While I’m sure I tasted rhubarb before I moved to Vermont I can’t recall that time. I do remember that first summer when my family and I arrived here we found three patches located right outside the parsonage. I remember stooping over, breaking a stalk of it off, and tasting the tart-sweetness of it. It was one of those foods that intrigued me, but I knew little of what to do with it since it was something I hadn’t grown up eating. Those first few summers Lauren and I would pick a few pounds, nibbling on them here and there, but mostly for the purpose of taking them down to the “Take it or Leave it farm stand.”
All that changed when I came to one of the final chapters in Edward Lee’s Graffiti Buttermilk: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting Pot.
While walking the reader through two different approaches of cornbread, Lee offers a rhubarb and strawberry jam that seemed easy enough for me to take a stab at. Lee had already won me over with his gochujang bbq sauce, and while I was hesitant about spreading this on perfectly good cornbread (his recommendation) I thought this would be a great seasonal offering to my neighbors since rhubarb was so abundant here.
I had no idea the versatility of this stuff… And with that said, lets get to it.
INGREDIENTS
I’ve substituted just one thing from Lee’s recipe simply because it’s what I had available to me in my pantry.
2lbs of trimmed and diced rhubarb, 1lb of diced strawberries, 1 cup of orange juice, 2.5 cups of sugar, 1 tsp kosher salt (I’ve also used pink Himalayan salt), 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper, 2 tsps of vanilla extract, and 1 Tbsp of lime juice (I use Nellie and Joe’s Key West lime juice)
Everything goes in together, so grab at least a medium sauce pot. Add everything and give it several good stirs to distribute the sugar, salt, and pepper, etc…
You want to bring this mixture to a simmer. I tend to do this with a medium-high setting on the stove top. Once I get a strong simmer going I back off the heat by lowering it down to a medium-low setting. You want to keep it there for about 20 minutes. Stir frequently.
Afterwards, remove from eat and let cool. Lee recommends transferring to a container that can be stored in the fridge over night, which I do for the majority of the jam, but let me tell you…this warm liquid gold on a hot biscuit is heavenly especially if you can up the ante by throwing on a dollop of heavy whipped cream.
I’ve ended up with several Ball jars full of this jam. I give small jars to neighbors to try, but I keep a large one on hand in the fridge. While I’ve personally never had it last that long, Lee says it can keep up to a month there. My last batch saw me put close to 2lbs away to freeze for a less summer-y season. I’m looking forward to discovering it tucked away down in the chest freezer come December.
Chewing the Fat…
There’s a fair amount of opinions on sauces or anything that offers a type of coating to a food. While jellies and jams might not be thought to be in the same category as sauces, they can make a ordinary dish a little sweeter. Think of it this way, I can’t tell you how many time I’ve had what I would describe as “meh” chicken made better by a good dipping sauce. Jellies and jams can dress the mediocre up too. Or make what’s already good even better. Producing in their wake an offering worthy of reverence, especially when it can be used in multiple ways. I mentioned versatility earlier. At first this concoction of rhubarb and strawberry was a bread pairing, but then one day last week, while I was scrambling to make a quick lunch after coming home from my office at the church, I decided to toss a half dozen chicken wings in with the jam and Lee’s gochujang bbq sauce.
It. Was. Fantastic.
So what have I’ve been doing since then you ask? I’ve been thinking of other experiments where I could add “this to that.” I’ve been looking for introductory “Frankenstein-type” culinary cross-overs. One’s that enhance and change my perspective on what supposed to go on what. In short, I’m doing what I do with my faith; I’m asking questions.
Questions that lead to awe and reverence in the oddest of places.
For me that latest place is in the sweet tartness of rhubarb. It’s got me asking questions of what’s possible. My hope is that I’m always eager to explore and discover. Be it with my faith or in the kitchen. My prayer is that I never get too complacent to think any ingredient, or sauce, can be used in just one way. That goes for theological understandings too.
As you were,
~tBSB