Rhubarb Jam Recipe (Easiest and Quickest)
This rhubarb jam recipe, is the easiest ever! Not only that, if you’re a rhubarb lover, this is the jam for you! There’s none of that pesky ginger (or even strawberries) to mask one of the best flavors in the world.
Rhubarb jam will make you a fan of rhubarb, if you are yet to be sold on this pink stalked vegetable. If I had to choose, rhubarb is definitely one of my top 10 foods/flavors.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Disclosure: I received rhubarb from Frieda’s Produce with no strings attached. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.
Maybe it’s because it’s something I absolutely loved as a child. (FYI, it is not a fruit, but a vegetable.) In Scotland, my mother grew rhubarb in our garden, then she’d pull a stalk for me, cut off the leaf, and wash it. Then she’d give it to me (as is) with a little sugar to dip it in. I still love rhubarb this way!
A few weeks ago, after not being able to find rhubarb in the grocery store where I most often find it, I almost gave up all hope. I thought it was another year without rhubarb and I was so very sad. Until I spoke with a friend who had “rhubarb connections”, however, all the rhubarb was spoken for.
But wait, there was more–yes, more rhubarb coming in! A 20 lb box, she said, and asked how much I wanted. I said, “I’ll take whatever you want to give me!”, meaning that I’d be happy with just one pound at that point. However, the next message floored me: “20 lbs it is then!”
OMG, you have NO idea how happy I was!
Suffice it to say that there are more rhubarb recipes on the way, this being the first, but I have added many classics, like this rhubarb tart (with or without meringue).
The rhubarb arrived and it was absolutely perfect!
I froze some, made some compote, some tarts, and even some dried rhubarb chips, thanks to my friend Jill at Mad About Macarons. I highly recommend making these as they are simply marvelous! Everyone who tasted them fell in love with them.
Back to the jam: I used natural pectin in this recipe as it’s so much easier than messing with citrus pits and waiting, and that whole lengthy process. This has been one of the best jams I’ve ever made. I sent a little to my parents and my mother flipped (that’s huge)!
And if you are more organized and like to give lovely specimens of jam away, you may like these French jam jars!
Rhubarb crumble ice cream is a dream!
Easiest Rhubarb Jam Recipe
Recipe loosely based on Sure-Jell’s basic jam recipe Makes about 8, 8 oz jars
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- rhubarb
- sugar
- lemon juice
- natural pectin
Special equipment: clean jam jars with lids.
Directions
Put a saucer in the freezer.
Heat rhubarb and lemon juice over medium heat.
Increase the heat and boil for 10 minutes. Add pectin and boil for another 10 minutes.
Now add the sugar and boil for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until a little jam congeals when dripped onto the saucer from the freezer.
Boil some water to rinse the jars and lids just before filling them. Pour hot jam into the jars using a wide-mouth funnel and close immediately. Process in a water bath if you want to follow the FDA regulations for jam-making.
You can let otherwise, let the jars cool and then keep them in the fridge if you’re concerned about them sealing properly. Each jar should make a pop, and the middle of the lid will be concave once sealed.
Then all there is to do is reap the rewards of the easiest rhubarb jam recipe, ever! Try making no knead bread to put the jam on. You’ll be in heaven!
If only you could smell this, too!
Sooooo good. And the color is absolutely stunning!
And if you’re really willing to live dangerously, this incredibly delectable rhubarb and custard cake recipe is yours to try, from Emma at Mason Kitchen! I’m dying to make it, but have to wait until this heat wave ends!
Easiest Rhubarb Jam Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 lbs rhubarb chopped
- 4 lbs sugar
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1.75 oz natural pectin
Instructions
- Put a saucer in the freezer.
- Heat rhubarb and lemon juice over medium heat.
- Increase the heat and boil for 10 minutes. Add pectin and boil for another 10 minutes.
- Now add the sugar and boil for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until a little jam congeals on the saucer (from the freezer).
- Boil some water to rinse the jars and lids just before filling them. Pour hot jam into the jars and close immediately.
