Small Batch Rhubarb and Ginger Jam

I didn't really plan it this way, but May is shaping up to be rhubarb month here at Apt. 2B so I hope you'll forgive me for another (few) rhubarb recipe(s). Today, I am sharing my favorite, very simple rhubarb preserve. I usually make this a few times throughout the season to enjoy stirred into my morning yogurt, but I always end up eating a lot of it straight from a spoon. The natural sweetness of vanilla is the perfect match for rhubarb's natural tartness and the heat from a bit of fresh ginger livens up the whole mess. Most rhubarb jam recipes call for equal parts rhubarb and sugar, but I really enjoy the tart pucker of rhubarb so I cut the sugar down to almost half of that amount. Feel free to add a bit more if you like things on the sweeter side.

Small Batch Rhubarb and Ginger Jam
yield, about 16 ounces 


1lb rhubarb stalks
7 ounces sugar
2'' piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated finely
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
juice of one lemon

1. Chop the rhubarb into 1/2'' pieces and place it in a bowl. Add the sugar, grated ginger, vanilla bean seeds and pod, and lemon juice. Stir to combine well, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the mixture rest for 4 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
2. After a bit of rest the rhubarb mixture should be nice and juicy. Transfer the mixture to a non reactive pan and cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until the jam begins to boil and the rhubarb starts to break down.
3. Raise the heat to high and boil for 10-15 minutes or until set, being careful not to let the bottom scorch. Begin checking the jam for doneness at about 10 minutes. I generally use the wrinkle test to check for doneness with this type of jam, but if you like numbers you can cook it to 220ºF.
4. Remove the vanilla pod and save it for another use.Transfer the jam to clean jars and store in the refrigerator for a few weeks. Alternately, process the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes for shelf stable jam.

Summer's End Jam

As summer draws to close I am left thinking about all of the things that I haven't yet checked off of my summer to-do list. There was not nearly enough barbecuing on friend's rooftops, I haven't made it to Governor's Island or watched an outdoor movie and I still have that bag of tart cherries in the freezer, just waiting to be made into pie. Usually, this would send me into a bit of a panic, but instead of feeling like I am fighting the clock, I am just going to enjoy these last few weeks of summer. My best pal from Seattle is in town and we are going to take advantage of these last warm days and nights together walking around and eating ice cream and I am going to do my best to preserve all of my favorite summer flavors before the pumpkins roll in.

Summer's End Jam
yield, 4-6 half pints of finished jam
2 1/2 lbs (40oz) mixed berries (I used 24oz blueberries, 8oz blackberries, and 8oz raspberries)
1 1/4 lbs (20oz) sugar
juice of 2 large lemons
4-6 sterilized half pint canning jars and lids

1. In a large bowl, use a potato masher to mash the berries to a pulp, leaving a few larger pieces for texture. Add the pulp to a canning pot, along with the sugar.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. As the jam comes to a boil, skim the foam that rises to the top of the pot and discard.
3. Boil the jam over medium high heat, stirring often and being careful not to let the bottom scorch until set, 25-30min, remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. I generally use the wrinkle test to check for doneness with this type of jam, but if you like numbers you can cook it to 220ºF.
4. Pour the jam into sterilized jars, then process in a boiling water bath for 10min.

Apricot Jam with Saffron and Rose

You know how some people hide money in their mattresses, I'm pretty sure my Dad does that with saffron. There is a running joke in my family that he has a secret bounty worth millions stashed away. He won't tell anyone where it is or how much he has, but whenever we are running low he always seems to have more. I know it is a big time luxury to have a seemingly endless supply of the world's most expensive spice so I try to only use my stash on special occasions and this jam is totally worth it. I usually gravitate towards simple jams, just fruit, sugar, lemon juice and maybe a bit of Pomona's if I am making jelly, but I am trying to step up my jamming this season so I pulled out the big guns. Saffron and rose are a common paring in Middle Eastern desserts so to honor my Pops and his generous, spicy spirit I put them together with some rosy cheeked apricots and made some fancy jam.

Apricot Jam with Saffron and Rose
Inspired by The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
yield, roughly 2 pints jam

2lbs apricots (weight after removing the pits)
14oz sugar ( I used vanilla sugar, but it's not necessary)
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of saffron threads
1/4t-1t rose water, depending on your taste

1. Dump the pitted apricots and sugar into your canning pot and mash with a potato masher or fork, or your clean hands if you feel like it. Don't worry about making the pieces uniform in size, just mash them well.

2. In a small mortar and pestle combine the saffron threads with a pinch of sugar and grind. The abrasive quality of the sugar will help to break up the saffron. Set this to the side and get jamming.

