted by me, based on a few I found around the Internet. I used a lot less sugar than called for. And a lot more rhubarb than strawberries. But that's just how I like it. Feel free to alter yours to suit your family's taste.)

Rhubarb Strawberry Jam (notice the clever inversion? not an accident, I assure you.)

4 c. rhubarb, cleaned and chopped
2 c. strawberries, hulled and chopped
3.5-4 c. granulated sugar (recipe calls for 5, and I thought that was too much)
1 envelope pectin (I used Kerr's)

I combined the fruit over high heat and when the juices started to release, I added the sugar and the pectin. I simmered this for 10 minutes and took my potato masher and smooshed up the rhubarb a little more as the cooked.

Note: Do not get impatient and "test" your delicous, fruity rhubarb lava. I did and STILL have the burned spot on my tongue!

At this point, you should have a funnel. I did not and I used a large serving spoon to "persuade" the rhubarb lava into the pint jars. Cover with the lids and the screw tops and boil in a water bath for ten minutes.

You'll get that satisfying "pop" sound that denotes canning success after then 10-minute bath. So don't over bathe!

I couldn't resist very long and opened one of the five jars I made. It was fantastic. In the past week, I've given away three of those precious commodities and the reports have all been positive.

Next canning adventure? (Because I have five jars just begging for their own water bath!) Blueberry Ginger Jam.


Bon appetit...