Strawberry rhubarb jam is the perfect mix of tart and sweet! This easy, no pectin jam recipe only takes about 30 minutes to make.
One of my favorite ways to use fresh fruit is to make homemade jam. The flavor and freshness of homemade jam just can’t be beat!
This strawberry rhubarb jam combines sweet, juicy strawberries and bright, tart rhubarb into a sweet and tart jam. The jam is lovely spread on toast, pancakes, waffles, or spooned over yogurt.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Fruit: Use fruit that is ripe but not past its prime otherwise it will be mushy.
- Lemon juice: It’s important to use fresh lemon juice because bottled lemon juice can have an off taste. The lemon juice adds a bit of brightness to the jam, and it also helps the jam to set.
- Sugar: A good rule of thumb is to use the same amount of sugar to prepared fruit ratio. I weighed the rhubarb and strawberries and and they came to approximately 500 grams of fruit. This is very close to 2 and 1/2 cups of granulated sugar. If you want to be very precise, then use this method.
How to make strawberry rhubarb jam
Here you’ll find step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including instructions, is given below.
Step 1: Put a small plate into the freezer. This will be used later to test if your jam has set.
Step 2: Add the washed and chopped fruit, lemon juice, water and sugar to a large high-sided pan set over a medium heat.
Step 3: Use a wooden spoon to stir the ingredients until the sugar has dissolved then turn the heat to high and bring to a rolling boil. Stir occasionally throughout the cooking process.
Step 4: Set a timer for 15 minutes. If you have a thermometer, the temperature of the jam should reach 220ºF.
Step 5: Remove your cold plate from the freezer. Turn the stove off and carefully scoop out a heaped teaspoon of jam and put it on the plate. Place the plate in fridge for one minute.
Step 6: Perform the wrinkle test: drag your finger through the jam on the plate. It should noticeably wrinkle.
When you remove your finger there should be an indent in the jam and the remaining jam on the plate should not flood the gap.
Step 7: If the jam is still runny, switch the stove back on and bring the jam back to the boil for two minutes then repeat the wrinkle test.
Step 8: Give the jam a good stir to disperse any froth.
Step 9: Let the jam cool for 30 minutes then carefully fill prepared glass jars with jam.
Recipe Tips!
- Fruit prep: To prep the fruit, begin by washing the fruit . Roughly chop the rhubarb. Strawberries don’t need to be
hulled – larger ones should be trimmed then cut in half. Smaller ones can be trimmed but left whole. - Pectin: This recipe does not use pectin to set the jam. Rhubarb and strawberries are
both low-pectin fruits. In order for the jam to set, it needs to be cooked to the correct temperature and also needs something acidic which aids with the setting. The fresh lemon juice is that something acidic. - Saucepan: Jam needs to be made in a large high-sided pan. Jam boils and bubbles while it is cooking, so using a high-sided saucepan helps to minimize the risk of it bubbling over.
- Sterilizing the jars: To sterilize glass jars wash them in hot soapy water but don’t dry them. Place the jars upside down on a baking sheet in a 275ºF oven for ten minutes.
- Canning: I can jam, but I only do so from recipes that have been thoroughly tested by reliable sources. I haven’t developed this recipe with canning in mind and cannot offer advice on safely canning this recipe.
Storage
Store the jam in the jars in the refrigerator. The jam will keep for up to 10 days when properly stored in the fridge. The jam can also be frozen and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More strawberry recipes!
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Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Equipment
- Kitchen thermometer
- Large saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh rhubarb washed and chopped
- 2 cups fresh strawberries washed and large strawberries, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar *see notes
Instructions
- Put a small plate into the freezer. This will be used later to test if your jam has set.
- Add the washed and chopped fruit, lemon juice, water and sugar to a large high-sided pan set over a medium heat.
- Use a wooden spoon to stir the ingredients until the sugar has dissolved then turn the heat to high and bring to a rolling boil. Stir occasionally throughout the cooking process.
- Set a timer for 15 minutes. If you have a thermometer, the temperature of the jam should reach 220ºF.
- Remove your cold plate from the freezer. Turn the stove off and carefully scoop out a heaped teaspoon of jam and put it on the plate.
- Place the plate in fridge for one minute.
- Perform the wrinkle test: drag your finger through the jam on the plate. It should noticeably wrinkle. When you remove your finger there should be an indent in the jam and the remaining jam on the plate should not flood the gap.
- If the jam is still runny, switch the stove back on and bring the jam back to the boil for two minutes then repeat the wrinkle test.
- Give the jam a good stir to disperse any froth.
- Let the jam cool for 30 minutes then carefully fill prepared glass jars with jam.
Notes
- Fruit:Â Use fruit that is ripe but not past its prime otherwise it will be mushy.
- Lemon juice: It’s important to use fresh lemon juice because bottled lemon juice can have an off taste. The lemon juice adds a bit of brightness to the jam, and it also helps the jam to set.
- Sugar: A good rule of thumb is to use the same amount of sugar to prepared fruit ratio. I weighed the rhubarb and strawberries and and they came to approximately 500 grams of fruit. This is very close to 2 and 1/2 cups of granulated sugar. If you want to be very precise, then use this method.
- Serving size: The serving size for this recipe is approximately one ounce of jam.Â
- Nutrition values are estimates.Â
Nutrition
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