3. Over medium high heat, bring the apricots and sugar to a boil. The jam will cook very quickly, so stir constantly with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching the bottom. If any foam appears on the surface of your jam just skim it off, I didn't have to do this.

4. After about 10 minutes, check the jam for doneness. It should be thick and will spatter like hot lava, so watch your hands!

5. When done, take the pan off of the heat and stir in the saffron sugar mixture, rose water and lemon juice. Pour into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 min.

Hot tip from Food in Jars: just pull the apricots in half with your fingers to remove the pits. Easy!!
Be careful with the rose water, it is VERY strong. No one wants jam that tastes like perfume.

I entered this jam in the Can You Can It? contest over at Garden of Eating, you guys should enter something too!

Tart Cherry Jam

It's not very nice of me to post a tart cherry recipe seeing as their cruelly short season is pretty much over, but I just love tart cherries so much. So much that I blew a good chunk of my grocery budget on tart cherries a few weeks ago. Some girls like shoes but me, I like expensive produce, sue me. Their bright tart flavor makes them the perfect fruit for jamming and baking. This year I made this batch of jam which I will carefully ration until next year (wishful thinking) and I froze a few quarts so I can bake up a cherry pie the next time someone invites me over to dinner. Maybe I'll bring some homemade ice cream too, any takers?

Tart Cherry Jam
Adapted from David Lebovitz and The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
yield, about 5 half pint jars

4lbs pitted tart cherries, pits reserved
2 1/4 lbs sugar
1/3c freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Place the cherry pits on a hard surface (like the floor) in between two old towels and gently tap them with a hammer until they crack. I used a paper grocery bag for this step and it got a little messy, lesson learned. Remove the tiny kernel from the cherry pits until you have about 1 1/2T, coarsely chop them. If you have no idea what I am talking about, the kernels look like this and they lend a subtle bitter almond flavor to the finished jam. Place the kernels in a tea infuser or a tightly tied cheesecloth bag.

2. Combine 3lbs of the cherries with 1 3/4lbs of the sugar in a large heatproof bowl. I use my hands for this step, squishing the cherries between my fingers to "chop" them a little bit.

3. Put the remaining cherries, sugar, and 2oz of water into a non-reactive jamming pot. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil stirring often, then boil the mixture until the cherries have shriveled and the liquid is thick and syrupy, about 7 minutes. Immediately strain this mixture over the reserved cherries in the bowl, pressing firmly to extract as much cherry goodness as possible. Discard the cooked cherries.

4. Add the cherry mixture, along with half of the lemon juice and your reserved pits back into the jam pot. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil, stirring often and cook for 10-15 minutes being careful to not let the jam scorch. Remove the pot from the heat and let the mixture rest for a minute or two. Skim the foam off of the top of the jam and discard. Stir in the remaining lemon juice.

5. Return the pot to the heat and bring to a boil. Cook the mixture for 5 more minutes, then test for doneness. If necessary, cook for a few more minutes. I ended up cooking my jam for about 5 more minutes. Remove the cherry kernels, then pour the jam into clean, sterilized jars. Store in the fridge or process in a boiling water bath for 10min to make the jam shelf stable.

Notes:
- A friend of mine bought tart cherries at the Union Square Greenmarket yesterday, so NY'ers will probably still be able to get tart cherries until the end of the week. Run, Quick!
- Before ladling my jam into jars I usually sneak a few spoonfuls of the cherry syrup from the pot and save it for cocktails and soda. I don't know if this is proper jam etiquette, but I do it anyway, and it is good.
- Following Autumn's lead, I spiced up one of my jars by stirring in a few crushed red pepper flakes and a 1'' piece of vanilla bean before sealing the lid. I am pretty excited serve it with my next cheese plate.
- If you can't find tart cherries, feel free to use this recipe with sweet cherries. The finished jam won't have the characteristic pucker that tart cherry jam does, but it will be delicious none the less.
- This jam has a fairly soft "set" which makes it great for topping things like ice cream and yogurt and less good for eating in a sandwich. It's too precious to mix with peanut butter anyway.

Rhubarb Cherry Jam

I know, I know, more rhubarb. More rhubarb! I promise this will be my last barb-centric post of the season, but I will not apologize for being crazy for the stuff. I am slowly trying to ease myself into summer now that it is officially here, but I can't say that I am too excited about it. Summer is not exactly my favorite season in NYC. I will never get used to the humidity that makes everything feel sticky, the sweaty walks to and from the grocery store, and let's not even talk about going to the laundromat. It may get ugly. So, I've been trying to remind myself of all of the great things that the summer brings: farmer's markets, flowers, cold brewed iced coffee, long days where the sun sets at 9, day trips upstate to cool off at a friends cabin, ice pops. To celebrate summer and say a fond farewell to spring I made this jam. It combines my favorite veggie disguised as a fruit and one of the best treats that summer offers, fresh sweet cherries. The inspiration came from the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook which I get lost in every time I crack it open and the best part is, no cherry pitting required. Now excuse me while I go eat an ice pop for breakfast.

