Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Prepare jars w/ring seals – Keep hot so they are sterilized. Grandma always kept her big, black metal baking dish on a burner, with water simmering in it. She turned the jars upside down inside the pan, along with the lids & rings, and kept them there on a very low heat until they were packed.

2. In large pot, boil the rhubarb, water & sugar for 8 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and immediately add the package of strawberry jello, stirring well.

4. Pour into waiting hot canning jars & seal.

5. Tip sealed jars upside down on a cloth on the counter.

6. If you use paraffin: Melt paraffin in a pot. While hot and liquidy, pour a layer ¼” thick over the hot jam in the jars. When the paraffin has cooled/hardened, pour another ¼” thick layer over the first layer, tilting slightly to make sure the paraffin completely covers the jar and touches all sides of the jar to get a good seal.

NOTE:

Note on the use of paraffin: This was how Grandma burned parts of her kitchen.  She was melting the paraffin in the pot and got sidetracked by something else. When she returned to the kitchen, the paraffin was in giant flames in the pot, and the kitchen was engulfed in smoke. When Grandpa came home, he found grandma sitting on the front steps crying. I believe that the insurance payed for painting the kitchen, a new stove top, and some sort of refinishing of the cabinets.