Strawberry Rhubarb Jam + The Modern Preserver

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam // The Sugar Hit

 

Don’t call it a comeback. But hey, I’ve come back! I took a hiatus from this space, because it was my birthday last week. I turned 26. I feel very in-between places. I’m not in my early twenties anymore, so I feel like I’m not totally off the hook anymore. But I’m not a fully-fledged, on the hook, member of society either.

 

I’m at the age where kids think I’m really old, and adults think I’m really young.  It feels nebulous and transitional, and I’m questioning many things about myself. So to embrace that weirdness, I’ve been on a major technology detox. I read nothing from the internet, didn’t look at any social media (almost – had to thank friends for birthday wishes), and really dropped out of the blogging space for a while.

 

With that distance I feel a lot lighter now. I realise again why I enjoyed this space, and I also realise what I really dislike about it. I can’t stand digital marketing. I don’t want to be a Pinterest genius, or an SEO scientist, or a fucking reality TV star. I don’t want to make my boyfriend take glamour photos of me. I don’t like marble, so I don’t want to shoot everything on it. Nothing about my life is perfect, and I can’t even pretend it is. So brace yourselves, because things are going to get a little more honest and real around here. If you want to hear from people more eloquent than me on this topic check out this article, or Michelle’s piece, or this genius tumblr. Or I can explain with three visuals: latte art, avocado roses, marble inlaid with brass.

 

All of this is to say that the thing which has always been the very best and brightest aspect of blogging is the gold nuggets of humanity who populate the other food blogs out there. Without exception, every single one of them is a bright spark, a generous, genuine, creative and giving human. Or at least all the ones I’ve talked to. One of those is the delight Lindsey Love (how could she not be gorgeous with that name) of Dolly and Oatmeal. And it’s Lindsey and the little baby love who is due any day now that brings me here to share this jam with you. Happy Internet Baby Shower Lindsey! We love you and can’t wait to meet your little love.

 

This jam reflects another aspect of why I will never give up food writing; the cookbooks. They are what got me started at The Sugar Hit, they have been my favourite thing for most of my life, and they sustain me to this day. This strawberry and rhubarb jam (to which I added a vanilla pod, because yum) comes from a cookbook called The Modern Preserver by a fellow antipodean, Kylee Newton, who is from New Zealand and runs a store called Newton and Pott in London. The book is full of sharp pickles, sweet-savoury chutneys, cool liquers and infusions and many, many irresistible jams.

 

This rhubarb and strawberry number (one of my favourite combos) is a classic – the flavour is undeniably fresh and delicious, the process was fuss free, and the results are stellar. Plus, it was a beautiful way to spend a phone-free, no internet morning. Chopping and washing fruit, slowing boiling things, filling the house with the smell of syrupy magic. If I can fill year 26 with more of this, I’ll be OK.

 

And don’t forget to check out all these other Baby Shower recipes for the gorgeous Lindsey!

 

Sweet Potato Millet Pancakes | The Full Helping
Mushroom and Kale Tacos | Brooklyn Supper
Butternut Squash French Toast | Edible Perspective
Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches with Honey Olive Oil Ice Cream | Cake Over Steak
Roasted Green Tomato Soup with Herbed Oil | With Food + Love
Tart Cherry, Chocolate & Hempseed No-Bake Oat Bars | Kale & Caramel
Dark Chocolate Hummus | A Couple Cooks
Maitake Steaks with Cauliflower Purée | O&O Eats
Cucumber & Chamoe Melon Salad | Two Red Bowls
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam | The Sugar Hit
Miso Edamame Hummus with Baked Furikake Sweet Potato Chips | Fix Feast Flair
Mini Hazelnut Cakes | I am a Food Blog
The Magic of a Mandolin: Vegetable Carpaccio | Eat Boutique
Almond Chia Pudding with Roasted Grapes | Tending the Table
Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Puffed Millet Bars | Heart of a Baker

 

xx Sarah.

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam // The Sugar Hit

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam // The Sugar Hit

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam // The Sugar Hit

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam // The Sugar Hit

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam // The Sugar Hit

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam // The Sugar Hit

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
 
Strawberry & Rhubarb Jam adapted ever so slighty from Kylee Newton's The Modern Preserver.
Author:
Serves: 2 small jars.
Ingredients
  • 500g rhubarb (weighed after it's been washed and trimmed)
  • 250g strawberries (weighed after they've been washed and trimmed)
  • 1 + ¼ cup (250g) caster sugar
  • ¼ cup (60ml) water
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice (about half a lemon)
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Instructions
  1. First, sterilize two small-ish jam jars. This would be enough for about 1½ bonne maman sized jars, if that helps. I sterilize, by simply filling the jars and their lids with boiling water from the kettle, emptying them with a pair of tongs (be careful), and then leaving them to dry without touching them - fingers inside the jars or lids would de-sterilize them.
  2. Now, make the jam!
  3. Slice the rhubarb into 1 cm / ½ inch pieces. Hull and chop the strawberries into approximately the same size of the rhubarb.
  4. Place the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, and water into a large pan, and place over a medium heat. Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. At this point the fruits will be almost floating in a sweet syrup.
  5. Strain the mixture, reserving the fruit pulp, and placing the syrup back into the pan. Stir the syrup over a high heat, for about 10-15 minutes, or until reduced by half.
  6. Add back the fruit pulp, along with the lemon juice. Bring back to the boil, and cook for a further 15-20 minutes.
  7. Test whether the jam is set, by spooning a small amount onto a saucer, and placing it in the fridge for a few minutes. Take it out, and prod it with your finger - if you like the consistency, and it's not too runny or syrupy, it's good to go.
  8. Spoon the hot jam into the dry jars, and then screw on the lids, carefully flip the jars upside down, and leave them to cool completely.
 

