Bought it!
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i have it and like it… some fun recipes. I also have her first cookbook https://www.amazon.ca/Preservation-Society-Home-Preserves-Recipes/dp/0778805034/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=DLpuZ&content-id=amzn1.sym.c4fab35d-b090-4423-824d-e237058f5000&pf_rd_p=c4fab35d-b090-4423-824d-e237058f5000&pf_rd_r=144-3017274-0352406&pd_rd_wg=q4SEJ&pd_rd_r=209e7fbf-005e-40b3-8900-c30c0f0b6a40&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk
Thank you, it arrived this afternoon. I’m planning on making the rhubarb/cherry Amarena one as I have just enough rhubarb to make a jar or two. Looking forward to the “bakes” as well.
Do you like her first cookbook?
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Rhubarb Amarena cherry jam from “Jam Bakes”.
I reduced quantities to fit these 5.6 oz. jars and just had a very small taste from the remnants in the bowl…will have a better idea when I use it in a sponge cake this afternoon ( hopefully). I think it will be very good in a Bakewell Tart.
The color is slightly brighter than the pic but the dark cherries tone down the color of the rhubarb.
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Oh boy! This is really good! Tart and delicious, the rhubarb is dominant in flavoring, the cherries take a back seat but are a definite plus. I used the Luxardo maraschino liqueur as recommended, I also sprinkled some of it over the sponge cake. I did not add any cream to the filling as I wanted to taste the jam.
This jam cries for biscuits! Sunday’s Farmers Mkt. will have me buying more rhubarb just for this.
If I can get a decent pic of the sponge cake tonight, I will post.
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Not even as freezer jam? I boil everything to the stage where I could can it, then I make freezer jam. I don’t trust my canning skills but I trust my freezer skills.
This was lovely in the sponge cake but I still feel it would be great for biscuits where you would be able to have a heavier application. The color turned out to be brighter than I anticipated. And I should have waited until tomorrow to cut the cake, very delicate but very good.
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Freezer jam is different from shelf stable processed products. You should be fine, barring power outages!
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Gooseberry jam, a/k/a Golden berries. A tart fruit which is very good uncooked provided you like tart! This is on the stingy side as the packet was only 6 oz. It has an abundance of seeds as well. This one jar might just satisfy my curiosity about gooseberry jam. I do like them au naturale.
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Curiosity satisfied! If you like skin and seeds for jam, this one’s for you. So happy I only made one jar 
, this only tastes of sweetness. 40% sugar was enough to obscure all the natural tartness of the fruit, I’ll be going back to eating them au naturale.
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A number of fruits lose flavor or have a flavor change if cold sugar is used when cooking the jelly or jam. Passionfruit is one of these. To prevent the flavor loss, I measure the sugar and preheat it in the oven at 200°F, just below boiling. This speeds up the processing and heating times. I’ve no experience making jam or jelly from Cape Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana), but the sugar preheat might help.
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Thank you so much for the suggestion!! I just Bamixed” it to smooth out the skins, the seeds, of course, remain , I also added a healthy pinch of citric acid. It might be my one and only venture into gooseberry jam. Have you ever tried microwaving the sugar prior to adding to the fruit?
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Microwaving straight sugar to the right temperature would be tricky. If the sugar gets too hot, it could cause an eruption if it’s a bit above the boiling point.** You’d have to keep mixing it and using a thermometer to check the temperature. Also, it’s hard to know exactly when you’ll need it. It takes more time (maybe 45 minutes- an hour), but far less attention in the oven.
You probably know this, but Cape Gooseberries are not related to. true (mostly European) Gooseberries (Ribes). Cape Gooseberries are related to tomatoes, other nightshades, and very closely related to tomatillos. I’ve grown Cape Gooseberries for years, after bringing seeds back from Peru, the origin of that species. They start very slowly, so need seeds sown in February in our climate.
**While I’ve heard of caramelizing sugar in a microwave, I’m fearful that a glass bowl might crack due to the high temperature of the molten sugar and the extreme temperature difference between where the sugar is and above that, the bare glass. In the oven, I use a stainless steel bowl, just in case!
I’ve done small amounts in a Pyrex cup, bowl with a little water. I caramelized sugar for flan that way, also peanut brittle.
ETA… I’ve heard the Cape part of the name came from the husk surrounding the berry. The new marketing, the past few years sans husk, , makes them more appealing to consumers.
Actually, the “Cape” part of the name comes from it being introduced and grown by early settlers in the Cape of Good Hope, S. Africa. Some recent publications have mistakenly attributed the name to the husk; this is an example of false history/etymology.
The Oxford Book of Food Plants, Oxford Univ. Press, 1969, states that the fruit was once one of the most important fruits grown in the Cape of Good Hope; this was during the 1800s.
One use of the berries is to peel the husk back to create a handle and dip them in melted chocolate. I can’t eat chocolate; otherwise, I would try it.
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Very interesting, first it had to make the journey from Peru? That chocolate coating sounds delicious, ready made handle!
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Yes. Most likely, the Spanish or Portuguese invaders brought back seeds or plants and it spread through Europe and European colonies, before ending up in many countries. In Hawaii, it’s called “Poha”. I have seeds for a “Giant Poha”; but it’s unlikely to be very big.
For jam, the smaller, sweeter ground cherries might be choice. There are a bunch of them, different species and selections.
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One half-pint jar of no-pectin, strawberry-rhubarb jam. I used 55/45 berries:rhubarb, 0.6:1 sugar:fruit, a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
Again I’m a novice with the rhubarb and have neither made nor tasted SR jam prior. 
As hoped, this came out a nice alternative to straight strawberry jam, which I find cloyingly sweet.
Asterisk: our rhubarb peak season and strawberry season do not coincide. Thus, I used frozen strawberries from last year’s harvest.
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Looks great. I am saving your ratios as the last batch I made was too sweet.
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I’m all for using as little sugar as possible while still getting the jam to set (without pectin). For the most basic fruits and berries, I’m able to get away with about 60%. +/-, depending on the natural pectin level of the ingredients and assuming the use of a little lemon juice.
