Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Fruity, sticky, and a little sweet. This Strawberry Rhubarb Jam is a great way to use up your spring rhubarb and is naturally sweetened and pectin free!
Here in the Midwest, rhubarb grows like a weed. Everyone you know has a rhubarb patch and it seems like they are always trying to give a lot away. It was one of things that is so so good, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of recipes out there on what to do with it.
My grandma had a big rhubarb patch growing up. I always looked forward to the spring time when she would have it all sitting on the counter ready to throw in all sorts of baked goods. She also made the best strawberry rhubarb jam which is what inspired this recipe.
My Grandma's strawberry rhubarb jam included strawberry jello and a lot of sugar. It was honestly so good on toast! But I wanted to try to make it a little healthier subbing the sugar for honey and jello for fresh strawberries. With some other little additions, I have finally gotten there.
It takes me back to my childhood, helping my grandma cut up what felt like hundred of rhubarb stalks and dumping the cooled jam into jars. And as soon as I was done, I instantly made a piece of toast and slathered it with butter and jam. I was transported back to my grandma's kitchen once again and it just made my heart so happy.
That is always the thing about food that amazes me and keeps me in the kitchen. I love how you can instantly feel something or remember a time in life or feel such warmth in your heart by smelling, seeing, and tasting food. There is so much tradition and love that came from the kitchens of my grandma, mom, and so many others in my life and I am just excited to be sharing these recipes with you!
Why is Rhubarb so hard to work with?
A lot of people don't care for rhubarb. It has a really tart and sour taste and really is not great on its own. It needs a lot of love on order to taste good. That love usually comes in the form of sugar! Because it is so tart, it typically needs a lot of sugar to offset it. It is also, typically paired with another fruit just to give it a little more life. Berries are always a nice complement to rhubarb.
Rhubarb cooks down a lot which might be a good thing because then you can use more of it! I will continue to share
Naturally Sweetened Jam!
I have discovered that jam is a really easy thing to naturally sweeten. I like to sweeten mine with honey. It bring a lot of natural sweetness without adding any flavor. In the strawberry rhubarb jam, I use honey and really makes it sweet enough. I recommend playing around with honey as a sweetener. It has a lot of health benefits as an added bonus.
Naturally Thickened Jam!
My grandma used Jello in her jam to help it thicken with the gelatin. The quality of gelatin, along with other ingredients in Jello are not the best. For all of my homemade jams, I simply add in a green apple with the peel on as a thickener. Green apples have a natural pectin in them. I chop the apple really finely so when it is worked in with the jam through the cooking process, it basically disintegrates and you don't even know it is there. It will not add a taste to your jam. It simply helps to thicken.
What to do with Strawberry Rhubarb Jam!
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam is a fun thing to have on hand to add to desserts. Obviously our favorite way to eat it is by putting it on buttered sourdough toast. But you can also add it as a filling to toaster strudels. I made these with my girls a couple weeks ago and they were so much fun.
It is also much better than store bought jam as you are controlling what is in it. Store bought jams are also always made with sugar and typically have some preservatives.
How to store homemade jam!
There are two safe ways to store homemade jams. The first way is to can it. From my research and experience, I can fruit jams using a water bath opposed to a pressure can. This is because fruit is extremely acidic, giving it natural preservative. I recommend researching the amount of time you need to process your jars in the water bath if you chose to go this route. It is all dependent on your jar sizes and elevation. My favorite resource for all of my canning questions is Ball Jar. Click here for more information on water bath canning!
Another extremely easy and perfectly acceptable way to store homemade jam is in the freezer. This is mostly how I store it as it is what my grandma did! If you have the room in your freezer, it is a really great option if you don't want to mess with canning or aren't familiar with the process. I typically place the jam in glass mason jars and place the lid on. Then I put them in the refrigerator to cool and then place them in the freezer.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Naturally sweetened with honey, no refined sugar, and just as tasty! This jam is the perfect summer staple, sweet, tangy, and the perfect consistency.
- 8 cups rhubarb (cleaned and chopped into about 1/8 inch pieces)
- 2 cups strawberries (cleaned and chopped into small pieces)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 green apple (chopped with peel on)
- 2 cups raw honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Place the chopped rhubarb, chopped strawberries, salt, apple, and honey into a large pot. Heat the mixture on the stove over medium high heat. As the fruit warms, it will start to release juices.
- As the mixture starts to bubble, reduce the heat to medium low and let it continue to cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently. The fruits will continue to break down and thicken.
- Once the jam is the desired thickness, pull it off the heat and stir in the vanilla and lemon juice. Let the mixture cool slightly.
- Store the jam in glass mason jars in the refrigerator, freezer, or process them in using water bath canning method.
Adjust your sweetness to your likeness. You can certainly use a little less or a little more honey depending on your taste! I love to store this in the freezer. It is easiest and stays good for quite a while. Using a water bath canning process is also great!