14 Comments

  • YAS thanks for keeping it real. Someone emailed me the other day asking about why I don’t try to use Pinterest to get more traffic to my site, and I’m like… uh, I’m in school, I barely have time for that haha. So your words hit home. I’m glad you got some good relaxation! This jam looks like the bee’s knees.

    • Dude, I feel exactly the same way! I don’t have time to sit around like a pinterest robot, trying to game the system all day (nor did I ever want to have to do that). I feel like I just got away from the original spirit of things, which was always to have fun, share good shit, and make it nice. Thanks for your support, lady, this comment means a lot. xx

  • So glad you were a part of this!! Welcome to 26 – I’m partway through 27 and I definitely feel like I’m in that in-between phase as well. No longer a child, not quite an adult …. It feels very strange. Good luck with it all! xoxo

  • Hi sweet lady!!! Happy 26th – !! Young, talented and beautiful, I say. Yes, as an older adult I remember when I turned 26, 27, 28 … it all felt so OLD… yet ten years after that you’ll look back at pictures of yourself and think : dang I was just a teen!! :P

    I am very excited about this shit’s getting real-talk on your blog – oh i HEAR YOU so much about the digital marketing etc etc … it’s a way to make money, yet sometimes it feels so ICKY… (I have something coming up that perhaps I want to barf thinking about why I accepted it but really, I needed the $$ if I’m being honest here!)

    I so agree – the VERY BEST thing about being a blogger is the amazingly fine folks I’ve met along the way!! Friends like you! ^__^ Big love to you, Sarah!

    • Hahaha, the honesty here is off the charts! And I feel you about doing things that feel less than amazing. I recently broke up with my agent and it feels freaking amazing to not have that dilemma, but also kind of terrifying because I’ve got bills bills bills. So meh. I guess the thing is, I realised I’m probably not going to be the next Joy The Baker, so fuck it, I’m just gonna have fun. And hang with cools like you. MWAH. xx

  • I have to say that I have always felt that you come off as being so honest and genuine, I love your goofy attitude. I’ve missed your posts, so I hope you keep it going. :) Also, I know you mentioned going to school so I hope that is going well!!

    • MEGAN. Thank you dude! I try to be, so that means a lot. I think its more about not pretending to be so freaking happy all the time. But I am a huge goof, so I must be hitting somewhere close to the truth if you picked that up. Thanks for leaving this comment, it means the world to know that someone noticed I was gone! And school is going great! Hard work, but it’s getting done. xx

  • I love your posts and your voice, Sarah! Can’t wait to hear more of your honesty, openness and whatever you choose – You’re a bright spark too, ya know! Thanks for what you do :)

  • Oh welcome back, love! I’ve been wondering where you’d gotten off to. So glad that you had some mental R&R and achieved a bit of clarity. Blogging is such a weird beast and it definitely messes with your head. I’mma email you soon because I miss some Sarah in my life. Can’t wait for more Sugar Hit posts! xo

  • Sarah, I’ve just turned 34 I found a whole batch of grey hairs and I stayed in on my birthday because I have a cold. I officially feel old!

    I took about a month off from blogging, I had some lovely things going on in my personal life and I truly let myself enjoy them. I now feel refreshed and ready to work more on the blog, it’s true I want to create beautiful engaging content, but I only have so much time and budget and I need to realise that. I’ve decided to work smarter and spend less time procrastinating and browsing pointlessly online thinking, why don’t I have that many followers, or why don’t my pictures get that many likes.

    Instead I’m going to do what I want and stop chasing the like or the follow etc…

    This jam looks amazing, I love rhubarb, but it’s not currently in season in the UK, so I will have to wait to make this. I love that it only makes two jars, some jam recipes are huge and there’s only one of us in our house that eats jam (me) so this is the perfect amount.

  • happy belated 26th birthday, sarah! 26 was quite good to me, so i can only wish you the very best for this next year in your life! you’ve already accomplished so much at such a young age, you should be so incredibly proud of yourself! thank you so much for showering our family with such lovely well wishes, it has truly been felt! knowing you in this wide world of blogging has made it so much more cozy! xo’s to you!

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