Cherry Rhubarb Jam

Thanksgiving is in two weeks and I am making the list. Fourteen people this year — the full contingent minus two friends who are traveling. Turkey, brisket, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, two pies, the works. Marvin's place will be set. The place setting is the tradition within the tradition, the private acknowledgment at the public table, the plate and the glass that say: you are here. You will always be here.

I drove to Cedarhurst on Tuesday and told Marvin about Thanksgiving. I said, "The turkey is twenty pounds." He said, "That's a big bird." I said, "Yes. The biggest bird." He smiled. The smile was real and warm and lasted four seconds. Four seconds of Marvin smiling about a turkey. I will keep these four seconds. They are mine.

I made cranberry sauce — from scratch, whole berries, orange zest, the sauce that must not come from a can, the sauce that I make every year with the same recipe and the same conviction: cranberry sauce from a can is an abomination. This is not a flexible position. This is theology. The sauce simmered and popped and turned garnet-red and filled the kitchen with the tart sweetness that means Thanksgiving is imminent, and the imminence is the comfort, and the comfort is the cooking, and the cooking is the life.

The cranberry sauce that simmered on my stove that Tuesday — garnet-red, tart, made with whole berries and orange zest and absolute certainty — reminded me why I also keep a jar of this Cherry Rhubarb Jam in the refrigerator all season long. It’s the same theology: fruit, sugar, heat, patience, and the refusal to accept a shortcut. If you understand why cranberry sauce must never come from a can, you already understand this jam. It belongs at the table the same way Marvin’s place setting does — as a quiet insistence that some things are worth doing fully, from scratch, every time.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 24 (about 3 cups)

Ingredients

2 cups fresh or frozen cherries, pitted and halved
2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3–4 stalks)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Instructions

Macerate the fruit. Combine cherries, rhubarb, and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir well to coat all the fruit, then let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes until the sugar begins drawing out the juices.
Bring to a boil. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a full, rolling boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching on the bottom.
Simmer until thickened. Reduce heat to medium and cook at a steady simmer for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally. The jam is ready when it clings to the back of a spoon and a small amount dropped onto a cold plate wrinkles when nudged with a fingertip.
Finish and season. Stir in the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt. Cook for 2 more minutes, then remove from heat.
Cool and store. Let the jam cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then pour into clean glass jars or an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks, or process in a water bath canner for shelf-stable storage of up to 1 year.

Nutrition (per serving, approximately 2 tablespoons)

Cherry Rhubarb Jam — Because Some Things Must Never Come from a Can