Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Recipe
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This strawberry rhubarb jam recipe is made with equal parts of Strawberry and Rhubarb. My favorite combination! This makes about 6 half-pints.
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam can be processed safely in a Water Bath Canner.
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam: Extended directions with tips
Gather your canning supplies
- water bath canner
- pint canning jars
- canning lids – both seals and rings
- jar lifter and canning funnel
- bowls
- large pot
- large spoons
- towels and dish cloths
- sharp knife
- strawberry corer
- potato masheror whisk
Ingredients
- 2 cups rhubarb – diced
- 2 cups crushed strawberries
- 5 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 package powdered pectin
Start by washing jars, and get water in your canner heating.
(see Water Bath Canning for full directions)
How to make your Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Wash and dice your rhubarb.
Combine rhubarb, strawberries, pectin and lemon juice in a large pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. It may seem dry to you, that is ok. The juice from the strawberries will start to run and it will get juicy as it heats. I like to use a potato masher to help mash up the fruit.
Add sugar and bring back to a boil again stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute.
See how I have two pots going at the same time? I think this picture below is actually when I was making just strawberry jam. I didn’t get a picture of my two pots going with the strawberry and rhubarb. But the procedure is the same. Be sure and switch back and forth stirring each pot as it heats.
Make the jam separately, process it in a canner together.
The jam may foam up on you so be sure your pot is large enough. As it cooks the foam will die down. At the end of your cooking time skim any foam left if necessary.
This is quite often needed when you are doing any type of strawberry jam. Another option is to add about 1/4 tsp butter to the pan. This does help stop foaming.
Remember since you’ve got pectin in this recipe you only need to boil hard for 1 minute. The pectin takes care of making your jam gel up nicely.
When one minute boil is over, fill hot jars with hot jam leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe your rims as any sticky residue may cause your seal to fail. Then add the lids and screw bands and put the jars in your waterbath canner.
Process according to water bath canning instructions.
How to Can Your Jam
Process in a water bath or steam canner
This can be processed traditionally in a water bath canner. OR it is a perfect candidate for the Steam Canner. If you are not familiar with steam canning you can find instruction here. You’ll use the same processing time as the water bath… but do the process for a steam canner instead.
The processing time is for 1/2 pints or pints.
- Process for 10 minutes if you are below 6000 ft elevation.
- 15 minutes if you are above 6000 ft elevation.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups Rhubarb diced
- 2 cups Strawberries cored & crushed
- 5 ½ cups Sugar
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice
- 1 package Powdered Pectin
Instructions
- Start by preparing jars and getting water in the canner heating. You want the canner hot, but not boiling, when the jars are ready to be processed.See full water bath canning instructions here.
For a Hot Pack
- Combine rhubarb, strawberries, pectin, and lemon juice in a large pot.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Add sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Boil hard for 1 minute. Skim foam if needed.
- Fill jar with hot jam, leaving 1/4” headspace.
- Remove air bubbles, wipe rim clean, and place seal and ring. Place the jar in the warm canner. Proceed to fill all jars. Process according to the chart below.
Notes
- 0-6,000 ft – 10 minutes
- Above 6,000 ft – 15 minutes
Adapted from: Ball Blue Book
Don’t double up jam recipes.
One tip I have when canning any jam recipe is not to try and do double batches. It is VERY tempting to double jam recipes and make more. However, it is difficult to make double batches of jam. They just don’t set up very well. Some people do double up on batches, and you can certainly try because it is not a safety issue. But I have a better idea. If you want to make more at a time (I don’t blame you) simply have two batches going at the same time in different pots.
Jam Separation in the jars. Floating Fruit!
Sometimes strawberry jams (including with rhubarb) will separate in your jars. YOu’ll end up with a layer of fruit floating on top of a clear layer. This is not dangerous in any way but not appealing. One suggestion is to allow your jam to rest for about 5 minutes after you boil it before you put it in the jars. Then give it a good stir and fill the jars. This will allow the jam to cool ever so slightly and mix the fruit back up. If it happens to you anyway just stir up the jar when you open it to use it.
So Much Sugar! Find a low sugar option here.
This jam is a traditional jam and has lots of sugar. My family likes full sugar jam! We just use it as a condiment so it is not a problem. But… I have been working on getting lower sugars into my guys. This is how I’ve been doing this with mostly success!
This recipe comes from the Ball Blue Book.
Other pages you might be interested in…
- Recipe for Strawberry Jam
- Orange Rhubarb Jam Recipe
- Strawberry Recipes
- How to Freeze Strawberries
- Freezing Rhubarb
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I made strawberry rhubarb jam for the first time last year. Yum! I’ve had great success using low-sugar pectin and reducing the added sugar to 3 cups. It sets up perfectly, plus the flavor is much more complex since it isn’t as sweet. Thanks for all your guidance!
I love Strawberry Rhubarb jam – so I’ll be making some when the time comes. By the way have you ever tried processing in an Instant Pot? I tried it with a jam and didn’t really like it!!
Please advise.
And I love all of your ideas and info – keep it up – as I think more people are getting into home preserving!!
HI Elaine, thanks for your nice comments. And you are correct more and more people are learning about home food preservation. The Instant Pot is not designed for home canning. So I don’t recommend it at all.