Farm Fresh: 1st Delivery
I hope you read all about my introduction to the Lancaster CSA. Below is the yummy Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam recipe I tried out using my fresh ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cup sugar (I think next time I will try just 2 cups)
- 3 large stalks of rhubarb
- 2 cups halved strawberries
- Fresh lemon juice
Instructions:
- Carefully, and thoroughly, wash the strawberries. Farm fresh strawberries need a little more attention than the store bought “picture perfect” berries. There will be more bumps and bruises on these berries and more dirt too! But be gentle!
- Then wash the rhubarb stalks under cold water. Again, making sure to thoroughly clean off any dirt.
- Cut your strawberries and place them in a saucepan. You can cut in halves or quarters.
- Dry the rhubarb, chop off the ends, and throw them away. Then continue to chop the remainder of the stalks and add the cut up pieces to the same saucepan as the strawberries.
- Add 2 1/4 cups of sugar to the pot and about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Heat the mixture over medium heat until it all starts to bubble.
- Then reduce the heat to medium low.
- Stir occasionally to prevent burning and sticking.
- Cook the jam for about an hour or until it thickens.
- Transfer the hot jam into mason jars and let it cool uncovered.
I didn’t go through the whole canning and preserving process, so my jam will be good to eat for up to two weeks in the refrigerator or a little longer. You can find easy instructions for canning online if you want to give that a try!
And, if you’ve never cooked or baked with rhubarb before like me, I suggest doing some reading/research before you start. The leaves of rhubarb are toxic if consumed so it’s definitely important to familiarize yourself with new produce before you start to cook or bake! This video goes over some of the basics.
