Round the Table

I had such high hopes. When I bought the strawberries and told the vendor at the farmers’ market that I was making jam, he said, “Good timing. Next month will be too late – the weather’s changing and the berries won’t be as sweet then.” He also gave me a deal. Farmers seem to have a literal sweet-spot for jam makers. That’s the second time it’s happened to me this summer!

Then I picked up the rhubarb from the grocery store, since it is way too late for that at the farmers’ market. I needed rhubarb, because I despise strawberry jam. It’s that too, too sticky sweet thing again. Fresh strawberries are to die for, but add sugar and then cook them? You must be kidding me.

So I was going to make strawberry rhubarb jam. Because earlier in the year, while making a rhubarb pie for my mid-western sweetheart, I had tried this sauce recipe with the leftover rhubarb. And I just could not stop eating it! In spite of the fact that it had strawberries and sugar in it, and then it was cooked!

Clearly rhubarb was my key to all things strawberry. So home I went, practically whistling a cooked strawberry tune. (?????)

I found this recipe by a fellow Bay area blogger and went to work. The recipe seemed perfect for me, since it used no pectin and less than the normal amount of sugar. I was a little concerned about the long cooking time, but figured I would just cook it less. I also added an extra 1/2 cup sugar, because he used so little, even for me.

I was also worried that because rhubarb has little natural pectin and strawberries have even less, the jam would never set. So I let the strawberry, rhubarb, lemon, and sugar mixture set for 2 hours, hoping this would help release the pectin into the juice. Then I began cooking it.

And cooking it. And cooking it some more. At 35 minutes, it was still too thin. At 45 minutes, I feared it was still too thin. At about an hour and 5 minutes, I deemed it as ready as it would get. Yes, it set up. Yes, it’s edible. Yes, it’s infinitely more to my taste than plain old strawberry jam. But it’s not spectacular. And, darn it, what’s the point of making jam at home if it’s not spectacular, I ask?

So I folded some into whipped cream. That helped. How could it not? That will be just divine, filling a chocolate biscuit roulade. See how I have to speak, just to console myself about this? I could have simply said filling a chocolate cake roll, but no, not today. Not when my hopes are as crushed as the strawberries in my jam.

Next spring, I have promised myself, I will make spectacular strawberry rhubarb jam. I will make it by using the proportions in the sauce recipe I loved so much. In other words, I will use way more rhubarb in order to make my jam. I’ll keep you posted.