Thanks to all of our entrants for the Amateur Jam & Jelly contest at the Farmers’ Festival this past weekend! We ended up with SIXTEEN entries! Our intrepid judges included Jennifer Nesbitt of This Week News, Vicky Thomas of The Orchard of Bill & Vicky Thomas, Kathy Persinger of Persinger Farms and Roland Kopecky of Slow Food Columbus and recent culinary winner at Wild Goose Creative’s Bacon Camp (we hear he makes a mean pierogi).  Our first place winner was John Woods with his delectable Organic Concord Grape Jelly. Second place was taken by dynamic duo Cindy McDermitt and Alma Holbrook with their Jalapeno Jam.

A couple entrants were good enough to share their recipes to be passed along to you!

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam by Christine Rinehart and Pat Kokoczka

2 C. Strawberries

2 C. Rhubarb

Cook rhubarb with 1/2 cup of water to soften. Add crushed strawberries. Add 6 1/2 cups of sugar and 1/2 tsp. butter. Bring to a rolling roil while stirring constantly. Add pectin quickly. Return to a boil for 1 minute. Skim foam (good on crackers)…Can it!

Cherry Jam by Karen and Ernie Corsi

3 pounds cherries, stems removed, pitted & rinsed

Chop 3/4 of cherries into smaller pieces, but not minced. Leave the remainder of the cherries whole. Cook cherries in a large non-reactive pot. Add the zest and juice of 2 fresh lemons. Cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Once cooled measure the amount of cherries and juice and use 3/4 that amount of sugar. (ie., if you have 4 cups of cooked cherries add 3 cups of sugar). Stir constantly over moderate heat with a heat proof utensil (the best jam cooks quickly). Put a small plate in the freezer. Once the cherries begin to thicken and gel, test by spooning some onto the cold plate and returning to the freezer. When the plate is nudged the jam should wrinkle indicating that it is done. Add a few drops of almond extract, ladle into warm clean jars and add covers. Cool to room temperature. Place in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes to complete the canning process.