Jam-making: Summer Strawberry-Rhubarb

This summer, I’m determined to do plenty of berry-picking. Berry-picking has always seemed like a cornerstone of summer to me, along with the obvious result: jam.

I love jam. In particular, I love strawberry-rhubarb jam, which is nearly impossible to find in the supermarket. And so when strawberry season rolled around, I was ready. In fact, I’d been getting ready in my mind for months, since before the snow was off the ground. I even went to the neighborhood hardware store in early March and picked up a copy of the Ball Blue Book, the grandmother of guides to canning and preserving.

“June equals strawberries equals jam,” I chanted internally, over and over. I think I was afraid that busy June would go flashing by with its usual flurry of weddings, family reunions, and potential camping trips, and I would wake up one morning and discover it was July, that I’d missed strawberry season altogether, and that I would have to live out another year with no strawberry-rhubarb jam in the pantry.

I got hung up on strawberry-rhubarb jam as a little girl. My maternal grandmother, who was a typical farmhouse cook, made it every summer I can remember. I used to sneak spoonfuls from the jar in the refrigerator when she wasn’t looking – it was just so good, I couldn’t resist. And there was nothing more wonderful than a thick slice of my grandmother’s homemade bread, fresh and still warm from the oven, slathered with butter and her strawberry-rhubarb jam.

As well, jam is a great way to preserve the fruit harvest, and is one way our ancestors kept fruit available during the fall and winter before there were freezers. So much better than buying strawberries from California in January, right?

So last Friday, I called up Eli’s sister Heather and my longtime friend Melissa, and said, “Hey, do you want to go strawberry picking tomorrow? I want to make jam.”

Saturday was typical of mid-June: hot sun, cloudless blue sky, not much breeze. I’d noticed a small strawberry farm not far from Heather’s house, and so Heth, Mel, Mel’s two daughters Mary and Zoe, and my twelve-year-old sister Amanda and I met up and caravanned over to the berry farm. One hour and about 24 quarts of berries later, we loaded up our vehicles. We had paid a mere two dollars a quart to pick our own berries – half the price of the same berries at the farmers’ market.

Heather said she’d never made jam before, and would like to try, so I suggested we combine berries, supplies, and efforts. A few hours later, after a trip to my house for canning materials and the pile of rhubarb I’d bought that morning at the farmers’ market, we set up shop in her kitchen.

Jam-making isn’t difficult. In fact, if you’ve never canned anything before, jam is probably a good place to begin. You can make jam out of just about any berry or stone fruit (peaches, plums, apricots), and none of them take much prep.

Heather and I took turns washing and hulling berries, cooking the jam, and minding the boiling water canner. A few hours later, Heth’s countertop was covered by row upon row of shining mason jars, filled with glowing, ruby-colored jam. We had used all our jars and still had some jam left over, so we sent the guys to the store for vanilla ice cream, and ate what was left, still warm, on ice cream. It tasted like summer – sweet and succulent. Then we divided the fruits of our labors, and I headed home with a milk crate overflowing with jam jars in the back of my car.

Unfortunately, my supply is already dwindling, and I fear my precious strawberry-rhubarb jam will be gone well before strawberry season arrives again. I guess that means that next year, I’ll be picking twice as many berries.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

Equipment, available at your local hardware, supermarket, or garage sale:
5-quart saucepan
Boiling water canner, or a pot deep enough for water to cover pint-size mason jars by about two inches
Canning funnel (wide-mouthed, the right size to fit inside the mouth of a standard mason jar)
Jar lifting tongs (these are invaluable)
Mixer or potato masher
6 pint-size mason jars, with new lids and screw-on rings (rings can be used), or 12 half-pints

Ingredients:
4 cups strawberries, washed, hulled (stems and leaves and the area around them cut away)
4 cups rhubarb, washed, ends trimmed, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 packages powdered pectin (available wherever the canning supplies are shelved)
1/2 cup lemon juice
11 cups sugar

Rinse jars, lids, and rings in boiling water, or rinse in the dishwasher to sterilize. Set aside.

Fill boiling water canner 2/3 full of water and place on the stove over high heat. When water starts to simmer (tiny air bubbles will form on the bottom and sides of the pot), reduce the heat enough to keep water at a simmer until you are ready to put the jars in.

Using your mixer or potato masher, crush the berries until they are in small pieces and much of the juice is released. Combine with the rhubarb, pectin, and lemon juice in the 5-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring slowly and constantly. Add the sugar, continuing to stir until dissolved. Bring to a full, rolling boil, and continue to boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat, and skim off any foam that has risen to the top of the jam.

Using your funnel, ladle jam into jars, filling only to the bottom of the rings (this leaves about 1/4 inch of “headspace,” which is necessary for the jars to seal properly. Wipe away any jam that may have gotten on the rims of the jars. Place lids on top, rubber seal side down, and screw on rings. Using jar lifting tongs, gently place jars in boiling water canner right side up. If water level gets too high, use a cup to bail out some of the water until you have about two inches of water above the tops of the jars.

Increase heat until water reaches a boil, and continue to boil 10 minutes. Reduce heat, and use tongs to remove jars from canner. Set aside to cool. You may hear lids pop as they seal – all lids should seal tightly and should not “bubble” when pressed. Any jars that do not seal should be refrigerated, and that jam should be eaten up within a few weeks.

Sealed jars will keep for months. Store in a cool, dry place. Refrigerate after opening, and use within a few weeks.