Organic Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

I love the strawberry and rhubarb combination.  The tang of the rhubarb mixed with the sweet berries is just a great flavor.  When I found this recipe from the Williams-Sonoma cookbook called "The Art of Preserving" by Rick Fields and Rebecca Courchesne, I knew that this was the best way to can the flavors of summer's sweet fruits.  This jam can be used the same way you use any other jam; my favorite way is on a warm English muffin.  This recipe takes about 9 hours to make but it is not active time; the mixture must sit in the fridge for that amount of time.  The active time is less than an hour.  I made this recipe using organic ingredients - the berries from my garden, the rhubarb from Sang Lee Farm, organic sugar purchased at Costco, and lemons and oranges from Whole Foods.  Use conventional or organic ingredients but no matter what, make this jam.

Ingredients:
2 oranges, organic blood oranges preferred
1 1/2 -2 lbs rhubarb, cut into 1/2 pieces, about 6 cups
3 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced, organic preferred
4 cups sugar, organic preferred
1/2 cups lemon juice, fresh and organic preferred

Here's how:

Cut the ends off each orange.  Cut each orange in half cross-wise and remove the seeds.

The insides of a blood orange.  The name is self-explanatory.

Place the orange halves in the bowl of a food processor and process until roughly pureed.

Place the orange puree to a bowl.   Add the rhubarb, strawberries, and sugar and toss to combine.

Berries, rhubarb, sugar and oranges all in

Ingredients all mixed in

Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight or at least eight hours.

This is what the mixture looks like after 8 hours.

The next day or eight hours later, prepare your sterilized jars and water canner.

Transfer the mixture to a large saucepan and add the lemon juice.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce to medium heat and cook for 10-25 minutes.  (I had to cook mine for 25 minutes.  Use the frozen plate test to test.)

Jam is ready for jars

Ladle the hot jam into prepared jars leaving 1/4 inch head space.  Make sure the rims are clean before putting on a lid.  Place on the lid and screw tops.

Process the jars for 10 minutes in a water bath.

Jars processing

Remove the jars and let cool for a day and then store. The jars can be stored for up to one year.