Classic American Jams; Rhubarb

The New Making of a Cook The Art, Techniques, and Science of Good Cooking by Madeleine Kamman
Cookbook 31, Recipe 2 (Total 65)

Tabitha's rules for making jam:
1. Always wear shoes. After burning the tops of my feet with scalding drops of water, I now wear shoes at all times when making jam.
2. Never use fruit that is over ripe or going bad - never "cut around the bad parts".
3. Try to use approximately 5-8% under ripe fruit - it has more pectin.
4. Sanitize tongs, ladle and funnel by boiling for 10 minutes (do this between each batch of jam as well).
5. Jar prep: Wash in hot soapy water. Boil for 10 minutes and transfer to a towel with (boiled) tongs. Dry upright and do not touch the rims.
6. Have a minimum of six clean kitchen towels at the ready - loop one through a belt loop on your pants - very helpful.
7. Limit the fruit included in each batch of jam to 2.5lbs or less.
8. When possible make more than one batch - once your set up you may as well crank it out!
9. Don't forget to wear shoes.

Eppie is getting married in September (YEA!) and asked me to make rhubarb jam for wedding favors. I processed four batches of jam with a total of 10.5 lbs of rhubarb. Unfortunately I'm a little short with 28 8oz jars, I'll make more another weekend.

Original Recipe: "in the making of classic American fruit jams, you use only 3/4 pound of sugar for each pound of ready-to-cook fruit."

Tabitha's Recipe:
Chop 1000 grams of rhubarb in 1/4 inch slices - place in the food processor for 3 5second pulses. You will end up with nicely shredded rhubarb. Alternately layer rhubarb with 800 grams of sugar. Set on the counter overnight. Place rhubarb into a preserving pan with 1 split vanilla bean and 2T lemon juice. Boil until thick and ready (see apricot jam recipe for doneness details). Ladle into jars and process in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Below are the results of my successful canning weekend. I've detailed the two apricot recipes as well as the rhubarb. The other jam is gooseberry. I found gooseberries at the St. Paul Farmers market this weekend and decided to try them out. They have an unusual taste - take the flavor and tartness of cranberries and add the earthiness of a fresh fig.

How to "Ladle into jars"
I have a very handy 1 cup ladle with a long metal neck. I boil this for 10 minutes along with the metal funnel. Use these to ladle the jam into sterilized jars. Moisten a clean kitchen towel with boiling water - use this to wipe the rims of each jar. Place the jar lids into a pan and cover with boiling water. When the rims have been whiped - dry a lid and place carefully on top - avoid touching the lid with your fingers - secure with a screw top.