Easy Rhubarb Jam
Making your own rhubarb jam could not be easier! It’s a perfect way to preserve this wonderful flavor of summer to enjoy all year long!
One of the favorite flavors of early summer is certainly rhubarb. It is good in both sweet and savory recipes. The only problem with rhubarb is that the season is sooo short! You are lucky if you can find it 2-3 weeks out of the year.
There are two great solutions to this dilemma. The first is to make jam. This jam can be processed in a water bath canning pot and will last you all winter long (if you do enough, that is).
The second is to grow your own. It is one of the easiest plants to grow, and it’s a perennial, so it comes up every year!
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What part of the rhubarb plant is edible?
The ONLY part of the rhubarb plant that is edible is the young, tender stems. The leaves are toxic and must be removed and discarded before consumption!! The leaves contain large quantities of Oxalic acid and can cause severe symptoms and, in rare cases, even death.
What you need
- Rhubarb stalks (petioles) – wash them well and cut them into small pieces.
- Sugar – granulated sugar, you can also use other sweeteners like honey or a sugar substitute.
- Water- you can also use a neutral-flavored juice like apple or white grape.
- Lemon juice – always use bottled lemon when canning
- Pectin – classic pectin is fine for this recipe. Low-sugar pectin can be used if you’d like to reduce the sugar.
How to make rhubarb jam
Wash jars and lids with hot, soapy water. Rinse well. Prepare your water bath canning pot. Get that started because it can take up to 45 minutes to come to a boil.
Step One:
Cut rhubarb stalks into 1/2″ pieces.
Step Two:
Place in a large pot with 1/2 cup sugar.
Step Three:
Mix.
Step Four:
Add water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Stir constantly to avoid burning.
Step Five:
Reduce heat to medium simmer until softened, about 20 minutes. Add pectin. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat that can not be stirred down.
Step Six:
Add the rest of the sugar.
Step Seven:
Bring back to a full rolling boil that can not be stirred down. Boil for 1 minute.
Step Eight:
Stir for another minute or so. If much foam has accumulated and has not stirred down, skim the foam with a slotted spoon.
Normally, stirring after removing the liquid from the heat will remove a lot of the foam.
Step Nine:
Fill hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles with a plastic or wooden tool. Wipe jar rims. Attach lids and screw bands on finger-tip- tight. Process the jars for 5 minutes, according to recipe instructions, adjusting for altitude.
Health benefits of rhubarb
Rhubarb is considered a vegetable. The edible stems of the rhubarb plant have quite a few health benefits. Rhubarb is high in vitamin C & K, potassium, manganese, and more.
A recent study suggests promise for rhubarb in aiding with control of high blood pressure during pregnancy, so it may help to avoid pre-eclampsia, according to Livestrong.
Don’t miss our complete step-by-step guide to canning.
What to eat with rhubarb jam
- English Muffins with Cream Cheese and Rhubarb Jam
- White Bread with Peanut Butter and Rhubarb Jam
- Rye Bread with Rhubarb Jam
- Grilled Chicken with Rhubarb Jam
- Belgian Waffles with Rhubarb Jam
- French Toast
- Rhubarb Pie
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- Rhubarb Bars
- Rhubarb Crisp
Pro tips for your success
- It’s crucial to bring the jam to a full rolling boil. This means it should still boil even as you stir it quickly. Don’t rush this step, or the jam may not set.
- Use either fresh or frozen rhubarb to make jam.
- Adjust your time for altitude. Altitude adjustments are in the notes below.
- The recipe can be multiplied, but do not do more than five times the recipe as written. If you would like to do more, you need to make multiple batches.
- You can make this jam low in sugar, too. The yield will be less the less sugar that you use. In other words, if you use ½ cup of sugar, you will end up with two half pints. If you add less sugar, you will end up with less jam.
- One batch makes 2 ½ pints, using ½ cup of sugar.
- For strawberry rhubarb jam, use 4 cups of rhubarb to 1 cup of strawberries.
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Other delicious homemade jams
More rhubarb recipes
If you love this rhubarb jam, you’ll love this easy rhubarb chutney! It’s delicious served so many ways, from a charcuterie board to chicken, rice or curry.
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That’s how easy it is to make Rhubarb Jam. Thanks for stopping by today!
Enjoy! And have fun cooking!
Xoxo,
Easy Rhubarb Jam
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds rhubarb stems chopped, about 5 cups
- 2 cups Sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh or bottled bottled
- 3 3/4 tablespoon Ball RealFruit™ Low or No-Sugar Pectin
Instructions
- Place chopped rhubarb, ½ cup of sugar, water & lemon juice in a large saucepan.1.5 pounds rhubarb stems, 2 cups Sugar, 3/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh or bottled
- Bring to boil. Lower flame and cook at high simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is tender.
- Increase heat and bring it back to boil. Next, add pectin and 1/2 cup of the sugar.3 3/4 tablespoon Ball RealFruit™ Low or No-Sugar Pectin
- Bring back to boil and, stirring continuously, bring to a boil that can not be stirred down.
- Add the rest of sugar, once the jam has come back to a boil that can not be stirred down, boil for one more minute.
- Fill jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. If processing, process in water bath canning pot for 15 minutes. Turn off burner, leaving jars in hot water for 5 minutes.
- Carefully remove the jars from the canning pot. Allow to cool on the counter.
- If chunks of fruit seem to be floating, turn jars upside down for a while (20-30 minutes), then turn them right side up. Repeat this as many times as necessary to distribute fruit throughout the jam. I did it 2 times. Make sure you end up with the jam in the bottom of the jar. If it cools too much, the jam will stay in the top of the jar.
- Check seals after 24 hours. If lids pop when pressed in the middle, the jars have not sealed properly and should be stored in refrigerator.
- If you do not process the jars, store in refrigerator but they may only last a couple months, depending on your individual conditions.
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Nutrition
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Originally published June 1, 2019. Updated June 8, 2024.
Can you freeze the jam??
If you’d like to freeze it, use freezer pectin.
I just made this for the second time. It’s quite yummy. The first time I just measured 5 cups of chopped rhubarb and I ended up with slightly less than 3 half pint/250 mL jars. So this time I weighed the rhubarb (ended up about 6 cups with the rhubarb I was using) and still I ended up with about 3.5 jars instead of 5. I’ll have to tweak the recipe a bit to get a full batch. But I just had some on toast and quite enjoyed it; thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you liked it Rae! You may have cooked it down more than I did. Did you use the same amount of sugar? That will effect the yield as well.
Sorry, just saw this now, thanks for the response, Beth. Maybe I did cook it down more. Once time we made strawberry rhubarb jam with the occasional “fish bone” as my sister called it, from bits that weren’t quite soft enough so I do make sure it’s all very soft now! I used the amount of sugar you indicated in the recipe.
Lol. I have certainly been there and done that! 🙂 I don’t get too stressed out over the finished output as long as it tastes good and has a good texture. Thanks for trying out the recipe Rae!
Can you use frozen Rhubarb. It’s nearly impossible to find fresh here.
Yes, you absolutely can use frozen rhubarb. Thanks for checking out the recipe Joan!
Hi Beth, Binky! I’m about to make this delicious sounding recipe but nowhere can I find how many pints it makes. I’ve sterilized 6 pint jars; did I guess correctly? This is for the rhubarb jam with the 5 cups of rhubarb. Thanks
Hi Jennifer. Sorry about that. I added how many tablespoons it makes otherwise the nutrition program I have will give you the calories for any entire pint. This recipe makes about 2.5 pints. I’ll add it to the recipe notes. Thanks for trying it. Let me know how you like it!