- You can let the jars cool and keep in the fridge or process them so that they're safely sealed.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hello, I was wondering what kind of sugar to use for this recipe. I’ve seen a sugar sold as jam sugar . Sorry if this is obvious , I’m still learning , many thanks
Hi Hayley, not at all! A totally legitimate question if you’ve seen “jam sugar”. I never have, so not sure what the difference is, but just plain cane sugar is what you need. You can use Baker’s sugar, which is more fine, but it’s also more expensive, so I’d just stick to the normal stuff. Let me know how it turns out! CC
Hi,
Jam sugar in the UK contains pectin.
I discovered this since then! Thank you Marina.
I believe the amount of sugar called for in the “Easiest Rhubarb Jam Recipe” is incorrect. I doubt you mean to use an entire bag of sugar. Perhaps you mean 4 cups, rather than 4 pounds, of sugar?
No, Catherine, it’s correct. Many jams are a 1:1 ratio for fruit to sugar, especially this being rhubarb, it’s not overly sweet at all. I’m guessing you’re not used to making a lot of jam as the amount of sugar can be a bit surprising. :) Hope you give it a try, it’s so good!
That was my question too😱😱
If it was 1lb of rhubarb and 1lb of sugar would you still be shocked? That is the normal ratio and rhubarb is VERY tart. I’m simply not understanding the disbelief here.
I don’t have a food scale. How many cups does it take for 4 pounds of rhubarb?
Hi Bob, without first weighing the rhubarb, and then measuring in cups, I’d have no idea, but then it would depend on how big the rhubarb is cut to have the same outcome for someone else. A food scale is so inexpensive and will yield you much better results in making jam and baking, that I HIGHLY recommend buying one. There are many available under $20. Sorry I can’t be more helpful, but weight and volume are two very different things. CC
My 4 lb. came out to 14 cups, 1/2-inch dice. No guarantees that others would get the same.
Exactly, Catherine! That’s why scales are really the only way to go. :) Thank you!
I just walked my culinarily challenged boyfriend through this recipe and he had so much fun. The jam is perfect! I love that it is simply rhubarb and nothing else! We decreased the sugar ratio so its still massively sweet, but a bit on the tart side, the way we like it! Thanks for the recipe!
I love to hear things like this! Good for you, Sarah, and I’m so happy you enjoyed the end result! Just wish I could get my hands on more rhubarb; it’s so hard to get in LA~ CC
Sarah, I live in the US and found this jam (just made today) a little sweet for our liking too. When you reduced the sugar, did you find the consistency jam-like or a little softer? How much did you reduce the sugar by?
Thanks for any lower sugar tips Christina & Sarah.
Hi Joan, if you reduce the sugar, it may end up more like a sauce, so you may need to add a little more pectin to compensate? I haven’t tried since it wasn’t too sweet for me (maybe it’s a difference in how sweet/sour the rhubarb is?) Best of luck!
Was wondering 1. How sweet or tart this jam is?
And 2. Is it thick runny or in the middle consistency? I like it to be a little bit on tart and runny side so I can put on ice cream…if it’s not can u suggest how I could alter recipe to get that result?
Hi Diana, hard to say how sweet it is, but it’s rhubarb, so it’s not very sweet (to me.) The jam isn’t thick, it’s definitely more runny, so the consistency is good. Just reduce the sugar a bit and you should be good to go! :) Let me know if you try it. CC
If it doesn’t set up…poof! You have sauce!
That’s a positive way to look at it! So true! :)
Lovely! I adore rhubarb jam and agree that it’s lovely on its own as it is. However, I’m not as lucky as you as our rhubarb is so green here that I cheat and add some hibiscus to make it pink, rather than add strawberries. Looks super, Christina. Great pics, as ever.
Thanks so much for the shout-out on the rhubarb crisps! Thrilled you liked them.
Funny how you don’t get red rhubarb? I doubt it affects the flavor though, right? I just LOVE your rhubarb crisps and actually took some to Italy for the rellies to try!