When spring comes around, the number one thing I get excited for is… rhubarb! And this post is all about classic, simple rhubarb jam. It is the absolute essence of the season.
Early in the season, the stalks might be a little shorter, and depending on the variety, they might lean more green or beautifully red. But honestly, when you’re making this jam, any rhubarb works. It’s all delicious!
Even though rhubarb is technically a vegetable, we almost always treat it as a sweet. I love rhubarb custard pie (one of my all-time favorites!), so I’m going to tell you how to make a rustic, perfect-for-home jam. Since we are cooking this completely down into a fruit pulp, you don’t even need to be perfectly uniform when you chop your rhubarb. The pieces don’t really matter—it always comes out good.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This
Here is why you need to make it:
- It’s basically foolproof. It has the easiest ingredients, and you don’t need any store-bought, boxed pectin!
- It’s the perfect balance of sweet and tart. You get that hint of a pucker in the back of your tongue, followed by pure, bright rhubarb flavor.
- It makes you a canner! Canning scares a lot of people, but a high-acid, high-sugar jam like this is the safest, easiest place to start. If I can do it, I know you can do it.
If you love rhubarb perfection like this jam, also try my My Absolute Favorite Rhubarb Crumble (Foolproof & No Soggy Bottoms!) for cozy crumble vibes!
What You’ll Need
Special Equipment
- Jam Pan or Heavy-Bottomed Pot (A wide, low copper pan is traditional, but any good heavy kettle works perfectly for evaporation).
- Glass Canning Funnel (For mess-free jar filling).
- Water Bath Canner or Large Pot (Deep enough to fully submerge your jars in boiling water).
- Jar Lifter (Crucial for safely removing hot jars).
- Canning Jars, New Lids, and Rings (Half-pint jars work best for jam).
The Ingredients
- 4 cups / 500g Rhubarb (about 1.5 lbs), washed and chopped
- 2 ½ cups / 500g Granulated Sugar (Cut back slightly from old-fashioned recipes, but exact enough for safe canning)
- 1 large Lemon (Zest and juice)
- 1 medium Orange (Regular orange or blood orange — Zest and juice)
- 1–2 drops Red Gel Food Coloring (Optional, for that classic red color)
Let’s Get Cooking!
1. Prep the Fruit
Wash the rhubarb and chop it into rustic, roughly 1-inch pieces. Don’t worry about being perfect; it will all cook down! Place the chopped rhubarb into your jam pan or heavy-bottomed pot.
2. The Citrus Secret & Sweetening Things Up
If you really want to get flavor out of your rhubarb, it needs some really good citrus. Use the zest and the juice of both a lemon and an orange (I used a blood orange, but regular oranges are perfect). You cannot get more classic than orange and rhubarb. Don’t let it overpower, but it makes the rhubarb flavor completely shine!
Add the sugar. What does a jam take? It takes sugar. Especially with rhubarb, that natural tartness needs to be counterbalanced. But try to counter just enough so more of that true fruit flavor shines through. You still get a little bit of that tartness, and it counterbalances beautifully.
If you love rhubarb with a zesty twist like this, also try my Rhubarb Pie with a Secret Ginger Kick! for pie magic!
3. Start the Boil
Place the pot on the stove over medium heat. The sugar and citrus juice will begin to naturally draw the liquids out of the rhubarb. Bring the mixture up to a rolling boil (a boil you cannot stir down). Cook at this boil for 15 to 20 minutes, allowing the natural pectins to release.
Note: Beyond flavor, the acidity in the citrus is extremely important. The acidity and the natural pectin from the lemons are what help this jam set up and what makes it completely safe to can!
4. My “Weird” Trick for the Perfect Jam Consistency
Here is a slightly weird process some people aren’t used to: After boiling the fruit, drain the liquid off the fruit pulp. Carefully place a strainer over a heat-proof bowl and drain the liquid off of the rhubarb pulp. Return only the liquid back to your jam pan.
5. Thicken the Syrup
Cook the liquid down over medium-high heat until it reduces into a thickened, sticky syrup (similar to the consistency of hot candy syrup). Think of it almost like candy-making at Christmas! Since all the sugar is in that liquid, you can really thicken it up into a beautiful jam consistency without having to overcook the fruit and destroy its fresh flavor.
6. Recombine & A Quick Trick for Beautiful Color
Add the reserved rhubarb pulp back into the thickened syrup. Sometimes, depending on your rhubarb, your cooked jam might look a little muddy. If you have bright red rhubarb, you’ll have a great color. If not, stir in 1 to 2 drops of red gel food coloring. You don’t want to overdo it and make it look like fake red velvet cake, but a little drop gives you that pretty, consistent color. Let the mixture heat all the way through and come back to a rolling boil for about 1 minute.
