It's Canning Time!
It's rhubarb time! This is the time of the summer when every rhubarb plant (except the one in my backyard) go crazy and produce huge, juicy stalks of tangy, sour goodness.
Canning season is in full swing at my house, so when my friend offered me two garbage bags full of rhubarb from her garden, I immediately went to work chopping it for jam.
To my chagrin, I couldn't find a jam that successfully captured the tart and tangy flavor that I was craving. We do Strawberry Rhubarb Jam every year for my oldest son (It's his favorite.) and I often keep some frozen for pies and crisps, but I wanted something that didn't dilute the rhubarb with sweetness and overpower its natural flavor.
I looked all over the internet, swearing I had seen a lemon rhubarb jam recipe, but with no luck.
So, I rubbed my hands together and put my canning skills to the test. I wrote a new recipe of my own.
SHOCK! GASP!
I thought for sure it would be a flop, but after two batches, and LOTS of taste-testing, I'm proud to present Citrus Rhubarb Jam! YAY!
Tart and Tangy Citrus Rhubarb Jam
6 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
Juice and peels of 5 lemons
Juice and peels of 2 oranges
4 cups sugar
7 1/2 tbsp Pectin
2 tsp butter (to prevent foaming)
Use a serrated vegetable peeler to peel citrus fruits. Do not use a zester or a straight edge vegetable peeler.
Once your peels are in a nice pile, chop them up a little finer, to your liking. I didn't want huge slabs of orange peel in my jam, but I like some pieces in it for texture. I chop mine to about 1/2 inch pieces.
Boil fruit, peels, juice, and sugar in a big pot. Once it comes to a boil, add butter and pectin. Bring back to boil and hard boil for 60 seconds. Turn off heat.
Put in jelly jars and process 10 minutes in water bath canner.
Makes 9-10 jars.