Rhubarb Cherry Jam
adapted from the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
yield, roughly 24oz finished jam
1 1/2 lbs rhubarb, chopped
1 lb sugar
juice of 1 large lemon
peel from one organic granny smith apple
1 lb sweet cherries

1. Put the rhubarb, sugar, and lemon juice into a large, wide, non reactive pot. I use my enameled dutch oven for jamming. Cook over medium heat until the rhubarb begins to soften and releases it's juices. Increase heat and boil the rhubarb gently until it softens, but still holds it's shape a bit.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, and using a slotted spoon, scoop the rhubarb pieces into a bowl leaving their juices behind.
3. Pour the cherries, pits and all, and the apple peel into the reserved rhubarb juice and put the pan over high heat. Cook, stirring frequently until the juices reach a full boil. Turn the heat down a little and boil the cherries until they are soft and shriveled, about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
4. Place a metal strainer over the bowl full of reserved rhubarb pieces. Using a slotted spoon, fish the cherries and apple peel out of the pan and transfer them to the strainer. Press the cherries very firmly to extract as much juice as possible then discard the left over pits and skins.
5. Add the rhubarb pieces and cherry juice back into the pan and cook over high heat until the jam has thickened, the rhubarb has lost it's shape, and the jam reaches 220 degrees, about 15 minutes. If any white foam appears on the surface of the jam, skim and discard it.
6. Pour the jam into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Notes:
- With the batch that I made, I filled 2 6oz weck jars, 1 8oz wide mouth jar and had a little leftover, which I ate immediately. So Good.
- I included the apple peel with the thought that the pectin would help the jam achieve a firmer set. I'm not sure how much good it did, but I find the jam to be perfectly spreadable.
- I suggest you chop your rhubarb pieces a little smaller than the ones pictured above, the large pieces of rhubarb left the jam a bit stringy. Delicious, but a little stringy.

Sunny Marmalade

It's been a cold wet winter in NYC, but I am trying my darnedest to not let it get me down. Part of my plan for success included buying a pair of honest to goodness snow boots that keep my feet warm and dry while trudging around the city. The other part has been really celebrating citrus which is the brightest, sunniest thing around this time of year. I've been buying grapefruit and lemons by the bag and crates upon crates of clementines to fill my fruit bowl, too many clementines in fact. I remembered a friend of mine mentioned on her blog that she gave homemade Clementine Whiskey Marmalade for Christmas gifts this year and that sounded like a delicious way to use up some of my surplus. She gladly shared the recipe with me and I got to work, switching it up a bit to include some of my very favorite citrus, meyer lemons.

Sunny Marmalade with Clementines and Meyer Lemons
Recipe Edited 3/6/2012

2lbs clementines and meyer lemons combined (I used 2 meyer lemons)
Juice of 2 large lemons
4 1/2c sugar
1 T whiskey (Use 2T and leave out the vanilla for a more pronounced Whiskey flavor)
1T vanilla extract

1. Finely chop clementines and meyer lemons, including their rinds. Remove any seeds. (Remember that the pieces of skin won't change in size in the finished marmalade. I prefer little strips of rind, rather than chunks so that's how I cut my fruit). Put the fruit in a large bowl and cover with 3c water, cover with plastic and refrigerate over night. The fruit should float freely in the water.
2. The next day, put chopped fruit and water in a heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook gently for 30 minutes or longer until rind has softened.
3. Add lemon juice and sugar and cook over low heat until dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 – 30 minutes or until the mixture reaches 220ºF.
4. Stir in whiskey and vanilla. Pour into clean sterlized jars, leaving 1/4 in. headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

This recipe will make about 5, 1/2 pints of marmalade

(Really) Small Batch Grape Jelly

Have you ever eaten a concord grape? I had never given them a second thought (aside from Welch's commercials) until I moved to New York four years ago and started reading fancy restaurant dessert menus for fun. As soon as fall rolled around, the concord grapes rolled in everywhere, as gelee served with foie gras, as sorbet served with peanut butter ice cream, in pie? Obviously, I had to have some for myself and let me tell you, concord grapes are serious business. Forget about those red and green things they sell in the grocery store, these are Grapes with a capital G. They are sweet, tart, musky, rich, and dare I say they taste a lot like "grape flavored" candy without that cloying artificial finish. They are awesome eaten as is if you don't mind seeds, their juice is incredible on it's own or in a cocktail, but I couldn't resist making jelly with mine.

