This easy small batch homemade Rhubarb Jam has less sugar than other recipes, yet the result is the most beautiful pink, spreadable, sweet and tart jam.
To make this rhubarb jam recipe, fresh rhubarb is thinly sliced and combined with lemon juice, sugar, pectin, and an optional but highly recommended vanilla bean.
If you grow rhubarb in your garden, you must make your own jam. This will quickly become one of your favorite recipes!
Why This Recipe Works
I think that you're going to find that this jam recipe is not only quick and easy, but it is amazingly delicious!
- Rhubarb is fantastic for making jam. It makes the most beautiful pink color and has a wonderful tart flavor. Rhubarb stalks are easily harvested from your garden or bought at the Farmer's Market or grocery store.
- Small batch recipe which means that it is quick and easy to make and not an all day event. You can easily double, triple, or quadruple the recipe if you want to preserve the jam in a water bath canner. This recipe makes about 3-4 cups of rhubarb preserves. A small amount of jam still goes a long way!
- Low sugar recipe. This recipe has the perfect balance between the tart flavor from the lemon juice and fresh rhubarb with the sugar to make the most delicious homemade jam. The perfect jam is sweet, but not overly sweet. You can also vary the amount of sugar you used based on preference.
About Fresh Rhubarb
Often feared for its sour flavor, fresh rhubarb is actually a versatile springtime ingredient. The red and green stalks, which can be found in early spring, can be used in sweet or savory dishes.
When cooked and sweetened with sugar or honey, the tart rhubarb flavor mellows out, making it a perfect addition to pies or jams. Rhubarb is also delicious when paired with other seasonal fruits, such as strawberries.
If you are growing spring rhubarb in your garden, remember that the leaves have a high concentration of oxalic acid, making them inedible. Actually, they are considered quite toxic. The stalks still have oxalic acid, but at much lower levels, and are safe to eat.
If you find yourself with an excess of rhubarb, there are plenty of amazing recipes you can make, including rhubarb sauce that is amazing over vanilla ice cream, rhubarb chutney, or everyone's favorite strawberry rhubarb jam recipe.
How to Make Rhubarb Jam
- Thinly slice the rhubarb: You can certainly do this with a knife and cutting board, but the quickest and easiest way is to use a food processor with the slicing blade. You want thin uniformly cut slices. This not only speeds up the cooking process, but it eliminates any stringy fibers that grow lengthwise. No straining required! You'll need enough rhubarb to get about 4 cups of rhubarb once its sliced.
- Cook the rhubarb: Combine the chopped rhubarb with water, lemon juice, and a vanilla bean over medium heat in a medium saucepan, at which time the fruit starts to break down. Rhubarb is a dry fruit that will release moisture as it cooks, but the additional liquid is added to help soften it.
- Add sugar and pectin: The added pectin and sugar is combined with the fruit mixture, brought to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat, and cooked just long enough to dissolve the sugar.
- You'll know when it's done by sticking a cold spoon into the hot jam. If the jam gels on the back of the spoon, you'll know that it will set once in the jar.
- Add the jam to clean jars and you're done!
General Canning Instructions
If this is your first time making your own rhubarb jam, you may be interested in canning it so that you can free up space in the fridge or freezer and still be able to enjoy it throughout the year. Good news - preserving rhubarb jam in a water bath canner is a great way to be able to enjoy this spreadable treat for months!
- Prepare canning jars: You must thoroughly clean the glass mason jars first. You can do this using hot soapy water, however, I prefer to wash jars by running them through the dishwasher first. Another reason I like to wash my jars in the dishwasher is so that I'm adding the hot jam to hot jars. This way, when they are placed in the water bath, it does not bring down the temperature of the water. Don't forget to also wash lids.
- Prepare canning set-up: Fill your canning pot with enough water so that once you place the filled jars in the water bath, you will have about an inch of water covering the top of the jars. Bring the water to a boil and then use low heat to maintain a very gentle simmer until you are ready to start the process.
- Add jars to hot water: When the jam is done cooking, place rhubarb jam in hot clean jars. Leave about a half-inch of headroom at the top. Screw on lids securely but not super tight so that the air bubbles can escape during the canning process. Place jars in the water bath and gently simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Sealing process: Remove the jars from the water bath and set them on the counter at room temperature. As they cool, you will hear the lids pop, indicating that they have been pressure sealed.
Cooking and recipe tips
- Rhubarb: Be sure to only use the stalk and discard any of the leaves. The best way to pick rhubarb is to twist it from the base of the plant. To store, place cut bottoms in a small amount of water, much like a cut flower.
- Vanilla bean: These are optional because they are expensive, but highly recommended. They add the most beautiful black specs against that gorgeous pink color, and the flavor is amazing. I don't even remove the vanilla bean pod from the final jam.
- Cooking process: I recommend stirring with a flat bottom wooden spoon. It will help you scrape anything that wants to stick to the bottom. Use the highest heat possible but reduce the temperature if it appears to be hot enough to burn.
- Pectin: Because this is a low sugar recipe, you need to use low sugar pectin. Pomona brand is what I use. Rhubarb already has a lot of natural pectin, so you can easily reduce the amount you add. You can even omit the added pectin altogether. This would still make a delicious jam - it would just have a thinner consistency.
- Storage: If only making one batch, you can store the jars in the refrigerator and consume them within a few weeks. For larger batches and/or longer term storage, process hot jam in a canning water bath for at least 10 minutes.
Did you find this post helpful? Do you have any questions? Let me know in the comments below!
Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook!
Rhubarb Jam
Ingredients
- 4 cups thinly sliced rhubarb I used three large fat stalks and it made 4 heaping cups
- ½ cup water
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise, optional but recommended
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon pectin Use a low sugar brand (Pomona recommended)
Instructions
- Thinly slice the rhubarb. The quickest and easiest method is to use the slicing blade on a food processor.
- Using a 4-quart sauce pan, combine the sliced rhubarb, water, lemon juice, and vanilla bean (if using). Heat over medium high heat while stirring continuously to prevent burning until the rhubarb completely breaks down. Add additional water, if needed, as it will evaporate during the cooking process and help soften the rhubarb. This should take about 10 minutes.
- While the rhubarb is cooking, combine the sugar and pectin. Once the rhubarb is done, add the sugar and pectin mixture and bring to a boil over medium high heat while stirring continuously. Be very careful as it can bubble but it shouldn't foam. Cook only long enough to dissolve the sugar which should take just a few minutes and then remove from heat.
- Transfer to clean glass jars. Jam will gel as it cools. Either store in refrigerator or process in a water bath canning set up while the jam is hot. Refrigerated jam should last 2-3 weeks whereas water bath canned jam should last at least one year.
Notes
- Rhubarb: Be sure to only use the stalk and discard any of the leaves. The best way to pick rhubarb is to twist it from the base of the plant. To store, place cut bottoms in a small amount of water, much like a cut flower.
- Vanilla bean: These are optional because they are expensive, but highly recommended. They add the most beautiful black specs against that gorgeous pink color, and the flavor is amazing. I don't even remove the vanilla bean pod from the final jam.
- Cooking process: I recommend stirring with a flat bottom wooden spoon. It will help you scrape anything that wants to stick to the bottom. Use the highest heat possible but reduce the temperature if it appears to be hot enough to burn.
- Pectin: Because this is a low sugar recipe, you need to use a low sugar pectin. Pomona brand is what I use.
- Storage: If only making one batch, you can store the jars in the refrigerator and consume within a few weeks. For larger batches and/or longer term storage, process hot jam in a canning water bath for at least 10 minutes.
Leave a Reply