Strawberry Rhubarb Jam is a delight to the taste buds! The tart rhubarb and sweet strawberries are the perfect match in this old-fashioned jam. If you love rhubarb, be sure to try my rhubarb gin and rhubarb pie too!
Lately, my social media feed has been bombarded with rhubarb posts. Friends have been making rhubarb sauce, rhubarb tortes, and muffins. I decided to elbow my way in and get in on the fun with this yummy strawberry rhubarb jam recipe!
I've loved the combination of rhubarb and strawberries since the first time I tasted my mother-in-law's strawberry rhubarb pie. I decided to use this great combo to make this rhubarb strawberry jam recipe! It's perfect to spread over buttered toast and surprisingly, it requires no pectin to thicken!
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🧐Why This Recipe Works
- The tartness of the rhubarb does a beautiful job of balancing the sweetness of the rip strawberries.
- Strawberry rhubarb jam goes great on yogurt, buttered biscuits, lemon blueberry scones, and even as a topping over vanilla ice cream!
- You don't need pectin for this recipe.
- Homemade jam makes a wonderful little gift for both family & friends!
- When canned properly, rhubarb strawberry jam is good for a year or more.
🛒What Goes Into This Recipe
🔖Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Rhubarb: Use fresh rhubarb whenever possible, choosing darker, blemish-free stalks.
- Strawberries: Fresh ripe strawberries or frozen strawberries may be used.
- Lemon: Although bottled lemon juice can be used in this recipe, freshly squeezed is always best.
- Cardamom: Cardamom can be purchased in pods and powder. In this recipe, we will be using powdered.
- Orange peel: Make sure to wash the orange thoroughly to remove wax build-up (if store-bought) or dirt (if picked from your garden) prior to zesting.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar
*A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
🔪Helpful Tools
- Canning tools (tongs, ladle, water bath canner)
- Half-pint jars
🍓How to Make No Pectin Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Step 1: Wash and slice enough rhubarb to equal five cups. Prepare fresh strawberries by removing the leaves and slicing them in quarters.
Step 2: Place rhubarb in an eight-quart Dutch oven and sprinkle with some of the sugar. Add prepared strawberries and cover with the remaining sugar.
Step 3: Add lemon zest and juice of one lemon. Quarter the juiced lemon and add to the pot, along with the cinnamon, cardamom, and dried and ground orange peel (if using). Cover with the remaining sugar.
Pro Tip: Citrus fruit are naturally high in pectin and will make up for the lack of pectin in the strawberries and rhubarb.
Step 4: Place the lemon seeds inside of a tea ball or soup bag and add to the pot. Lemon seeds are also loaded with pectin. Place the pot over low heat, uncovered, allowing the sugar to melt slowly.
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Step 5: Once the sugar begins to liquefy, gently stir so that the fruit does not get scorched.
Step 6: When the mixture begins to boil, adjust the heat to low-medium and allow the preserves to simmer. Skim the foam that forms on the surface with a spoon.
Step 7: A quick way to test the jam's consistency is to take a few tablespoons of the jam and place it in the refrigerator for five to ten minutes. If the jam does not jell, it needs to simmer further.
Step 8: Meanwhile, place the jars into a large pot filled with enough water to fully submerge the jars. Process jar in boiling water for approximately ten minutes to sterilize.
Step 9: When you're satisfied with the texture of the jam, remove the jars from the hot water and add the lids and rings. Remove the lemon rinds and carefully pour the hot jam into the sterilized jars, leaving a ¼ inch headspace.
Step 10: Wipe off the rims and sides of the jars with a damp washcloth or paper towel. Screw the lids on hand tight and place the jars upright into the hot water. Process for an additional ten minutes.
Pro Tip: When processing food at higher altitudes (1000+ feet above sea level), more processing time is required. Add an additional 5 minutes for every 1000 feet above sea level.
Step 11: Remove jars and place on a rack or a dish towel. Once the jars seal, tighten the lids and store in the pantry for up to a year.
🤷🏻♀️Recipe FAQs
Rhubarb is low in pectin, which is why you'll often see rhubarb jam recipes that include liquid or powdered pectin.
There are various ways to thicken rhubarb strawberry jam. One way is to use citrus, for example, a lemon. Not only is lemon juice high in pectin, but so are the pith and seeds.
After zesting and juicing the lemon, add the entire lemon in with the jam and fish it out just before canning the jam.
Readers always want to know if they can reduce the amount of sugar in jam recipes. Although reducing the sugar sometimes works, most of the time it keeps the jam from jelling and results in a jam that's too watery.