I try not to use any pectin in my jam making, but sometimes you need just a bit to make sure it sets, especially when making jelly. I love using Pomona's Universal Pectin for projects like this, you can find it in health food stores. It is activated by calcium rather than sugar which means you can use as much or little sweetener as you like and you can even use alternatives like honey, agave, and maple syrup.

Grape Jelly, adapted from Pomona's Universal Pectin
yield 1 8oz jar

1 lb concord grapes, destemmed
2T water
2T lemon juice
3T honey or 1/4-3/4c sugar (or agave or any other sweetener you like)
1/2t Pomona's universal pectin powder
1/2t calcium water, prepared with package directions

1. In a heavy bottomed pot combine the grapes, water and lemon juice. Mash with a potato masher, I used a ladle, whatever works. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 min.
2. Pour into a jelly bag or cheesecloth lined strainer and let drip until the juice stops, about one cup. If you don't mind if your jelly isn't perfectly clear you can give the bag a gentle squeeze, but not too hard, you don't want any pulp to escape. At this point Pomona's suggests letting the juice sit overnight so any sediment settles to the bottom. I didn't do it and I didn't notice any crystallization in my jelly.
3. Add the juice and prepared amount of calcium water to a clean pot. Measure your sweetener into a separate bowl and mix in the pectin powder.
4. Bring juice to a boil, add sweetener and pectin and stir constantly until the pectin dissolves (1-2 minutes). Remove from heat.
5. Fill prepared jar to 1/4'' below the rim, wipe off rim, screw on the lid and process in a boiling water bath for 10 min. Store jar in a cool dry spot and refrigerate when opened.

This recipe makes a pretty small amount of jelly so if you find yourself with a surplus of grapes you can multiply as needed.

Best eaten on wheat toast with peanut butter. Or you can be totally wild and serve it on a cheese plate with a nice blue cheese and water crackers.

Brown Butter Cookies with Homemade Apple Butter

These little beauties are too cute for words and extremely tasty to boot. It really is too bad that they won't make the cut for apt. 2b baking co.'s official menu (they are a bit fragile), but that doesn't mean that you can't make them at home. Do yourself a solid and eat them with cinnamon ice cream and a nice pour of bourbon.

Brown Butter Cookies adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used homemade)
1T bourbon (optional)
1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Brown the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring frequently until the milk solids turn light brown and the butter has a nutty fragrance. Transfer butter to bowl and chill until firm, about an hour.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and bourbon, then add flour, cinnamon and salt. Form the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic. Chill until cool, but not hard, about 45min.
3. Heat oven to 350. Unwrap dough and gently roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a well floured surface. Cut dough into desired shapes (I used a 1 1/2 inch round cutter) and bake on parchment lined baking sheets until lightly browned. The warm cookies are quite fragile and it is best not to move them until they have cooled a bit.

Once cookies have cooled completely fill 1/2 of them with Homemade Apple Butter, other jam of choice, or even chocolate if you are feeling wild and top with the remaining cookies. Fill the cookies up to 1 hour before you plan to eat them, any earlier and they may get a bit soft.

Bonus Idea: Use the cookies and apple butter as a mix in for homemade ice cream. Delicious!

Apple Butter (A great first canning project)

4lbs good eatin' apples, peeled, cored and cut into bite sized pieces (I like to use mutsu, macintosh, and gala, but you can use whatever you like)
3-4 cups apple cider
1 1/2-2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
Juice of one lemon

Prepare your jars and lids by washing them thoroughly with soap and water. Place jars in a warm oven (about 200) and place lids on a clean towel to dry completely. You can also wash your jars on the top rack of your dishwasher and leave them in there until you are ready for them.
To make the apple butter

1. In your biggest, heaviest pot (I use a dutch oven) combine the apples and enough cider to cover them. Bring to a simmer and cook the apples until tender. A but of foam will form on the surface that should be skimmed off, it's okay if you can't get it all.
2. When the apples are tender, remove the pot from the heat and puree the mixture until it is smooth (an immersion blender is the best tool for this). Stir in sugar, spices and lemon juice.
3. Cook the mixture at about 220 degrees (simmering) until it darkens in color and begins to pop and bubble in a lava like fashion, about 1-1 1/2 hours. Ladle the lava into your prepared jars, clean the rims with a dry paper towel and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the jars from the hot water bath with tongs and listen for the tell tale pop that means your jars are sealed and safe to be stored in a cool dry spot.