Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

This is the Jam that friends of QD may recognize in their Christmas packages, unless it's already been eaten by our husbands!

The recipe is slightly adapted from The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving. I grabbed all of the preserving books at my local branch of the library, and I particularly liked this one for it's approachability. The recipes have proved tasty, too.

The jam takes at least 32 hours, so plan ahead. The long resting times allow the pectin in the strawberries to develop without excessive cooking so the beautiful red color of the fruit is maintained.

4 cups halved or quartered (depending on size) firm strawberries
2 cups finely chopped red rhubarb
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup bottled lemon juice

1. Mix berries, rhubarb and sugar in a non-reactive (stainless steel or enamel) pot and let stand for 8 hours, stirring occasionally.

2. Bring fruit and sugar to a boil over medium heat. Add lemon juice and return to a boil without adjusting heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 24 hours.

3. Bring fruit mixture to a rapid boil over high heat and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and test for gel formation. Continue boiling at 3-5 minute intervals until mixture forms a gel. **

4. Once the mixture forms a gel, process in sterilized jars in hot water.

Makes 2 to 3 pints.

** To test for gel formation, have a plate chilling in the freezer while you cook the jam. Remove the plate and place a spoonful of hot jam onto it. Return it to the freezer for 2 minutes. If the jam moves slowly across the plate when you tilt the plate to one side and/or wrinkles when you press your finger into the edge of the spoonful of jam, then the mixture has cooked enough.