Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

Earlier this summer, we decided to experiment a bit with rhubarb-strawberry jam.  We were not sure of the correct ratio of those two fruits and started out using twice as many strawberries as rhubarb, plus lemon juice.  The trick was to know how much total fruit to use in order to get a nicely set jam. 

After the initial runny batch, which had the consistency of apple butter, we reduced the amount of fruit by a cup, and ended up with a soft jam, slightly tart, but nicely balanced with the sweetness of strawberries.

Here is our recipe for strawberry-rhubarb jam:

• 1 and 3/4 cups of cooked rhubarb (chopped cleaned rhubarb is heated with very little water and cooked until soft)
• 3 and 1/2 cup of mashed strawberries (can use fresh, we used frozen "chunky" puree) 
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 cups of sugar
• 1 packet of low-sugar SureJell  

We followed the SureJell instructions for cooked jam.  Measure the sugar and use 1/4 cup of this to mix in with the Sure.Jell powder.  Place all the measured fruit into a large pot, add the sugar/Sure.Jell mix to the fruit and bring it to a full boil (one that cannot be stirred down).  Make sure that the sugar mixture is blended in and that there are no clumps.  When the fruit reaches a full boil, add the remaining sugar and return to a full boil.  Once the full boiling point is reached, boil for exactly 1 minute.

Pour hot jam into prepared jelly jars, wipe rims, adjust lids and place filled jars in a water bath, bring to boil and boil for 10 minutes.  Remove jars and let cool overnight before removing rings

This sized batch made 4 pint sized jars of jam.