Roasted Rhubarb and Raspberry Jam

The frost predicted a little over a week ago came last night, taking with it the raspberries. I was up before the sun getting the last of them. The Rhubarb, also, saw its last. These I gathered and trimmed and placed in a roaster, squeezing an orange over all and coating them with more than a little sugar. This was placed in the top oven rack, with the daily pumpkins just beneath. That rhubarb will make a nice crumble sometime this Winter. Or a crisp. I guess I will decide when the times comes. For now, it is safely roasting and bubbling away.

The raspberries I’ve gathered all late Summer/early Autumn are stacked in thawing freezer bags on the counter. There’s no reason to wait–all that we will be getting have been gotten. It’s time to make some jam. Now. Raspberries have lots of little seeds–too many for for a right and pleasant jam (especially this year, with the drought). So those bags, all but seven, must be placed in a sieve to remove the vast majority of those seeds. The seven remaining bags stay as they are (You cannot have raspberry jam without some seeds). When all is done, this is measured cup for cup. For every two cups of puree, one and a half cups of sugar is needed.

When all was done and measured, I realized a problem. The pan was filled to the brim, leaving no room for the sugar. So, back into the bags it went, and those back into the freezer for another day and another time when the jam-making mood strikes me. Maybe sometime near Christmas.

Eight cups of puree remain in the pan and to that, I add six cups of sugar and a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice. This is placed over heat and stirred until it reaches two-hundred and twenty degrees–that stage when any good thing that has pectin in it becomes that lovely thing called jelly, or in this case, jam.

Jacob smells all and comes into the room and expects to see pie. For some reason the jam is a disappointment. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.

The jam is poured into pint (not half-pint here, as is usual for jams and jellies on the Farm. No. For raspberry jam, we use the full-on pint) jars, their rims wiped and lids applied. They are placed in a water bath for five minutes and taken out and set on a cloth for the time being, as they decide if they will seal or not.

Ping.

Ah. There is nothing so pleasant as that sound. I guess they’ve decided to seal after all.

Good choice. I’d hate to have to eat seven pints of raspberry jam in one sitting.