Orange-Pineapple-Rhubarb Jam
Orange-Pineapple-Rhubarb Jam is a 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. This recipe came to us from Laura Keckstein. It is an old family recipe originally made with lots of sugar and orange gelatin. She wanted to make it with honey and orange flavoring.Laura’s reaction: “I tried the recipe and really loved it. I always use the lowest amount of honey called for with your jam recipes and this is always the perfect sweetness for me. Thanks again for the recipe; we really enjoyed it and will be making more soon!”This is one of the Pomona's crew's ALL TIME FAVORITE recipes!
Notes
You can use canned pineapple that is canned in its own juice.
We also like to add the fruit-meat from one orange to this recipe, it give it a little extra POP!
Servings 5 cups
Ingredients
- 3 cups rhubarb about 2 lbs rhubarb stalks cooked
- 1 cup crushed pineapple *see note
- 1 teaspoon orange flavoring Laura used Flavorganics Organic Orange Extract. OR zest from 1 orange.
- 2 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
- ¾ cup up to 1 cup honey
- 2¾ 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 3 cups cooked rhubarb back into saucepan.
- Add crushed pineapple, calcium water, and orange flavoring, and mix well.
- Measure honey into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into honey. Set aside.
- Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-honey 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.
I like to clean, slice, then freeze my rhubarb. When you thaw it, it make the prettiest pink juice. I then run it through the food processor. Mix with equal crushed pineapple.. For the orange, i use 1/2 container of frozen orange juice. It is so good.
I made this and while it’s tart rhubarb with a slight orange taste it’s very beige. Is this normal?
Does adding the orange fruit/meat take the place of some of the 3 cups of rhubarb or 1 cup of pineapple? If not, won’t there be more than 4 cups of fruit mixture?
Is there an orange rhubarb marmalade recipe that would be even fruitier than a jam?
Yes, our Orange Rhubarb Marmalade recipe can be found in our cookbook, HERE.
Does the crushed pineapple in a can need to be drained first?
Yes, we would suggest draining most of the liquid, it should resemble fresh pineapple as much as possible.
Can I add dried chamomile to this mixture? Its an odd question I know… however I grow chamomile and the fresh smell is so close to pineapple and is a beautiful fragrance. I’m thinking it would pair wonderfully with this, but I’m not sure how or where to incorporate it in the recipe. Could I add it to a muslin bag and have it simmer with the rhubarb in step 3?
Hello Katy,
We believe you can add your chamomile had you have suggested, steeping it in the rhubarb. OR you can try adding a teaspoon of dried chamomile to the jam. We have never done it, but it sounds like it may be quite delicious!
What does the “fruit-meat” from one orange actually entail?
The orange pulp of the orange, without the white pith. 😊
Can I use white sugar in place of the honey? If so what would be the equivalent in sugar?
You sure can! You can use 3/4 cup – 1 3/4 cup sugar. Happy jamming!
I make a recipe similar to this one except I add sugar free strawberry jello.
Ingredients: Rhubarb
Crushed pineapple
Sugar free strawberry Jell-O
Will your pectin work with this and how much should be used?
Hello Dorothy,
We are not sure how our pectin will work with a jello recipe jam. You can always give it a try…though we are not sure how much pectin you will use…maybe 2 teaspoons? We would recommend using it as a freezer jam, as we are not sure of the pH of the finished product.