Canning - Rhubarb Round One

I love rhubarb. I made a rhubarb pie last weekend and I just couldn't get enough of it! So it shall become the first bounty of the season to be transformed. To this end, I bought around $30 worth of rhubarb from the Farmer's Market.

By the end of the day I had made three batches and the whole kitchen was spotted with blobs of rhubarb jam. Even my shoes were polka-dotted.

All three batches were based on recipes from Bernardin Guide to Home Preserving. I've written out the actual ingredients that I used in each batch, rather than the official recipe so that I can learn from my choices.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam (Batch One)

• 2 cups strawberries (I used the frozen sliced strawberries - I wouldn't usually use frozen fruit, but I'm simultaneously trying to empty my chest freezer by June 10)
• 2 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice
• 5 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 package Certo pectin

I boiled the ingredients hard for 1 minute and processed them for 10 minutes in a water bath. Early tasting tells me this jam will be too sweet for my tastes. It made 3 x 500 ml jars of jam.

Gingered Citrus Rhubarb Jam (Batch Two)

• 8 cups rhubarb
• Grated peel and juice of 2 oranges
• Grated peel and juice of 1 lime
• 5 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root

I boiled the ingredients for about 18 minutes before it thickened so much I was convinced it would scorch if I waited any longer. I did try a gel test, but I am not really sure what it is supposed to look like. I processed them for 10 minutes in a water bath. It was tasty off the spoon. It made 2 x 500 ml jars and 1 x 238 ml jar.

Gingered Citrus Rhubarb Jam (Batch Three)
The ingredients were the same as above, except I used only one orange and added an extra lime to make up for it. I used the same process, but this time I did manage to scorch it a little, but it seemed okay. Something must have been different though, because it made 3 x 500 ml jars and 1 x 238 ml jar.