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Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

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Strawberries and rhubarb are not just for pie, they’re great made into jam. You’ll love the sweetness of the strawberries with the tart rhubarb. Great on biscuits or toast and making jam is so much easier than you might think. 
Strawberry rhubarb jam on a biscuit

The farmers are saying that we are going to have the longest strawberry season in history this year! I hope it’s the same where you are. While I can just eat a gallon of strawberries all by themselves, I love the flavor that rhubarb adds when you combine them. Since they’re both around in the Spring it just makes sense to eat them together and what better way them in jam that you can enjoy all year.

 

In the Carolinas, it’s very difficult to find local rhubarb. The reason is that rhubarb is a perennial that grows mostly in the North because temperatures need to be below 40º in the winter and around 75º in the summer. Around here it rarely gets below 75º in the summer. Apparently, you can still grow rhubarb in the South if you treat it as an annual. Plant it in the fall and it should come up in the Spring.  I may have to give it a try this year. In the meantime, I have to rely on Whole Foods, where I found some great looking rhubarb.

A biscuit with strawberry rhubarb jam
This is the first time I’ve made jam.  I used to help my mom and grandmother make apricot and peach jam when I was a kid but I’ve never tackled it on my own and they never made strawberry jam.  So with some guidance from my mother-in-law who has made lots of strawberry jam, I gave it a try. I wanted to avoid using pectin, she said she never used it in her jams so I felt that I could get a good consistency without it.

How do you make strawberry rhubarb jam:

I cut up the berries and rhubarb, added sugar and let it sit for an hour. I used an equal amount of strawberry to rhubarb ratio and found that 11/2 cups of sugar for 2 lbs of fruit resulted in the perfect sweetness for me. Next I placed the fruit mixture in a saucepan and cooked it on high until it started to thicken.  While it’s cooking, you might think it will never thicken but give it about 10 minutes or so and it will start to coat the spoon.  You will also hear it sizzle when you stir it.  When you hear the sizzle you’ll know it’s done.  But if you take it off early, it’s no big deal, it will thicken as it cools and it still tastes great regardless of how runny it is. Mine took about 10-15 minutes depending on who juicy my fruit was.
A bowl of strawberries and rhubarb
I was a little nervous about the canning process, but I promise this was so easy.  You will need a large canning pot, $59.97 on Amazon and it included a utensil kit.  When you start cooking your fruit, turn on the heat for your canning pot, it takes forever to bring that much water to a boil.  I sterilized the jars in the boiling water first, then filled them with the hot fruit.  Sterilize the lids and place them on top and put the rims on and then place them in the pot making sure they are completely covered in water. Bring the water to a boil and once it starts to boil set a timer for 10 minutes.  Take them out and place them on the counter to cool.  Within just a few seconds you will hear the lids pop.  Once they are cooled, make sure the lids are sealed by pushing on them.  If they indent, then it didn’t seal and you should put that jar in the fridge to eat now.  All mine have sealed so far.
A basket of strawberries and rhubarb with a jar of jam
Of course you don’t have to can it at all, you can freeze it and it will last a year until next years crop is ready to pick.
A biscuit with strawberry rhubarb jam
I’ve made three batches so far and all taste a bit different even though I used the exact proportions.  If you’ve never tried strawberry rhubarb jam you don’t know what you’ve been missing.  This is amazing on toast, for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, on biscuits, over ice-cream, I think you get the picture.  Don’t be afraid to try something a little old fashioned, there is nothing like home-made jam and what a great idea to give for gifts at Christmas!
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Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Strawberry rhubarb jam on a biscuit

Strawberries and rhubarb are not just for pie, they’re great made into jam. You’ll love the sweetness of the strawberries with the tart rhubarb. Great on biscuits or toast and making jam is so much easier than you might think. 

  • Author: Barbara Curry
  • Prep Time: 85 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4 half pint jars 1x
Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 lb strawberries, diced
  • 1 lb rhubarb, diced
  • 1 ½ cups sugar

Instructions

1. Wash fruit. Dice strawberries into quarters. Dice rhubarb into 1/2 inch slices and place both in a large bowl. Add sugar and gently stir to combine. Let sit for 1 hour.
2. Fill canning pot with enough water to cover the jars you are using and let it come to a boil while you are cooking the fruit. This will take 15 minutes or so. When it comes to a boil, add empty jars to sterilize for a minute or so. Remove and let them dry. For the lids, place some of the boiling water in a pan and place lids in the hot water. Remove to a clean towel to dry.
3. Add fruit to a saucepan at least twice as large as the amount of fruit you have. Bring to a rapid boil and cook over high heat for about 10-15 minutes until it thickens. It will make a sizzle sound when you pull the fruit away from the edge of the pan when it is done.
4. Remove the jam from the heat and using a funnel, pour it into the clean jars. Wipe the rims and add the lids and then tighten the rings so that it’s finger tight.
5. Place the jars in a rack in the water and boil for 10 minutes. Start the timer when the water starts to boil. Carefully remove the jars to a towel to cool. The lids should make a popping sound as they seal. Once cool, check them to make sure they have sealed. If the lid does not make a noise when you push them in, they have sealed.

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