I would suggest reducing the amount of sugar by no more than ½ of a cup at a time. If the jam is too watery, you can still save it by stirring some liquid pectin into it and boiling the jam for a few additional minutes.
👩🏼🍳Pro Tips
- I've noticed a lot of rhubarb-strawberry jam recipes use an equal amount of strawberries to rhubarb. If you use an equal amount, the strawberry flavor tends to overpower the rhubarb. You can either use equal amounts of the two or stick to the measurements above.
- Resist the temptation to cook this jam longer, thinking it's not thickening. Instead, test a small amount at the 35-minute mark to see if it needs further cooking.
- If you decide to reduce the amount of sugar in this rhubarb strawberry jam recipe, you may want to add liquid pectin so that it will jell properly.
- If you prefer a smoother texture, allow the jam to cool, then blend using an immersion blender. Once you have the desired texture, heat jam once more before canning and processing.
- This rhubarb strawberry jam is pretty tart. If you prefer sweeter jam, add an additional cup of sugar and use 4 cups of strawberries and 4 cups of rhubarb.
- If you want the flavor of this strawberry rhubarb jam to really stand out, add a pinch of salt, and leave out the cinnamon and cardamom.
🍑Related Recipes
If you love this no pectin strawberry rhubarb jam recipe, give these other recipes a try as well!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam (no pectin)
Ingredients
- 5 cups chopped rhubarb
- 3 cups chopped strawberries
- 7 cups granulated sugar
- 1 medium lemon (juiced and zested)
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon dried and ground orange peel (optional)
Instructions
- Wash and slice enough rhubarb to equal five cups. Prepare strawberries by removing the leaves and slicing in quarters.
- Place rhubarb in an eight-quart Dutch oven and sprinkle with some of the sugar. Add prepared strawberries and cover with the remaining sugar.
- Add lemon zest and juice of one lemon. Quarter the juiced lemon and add to the pot, along with the cinnamon, cardamom, and dried and ground orange peel (if using). Cover with the remaining sugar.
- Once the sugar begins to liquefy, gently stir so that the fruit does not get scorched.
- When the mixture begins to boil, adjust the heat to low-medium and allow the preserves to simmer. Skim the foam that forms on the surface with a spoon.
- A quick way to test the jam's consistency is to take a few tablespoons of the jam and place it in the refrigerator for five to ten minutes. If the jam does not jell, it needs to simmer further.
- Meanwhile, place the jars into a large pot filled with enough water to fully submerge the jars. Boil for approximately ten minutes to sterilize.
- When you're satisfied with the texture of the jam, remove the jars from the hot water and add the lids and rings. Remove the lemon rinds and carefully pour the hot jam into the sterilized jars, leaving a ¼ inch headspace.
- Wipe off the rims and sides of the jars with a damp washcloth or paper towel. Screw the lids on hand tight and place the jars upright into the hot water. Process for an additional ten minutes.
- Remove jars and place on a rack or a dish towel. Once the jars seal, tighten the lids and store in the pantry for up to a year.
Notes
- I've noticed a lot of rhubarb-strawberry jam recipes use an equal amount of strawberries to rhubarb. If you use an equal amount, the strawberry flavor tends to overpower the rhubarb. You can either use equal amounts of the two or stick to the measurements above.
- Resist the temptation to cook this jam longer, thinking it's not thickening. Instead, test a small amount at the 35-minute mark to see if it needs further cooking.
- If you decide to reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe, you may want to add liquid pectin so that it will jell properly.
- If you prefer a smoother texture, allow the jam to cool, then blend using an immersion blender. Once you have the desired texture, heat jam once more before canning and processing.
- Rhubarb jam is pretty tart. If you prefer sweeter jam, add an additional cup of sugar and use 4 cups of strawberries and 4 cups of rhubarb.
- If you want the flavor of the rhubarb and strawberries to really stand out, add a pinch of salt, and leave out the cinnamon and cardamom.
Lori Ross says
Made this with some rhubarb I was gifted, thank you Hilda! I am pretty sure I would have over cooked it had it not been for the pro tip! it turned out great and I am looking forward to sharing it with others:)
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Lori! Glad the pro tip was helpful!
Kathy Fisher says
This is the best strawberry rhubarb jam I've had. Great flavor. I liked the added lemon, orange zest,cardamom and cinnamon. I haven't used those before. Just right!!! Thank you Hilda.
HildaSterner says
Wow, thanks, Kathy. To think it was my first attempt at using rhubarb. I'm glad you liked it! 🙂