Rhubarb is in season from late April throughout the summer, so now's the time to pick some up.  It is like celery in texture and has a very tart taste that nicely compliments berries.  Only the stalks are edible; the leaves and roots are toxic.  It also has a beautiful magenta color, which made my daughter pretty excited when we bought it.  It is good source of Magnesium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Calcium, Potassium and Manganese.

Making your own jam is incredibly easy and then you can control how much sugar is in it.  For a lot of fruits you don't need to add any sweeteners, however since rhubarb is so tart I added a little honey to sweeten it up.  One thing that's nice about this recipe is that the berries already have a lot of natural pectin so you don't need to add anything to thicken it.  If you are trying out another recipe and you cannot get it to thicken you can always add pectin or, for those of you that are like me and don't have pectin lying around, you can add cornstarch instead.

This recipe makes a 4oz jar of jam.  We finished ours off in two days, so you might want to double it.  Enjoy!

Blackberry rhubarb jam
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 30-40 minutes
Makes: 4 oz jar 

1 rhubarb stalk, cut chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup blackberries
2 tablespoons honey

Combine all the ingredients above in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium low heat until thickened, 30-40 minutes.  During the cooking process periodically crush the fruit and rhubarb with a spoon to help break it down.  Cool completely to further thicken, then serve.