Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers.

I have a question for all of you - if you care to answer. Does a woman become a mother just by giving birth to a baby? In my opinion, no. Giving birth to a baby meant you got enrolled in the school to become a mother. I am one of those people who think that you don't have to give birth to a baby to become a mother. You become a mother by caring for someone, taking charge of the situation and by being there when needed.  Just my opinion.

This marks 500th post of mine on this blog. In about year and a half, I have written 500 posts. Don't know whether to be happy about it or not.

This is the first time I am working with rhubarb. They are so tangy that I almost feared I would end up dumping a lot more sugar than what I did. This jam had a perfect balance of sweet and tart taste.

One year back - Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls with apple butter
Ingredients:
Strawberries - chopped and measure 3 cups (I used a bit less than a pint)
Rhubarb - chopped and measured 2 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups or more per taste (If your strawberries are bland, you might need more sugar. Start with 1 cup and adjust towards the end)
Water - 1/2 cup

Method:
In a thick bottomed saucepan, take all the ingredients. Stir and set it on heat. Sugar will melt, strawberries and rhubarb will release their juices and become mushy. It will start bubbling and almost flowing over the pot. Stir and keep an eye on it. You don't have to be constantly stirring it.

Keep a stainless steel plate in the freezer. This is to check for the doneness of the jam. When it starts thickening, take the plate out of the freezer and drop couple of drops of the jam. Tilt and move the plate so that the jam spreads. If it doesn't spread too much and when you take it out of the plate feels like the jam, it is ready. Another test is to take the jam in a spoon. If it coats the back of the spoon, it is ready. If you have a candy thermometer, check the temperature and it should read 210 F. Funny thing is I checked using all the three methods to make sure it is set correctly. When the jam is ready, turn it off and let it cool. You can pour into jars and either refrigerate or can. I just refrigerated mine.


Enjoy.