Carolyn’s award-winning jam recipes

Intro: While attending Rutgers, the family store had done well enough that they were able to purchase a small, organic farm, and Carolyn would return home every summer to work on the farm and at the store. It was during one of those summers that Carolyn became upset that, when the business was operating on such slim margins, the unsold fruit was simply thrown in the trash. Carolyn recognized an opportunity and began making jams to sell in the store. The jams were very popular, and her nectarine pineapple recipe won the Grand Prize at the State Fair. Creating recipes and making jams with her twelve-year-old daughter, Tennyson, remains one of her favorite past times.

Rhubarb Jam Recipe

Ingredients

• 4C rhubarb (fall is best because sweeter and less starchy)
• 3C white sugar
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, rinsed
• 1 vanilla bean, halved with seeds and stem removed
• 2T lemon juice

Directions

1. Combine rhubarb, sugar and rosemary sprigs in non-reactive bowl overnight (at least 12 hours).
2. Remove rosemary sprigs.
3. Stir in vanilla bean and lemon juice.
4. Heat pan to medium, cooking until rhubarb has broken down.

A note on texture: To check your jam's consistency, put some on a cold plate, and run a utensil through it. When it leaves a clean mark on the plat, you have the proper texture.