Summer Jam
As summer rolls on, we are really enjoying making seasonal treats to enjoy on warm sunny days. Whether it’s a cooler summer morning, a warm and sunny summer afternoon, or a relaxing summer evening, a piece of cake or a pastry will always add even more joy to the already cheerful ambience. So, inspired by the joy of summer, we wanted to share a simple recipe with all of you that can be used in a variety of ways! It incorporates two of our favorite summer fruits and flavors: strawberry and rhubarb. There is just nothing better than the combo of sweet, juicy strawberry and tangy, sour rhubarb in the summertime. We’ve combined these into a jam that you can use to spread over a piece of toast, put on top of ice cream, use to fill cakes, or just eat with a spoon!
Jam-filled Recipes
One of our favorite ways to use this jam is to fill a cake. If you’re looking for a simple cake that really highlights the flavor of the jam, try this roulade recipe. Just replace the raspberry jam in the recipe with this jam instead. It’s so delicious and you can keep it looking simple or dress it up with decorations to make it look fancier! You can also use this jam to fill a classic Danish birthday layer cake, or fødselsdagslagkage. The tartness from the rhubarb makes the perfect partner to the vanilla custard filling and soft vanilla sponge. But by far our favorite cake to use this jam in is bedstefar’s skæg. This cake is made up of a layer of vanilla sponge cake, a layer of delicious jam, and a layer of crispy and sweet meringue.
If you would rather make pastries, check out our pastry recipes that use jam: makronsnitter, spandauer, hindbærsnitter with lattice top, regular hindbærsnitter, and vandbakkelser. You can also use this jam as a topping for any of our bread recipes, hjertevafler, pandekager, æbleskiver, or lefse. Plenty of options!
The Jamming Process
Jam is actually quite simple to make, especially if you don’t need it to keep for a very long time. We often make homemade jam if we are going to use it in a cake or pastry, or if we know we will eat it over the course of a week or two. If you want it to last longer, you will want to look into how to can jams. Make sure if you are canning jam that you used a tried and true canning recipe! (note: this recipe is only for fridge storage, not for canning!) This post from Curly Girl Kitchen on making and storing homemade jam is really helpful! Otherwise, you just combine your ingredients and let the mixture cook on the stove until it reaches a jammy and thick consistency. Make sure to store it in the fridge or you can even freeze it if you need to. It really is that simple!
Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam (Jordbær-rabarber syltetøj)
Ingredients
- 210 grams (about 3 stalks) of rhubarb
- 450 grams (about 1 lb) strawberries
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Wash the fruit you are going to use well. Chop up the rhubarb into small pieces and cut the strawberries in half.
- Add the fruit, sugar, and a pinch of salt to a pot.
- Cook the jam over medium to low heat. The fruit will start to release liquid which will then bubble; keep it at a simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 15 minutes, check the consistency of the jam. We look for a jam consistency where if you run a spoon or spatula across the bottom of the pot, you can see the bottom for a split second before it gets covered.
- Once you are happy with the thickness of the jam, transfer to a heat proof bowl and let cool; transfer to a storage container and keep the jam in the fridge. Enjoy!
How long would this last in the fridge for? Thanks 🙂
We keep this for up to two weeks in the fridge if we don’t eat it before then – it’s usually gone within the first week!