I make a lot of jam. I don’t eat a lot of it but I love turning abundant seasonal produce into jars that keep for months to come. I used to make a lot of chutney too but that seems to have been put on the back burner since neighbour Barb’s feijoa tree appeared to have died this year.
This jam is kind of an ode to the passage of time and changing of seasons. It expresses the baton passing from Spring to Summer. Rhubarb is just about to leave its prime and strawberries are only just picking up speed for the season.
This jam on a piece of toast with butter tastes like a pikelet. The vanilla floats around your senses in the same way the aroma of a fresh pikelet might when smothered in jam. This jam converts any piece of toast into a nostalgic journey (only if of course your childhood was filled with jam smothered pikelets. Apologies if it was not).
I’d like to say I labour over kilos of strawberries, carefully hulling each and every one of them while basking in the sunshine on my front porch but truth be told I use a big old bag of frozen ones all pre hulled and ready to go. I recommend this method as nobody has time to hull that many strawberries.
As we are entering the season of edible gifts I figure this is a good recipe to share. Some are intimidated by jam making and there are lots of recipes out there that call for all sorts of ingredients with bizarre ratios and faff. In all of my jam making I follow the guidelines of the almighty Edmonds Cookbook. It is one of the OG bibles of home economics and should not be brushed over as it is good source of sound instruction. Edmonds preaches a simple rule for strawberry jam; for every gram of fruit add a gram of sugar. It may seem like a lot of sugar but by using a half and half ratio you are guaranteed a solid shelf life. As soon as you reduce the sugar content you mess with the water activity and the natural preservation powers of sugar. Long story short you end up giving someone the gift of mould. Might I remind you that no one ever ate jam as a health food anyway. Also because strawberries contain very little pectin the jam won’t thicken in the way you might be used to but that is perfectly fine. If you do want a thick-set jam you can use a special jam setting sugar found in the supermarket’s sugar section.
The second golden rule for jam making is to properly sterilise your jars. I like to rinse my clean jars and lids with water then place them on an oven rack and bring the oven up to 150 degrees Celsius where I leave them there for at least 15 minutes. If you’re on a massive jam-making spree and don’t fancy scrubbing endless labels off jars then you can buy some brand new jars from a place like Arthur Holmes.
Rhubarb, Strawberry, and Vanilla Bean Jam
Makes around 6 regular jars
1kg of hulled strawberries (fresh or frozen)
400-500g of rhubarb
1.4-1.5kg white sugar
1 heaped teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Clean jars
Start by weighing out your rhubarb and strawberries. Remember the exact weight for when you weigh out the sugar. Place the fruit in a large pot or jam pan and bring to a simmer.
Weigh out an equal amount of sugar and slowly pour that into the simmering fruit, stirring as you go. Bring the jam to a gentle simmer and let it bubble away for 40 minutes being careful to stir every so often as to not to let it boil over or catch on the bottom.
While the jam is simmering, sterilise your jars. Rinse them with clean water and line them up on an oven rack. Bring the oven up to 150 degrees Celsius. Once at temperature leave for at least 15 minutes.
Just before you bottle up the jam quickly stir through the vanilla bean paste.
Remove the jars from the oven as you need them, using a pair of tongs. It helps to place the hot jar on a plate so you can easily handle it and bring it closer to the pot. Ladle in the hot jam then wipe the jar rim clean with a clean damp cloth. Screw on the lid, it helps to hold both the jar and the lid in a clean, dry tea towel for this bit. Repeat until all the jam has been bottled. Leave to cool on the bench before washing the jars clean of any spillage.
Label with the contents and date of making. Store in a cool dark place where it should keep unopened for a year or more.
Enjoy x