Rhubarb Jam
Rhubarb Jam is a low-sugar or low-honey cooked jam made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener.
Notes
Option: Because rhubarb is acid enough for safe water bath canning, the addition of lemon juice is optional. If you want to put lemon juice in your jam, you can add up to ¼ cup for 4 cups of cooked rhubarb. Add the lemon juice in Step 4.
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked rhubarb about 2½ lbs rhubarb stalks
- 2 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
- 1 cup honey or 2 cups sugar
- 3 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin mixed with sweetener
Instructions
- Before you begin, prepare calcium water. To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
- Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Wash lids and bands and set aside.
- Wash and trim rhubarb stalks. Cut into ½ inch pieces. Put in saucepan, add a little water, and simmer until soft.
- Measure 4 cups cooked fruit back into saucepan.
- Add calcium water and mix well.
- Measure sugar or room temperature honey into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sweetener. Set aside.
- Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sweetener mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
- Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with (marmalade/jam/jelly), leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
- Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, bring the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
- Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then, remove jars from canner. Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then, confirm that jars have sealed, then store properly. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
Hello! I’d like to add freeze dried dragon fruit powder to this rhubarb jam recipe. I’ve made freezer jam this way just to make the rhubarb jam a prettier color and the taste is really excellent! Is there anything I’d need to adjust by adding this additional ingredient in order to can it?
What an interesting addition! Adding it to this recipe for canning could work, as it’s a low-moisture ingredient. However, we have not tried this and cannot say for sure. Depending on how much you use, a powder may slightly affect the texture, as it can absorb some liquid. So you may have to make some adjustments.
Could I use coconut sugar?
Do you have a rhubarb jelly recipe.
We sure do! It can be found HERE.
Can I make rhubarb freezer jam? And if so what would be the recipe?
You will follow this recipe, and then freeze your filled jars (once cooled to room temperature) instead of waterbath canning them.
Hi, what do you think about a rhubarb and peach jam? I don’t see rhubarb on the “Create Your Own” page, though on this page it does say rhubarb doesn’t need extra acidity (i.e. bottled lemon juice). Would it work to essentially make a batch of rhubarb, and a batch of peach jam, and then stir them together over heat right before canning?
That sounds delicious! We would recommend using our Sweet Cherry Rhubarb Jam recipe, HERE, and simply replace the cherries with peaches.
Could I use maple syrup instead of honey for this recipe?
You sure can! It is a direct replacement.
I was shocked at how GOOD this tastes. There is a real danger in just winding up eating it with a spoon.
Could I add 1/2 of jalapeno to this recipe without adjusting the Pectin or calcium?
We do not recommend adding jalapeño to this recipe, we are not sure how much acid you would need to make the acidity safe for canning.
If you wanted to store your jars in thee freezer for storage, you could certainly add jalapeño to this recipe.
Can this be done as freezer jam?
Nevermind!! I found the answer elsewhere on your site. 😁
“Measure 4 cups cooked fruit back into saucepan” Huh? ‘Back’ from where? Isn’t it all in the saucepan at the beginning of this step? Didn’t we start with the 2 1/2 cups that would give us 4 cups cooked?
It is just important that you have 4 cups of measured cooked rhubarb for this recipe to work properly.
Happy jamming!
How long will it take to “simmer til soft” (step 3)?
thanks!
It varies, which is why we do not give a specific time. You will know when the rhubarb is soft. Probably less than 5 minutes.
Is this recipe considered low sugar? The description says so but, while I love it, I find it quite sweet, in comparison with other low-sugar jams I have made. Nevertheless, this is my first attempt both with Pomona Pectin and making rhubarb jam so I will possibly tweak it in future attempts. On a different note, I really appreciate the recipe and how clearly the steps are laid out. It took away my anxiety working with the product for the first time. And, lastly, I added vanilla bean to mix it up! This is a recipe that I will make again!!
Welcome to the Pomona’s Family Heide! It is still considered a low sugar jam, but feel free to adjust the sweetener to your liking on any recipe of ours 😊 Happy jamming!
Cant’t find strawberry rhubarb recipe
You can find our Strawberry Rhubarb Jam recipe, HERE. Happy jamming!
All my Pomona jams turn out. The nice thing about Pomona is you can adjust the amounts. I go through several pounds a year making jam for our church fundraisers. Anyone who eats the sugar reduced says there is no flavor difference. Recommend highly.
Rhubarb on the way now.