Awesome Jelly

Angelina's Rhubarb Jelly received a Premium ribbon at the LaMoure county 4-H Achievement Days.  Due to flooding in Minot, she won't have the opportunity to show her wares at the ND State Fair (all competition related events have been cancelled).  But this jelly is really tasty and she learned a lot.  This was her third batch of 'preserves' ... we had a little difficulty with Rhubarb Jam and fruit floating at the top, so she tried jelly with much success.

 

Rhubarb Jelly – courtesy of The Rhubarb Compendium

3 1/2 cups Rhubarb juice

1 pkg. Sure Jell powdered pectin

4 cups sugar

Make according to instructions for cooked jelly in Sure Jell instructions.  Process for 10 minutes.  Makes 6 half pints.

Rhubarb Juice

 

Rhubarb Juice

8 cups washed and diced rhubarb

8Tbls. sugar

5 cups water

Directions:  Mix all ingredients in a large stock pot.  Cook until soft.  Boil one minute.  Strain the pulp from the juice.  At this point, the juice can be used to make jelly, syrup, or canned for later use.  The red stalked rhubarb will produce a beautiful red juice, but juice made with green stalks will taste the same.  It was also suggested that nutmeg or cinnamon could be added to the juice for a different flavor.

First Fruit of Spring

My mom tells me that at the first sign of the Rhubarb poking out of the ground, my Grandpa Earl would say, "It's time for Rhubarb Pie!"  He's a fan a quite a few different pies, but the first fresh fruit pie of the season is special.  I don't have a pie recipe today, but since Angelina enrolled in Food Preservation for 4-H this year, we tried Rhubarb Sauce.  The first time I ever tried Rhubarb Sauce was at a 4th of July celebration hosted by friends at their farmstead.  The sauce was served over ice cream, creating a perfection of sweet and tangy.  I hope to acquire the recipe used that day, but for now, here is the recipe Angelina and I used to preserve our rhubarb.


Rhubarb Sauce

Ingredients:
1.5 to 2 lbs. rhubarb per quart jar
Sugar

Directions:
Wash the rhubarb stalks and drain. Cut the stalks into 1-inch pieces (we prefer 1/2 inch).  Put rhubarb in a large saucepot.  For each quart rhubarb measured, add 1/2 to 1 cup sugar (we used 1/2 cup to keep the sauce more tart and tangy).  Stir to coat the rhubarb with sugar; let stand 3 to 4 hours in a cool place.  Bring slowly to a boil; boil 30 seconds.  Pack hot rhubarb and syrup into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Adjust seals and screw bands.  Process pints and quarts 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Remove jars from the canner and let cool at least 24 hours.