7. Fill the Jars
Get your jars ready! Using a sterilized funnel, ladle the hot jam into clean, sterilized canning jars. Leave exactly ¼-inch of headspace at the top.
8. Seal
Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean paper towel dipped in hot water to ensure no stickiness prevents a seal. Place a clean lid on top, and screw the ring on until it is just “fingertip tight.”
9. Process (Water Bath)
Place the jars into a boiling water bath canner. Ensure the boiling water covers the jars completely. Process (boil) for 10 minutes (add 5 min if above 1,000 ft altitude).
10. Cool & Listen for the Pop!
Carefully remove the jars with a jar lifter and place them on a towel. You will soon hear the beautiful “pop!” of the lids sealing. Let them sit completely undisturbed at room temperature for 24 hours. Remove the rings to check the seals, and store the sealed jars in a cool, dark place for up to a year.
Let’s have a jam session!
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FAQs
Do you need to peel rhubarb for jam?
Honestly, no! It is generally not necessary to peel rhubarb for jam. The skin will soften completely during cooking, and we are cooking this down into a rustic fruit puree anyway. Plus, leaving the skin on helps give us whatever natural red and pink colors the rhubarb has to offer!
Can you make rhubarb jam without added pectin?
Yes, you absolutely can! Rhubarb contains a small amount of natural pectin on its own. When adding in the fresh lemon juice (which is packed with its own natural pectin) and boil the liquid down into a syrup, the jam sets up beautifully. No fake thickeners or boxed pectin required.
Why isn’t my rhubarb jam setting?
If your jam isn’t setting, it usually means the liquid wasn’t cooked down long enough to evaporate the water, or the sugar ratios were off. That is exactly why I do my u0022weirdu0022 trick of draining the juice off the fruit and boiling the liquid down into a syrup on its own! It guarantees a perfectly thick, spreadable consistency without turning your fruit to complete mush.
How do you store rhubarb jam?
If you go through the easy hot water bath canning process, this jam will be shelf-stable. Keep it somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight (like a basement or pantry) and it will be good for at least a year! If you skip the canning, you can pop it right in the fridge where it’ll stay fresh for a few weeks, or you can even freeze it.
Classic Simple Rhubarb Jam
Course: CondimentCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium48
servings15
minutes40
minutes45
kcal10
minutes1
hour5
minutesA bright, rustic rhubarb jam perfectly balanced with a hint of fresh orange and lemon. The absolute essence of spring, cooked down to a beautifully spreadable consistency without any boxed pectin!
Ingredients
- Equipment Needed:
Heavy-bottomed pot or jam pan
glass canning funnel
water bath canner
jar lifter
sterilized half-pint jars with new lids and rings.
- Ingredients:
500g (about 4 cups) Rhubarb, washed and chopped
500g (about 2 ½ cups) Granulated sugar
1 large Lemon (Zest and juice)
1 medium Orange or Blood Orange (Zest and juice)
1-2 drops Red gel food coloring (Optional)
Directions
- Place chopped rhubarb into a heavy-bottomed pot. Zest and juice the lemon and orange directly into the pot, then pour in the sugar.
- Heat over medium until the sugar draws out the fruit juices and the mixture reaches a rolling boil. Boil for 15-20 minutes.
- Carefully strain the liquid from the rhubarb pulp. Set the pulp aside.
- Return the liquid to the pot and boil until it reduces into a thick, sticky syrup.
- Stir the fruit pulp back into the thickened syrup. Add gel coloring if desired. Bring back to a rolling boil for 1 minute so the jam is piping hot.
- Ladle hot jam into sterilized jars, leaving ¼-inch of headspace.
- Wipe the jar rims clean with hot water, apply the lids, and twist on the rings until fingertip tight.
- Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (add 5 min if above 1,000 ft altitude; ensure water covers jars).
- Remove carefully and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
Notes
- The Ring Rule: After 24 hours of cooling, always remove the rings! Keeping a ring on can give you a false positive on your seal. Take it off, check the seal, and store the jars without the rings so you can easily spot if a seal ever breaks.
- Storage: Store in a cool, dark place (like a basement or pantry) for up to 1 year. If you don’t want to can it, keep it in the fridge for 3-4 weeks or freeze it!
- Pectin: Notice there is no boxed pectin here! The acidity from the lemon and orange, combined with the sugar and boiling process, activates the rhubarb’s natural pectin to thicken the jam perfectly.
