This morning, after weeding and tucking in stray tomato branches, I decided I’d better cut the seed heads from our best rhubarb plants. (We sell them through Seed Treasures, our little seed business.) Then I looked at all those juicy, nice big stalks and caved. Okay, I just couldn’t leave them there. So I pulled an armload and brought them to the house. As I have already canned dozens of jars of rhubarb, plus the rhubarb I canned last year and didn’t use up, I decided to make a big batch of Mom’s rhubarb conserve, an old family favorite. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term “conserve,” it usually refers to a thick preserve which contains raisins and often nuts. You can find the recipe in my book Growing and Canning Your Own Food. It’s quick and easy to make.
So, guess what I’m doing right now? Yep, there are two dozen half pints in my water bath canner, waiting to come to a full boil so I can begin timing. It only needs 15 minutes, so once it boils, I only have to wait a few minutes and do a batch of pints.
I use rhubarb conserve in place of jam and also use it in tarts, filled cookies, on top of cheesecake, and many more wing-it recipes. It’s sweet, tangy, and different. If you haven’t tried it before, give it a whirl.
While I’m canning and weeding alternately, Will is out cutting our first hay. He was all set to go previously, then it started to rain. Again. But the forecast is for several sunny days, so we said a prayer and off he went.
— Jackie
