Rhubarb Brandy Vanilla Jam

I know it sounds like a mouth full, but trust me your taste buds will be dancing when you taste it. This rhubarb brandy vanilla jam is not only great on toast or pancakes, it is wonderful on all types of cheeses, stirred into yogourt or poured over top of vanilla ice cream.

I met Todd Chambers, owner of Really Horrible Enterprises this past weekend at a The Great Canadian Cheese Festival and I was drawn to his booth by the alluring smell of vanilla that seemed to permeate the air around it.

I use vanilla beans a lot in my preserving and am always looking for fresh beans that don't come in the glass little test tubes from major grocery stores. Well Todd did not disappoint. But in addition to some wonderful fresh vanilla, Todd also had some flavoured Vanilla extract that got my creative juices flowing. I picked up a bottle of this and as you can see in less than a week, I have already used 1/3 of it.

Rhubarb Brandy Vanilla Jam

Ingredients

• 8 cups of chopped rhubarb
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 cup earl grey tea
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 3 tsp brandy vanilla
• 1 packet liquid pectin (3oz)

Preparation:

Sterilize jars and warm lids.

In an 8-quart, non-reactive pot over medium heat stir the rhubarb, sugar and tea together and bring to a boil stirring regularly.

Add the lemon juice/zest and brandy vanilla to the pot and let it bubble gently for approximately 10-15 minutes. As the jam cooks, use the back of a spoon to mash any large pieces of rhubarb.

Add the liquid pectin, stir to combine and bring back to a boil and let boil for 1 minute and then remove from the heat.

Add a little more lemon juice if you feel it needs additional brightening.

Fill your pre-sterilized jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe rim of the jars with a clean damp cloth and place lids and hand tighten rings. Process jars in gently boiling water for 10 minutes.

Yield approximately: 4 – 250ml jars.