Home » Kitchen » Canning and Preserving » Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Recipe (no pectin)
A recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Jam that does not use commercial pectin, but instead relies on apples to thicken the jam. Instructions to water-bath can this rhubarb and strawberry jam are also included.
If you have the strawberries, we have the recipes! This delicious and easy Strawberry Rhubarb Jam is added to the list of Great Strawberry Recipes that includes Strawberry Puree, Strawberry Curd, and Strawberry Tartlets.
On a related note, if you have gone to the Strawberry fields and picked multiple pounds of strawberries, make sure you protect your haul. Check out these tips to keep your produce fresher longer.
Everyone is familiar with the delicious little red harbingers of spring, also known as strawberries. But this recipe also incorporates the lesser-known vegetable, rhubarb. Yes, you heard that correct. Rhubarb is actually a vegetable! The sweet-tart flavor profile of rhubarb plays well with strawberries. In fact, some rhubarb lovers claim that there is a slight note of strawberry in rhubarb.
This recipe also incorporates granny smith apples as a way to thicken the jam naturally without commercial pectin. Both strawberries and rhubarb are low pectin foods. Without the addition of some sort of pectin, your Strawberry Rhubarb jam would be more of a thin ‘spread’ than a ‘jam.’
I’ve never been a big fan of commercial pectin as I feel it alters the flavor of the fruit I am canning. But, that just may be me!
Instead of using commercial pectin, I will opt for thinner spreads or using apples to get a thicker jam. This recipe calls for 3-4 granny smith apples. In general, the tarter the apple, the higher the pectin in the fruit. Four apples produced a thick jam, if you’d like a slightly less thick jam then go with 3 apples.
And you will note in the recipe that we use the entire apple as the peels and seeds hold a good amount of pectin as well. As a result, I only use organic apples when I am canning. In fact, I try to use only organic fruits for my jams and jellies.
My process for thickening jam with apples is to wash the apples well, cut them into quarters, peel and core them. Then I shred the peeled apple in my food processor, with the shredding blade.
Finally, I wrap all the peels, cores and seeds in a cheese cloth square.
For this recipe, I cooked down the apples with orange juice first to reduce the amount of time that the strawberries needed to cook. This helped strawberries and rhubarb keep their fresh flavors.
No matter what recipe you are using for your jam or jelly, if you are not happy with the set of your jam, consider recooking it with a couple of granny smith apples (and don’t forget the peels and seeds!) You could always cook your jam down a bit longer to get your desired set, but I find the longer that I cook my jams/jellies/preserves, the more I lose the fresh taste of the fruit I am canning.
As such, I will always opt to add a couple of apples as I feel that the apples don’t alter the taste profile as much as a longer cook does.
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While canning isn’t hard, it does require a few pieces of equipment to make the task much easier:
The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving is my bible. Even if I think I could make the recipe in my sleep, I double-check myself against the Ball Book…that whole botulism thing. If you are new to canning, it should be your very first purchase. My cookbook library inventory recently expanded with the addition of The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving: Over 350 of the Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, and Preserved Recipes! Another great canning and preserving resource is the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia website.
A recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Jam that does not use commercial pectin, but instead relies on apples to thicken the jam. Instructions to water-bath can this rhubarb and strawberry jam is also included.
This recipe assumes some knowledge of proper and safe canning techniques. Please see the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving for guidance.
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Enjoy this delightful Strawberry Rhubarb jam on biscuits, toast, scones or in your next Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. This jam also makes a great gift, especially when paired with a little spoon. I keep my eyes open for sweet small spoons when I am at Goodwill or an antique store.
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Hi there, I’m Lynn and I’m in my happy place when cooking, baking, creating, crafting, diy-ing or gardening. You too? Hey, we should be friends! You can reach me at [email protected] and read more about me here.
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Rhonda
April 5, 2021 at 11:31 amI make my jams in smaller batches using 2lbs fruit as it comes straight from our garden. I have found over the years that if we have a lot of rain while the bushes are fruiting, then the fruit also contains a lot of water – especially the raspberries. I peel and apple, in one piece if possible, and add it to the fruit and sugar. Then it’s easy to lift out before I pot the jam. Since doing this I have never had a soft set. Our favourite is raspberry and rhubarb, but I haven’t tried your strawberry and rhubarb yet , so that may well change! We won’t have strawberries for about another two months, so it is top of my list to try. We might have apples ready to pick by that time too so it should come together well then. Should also say I’m in Ireland so too early yet for me to be making jam but I always look forward to summer and making my jam, chutneys and fruit vinegars.
lynn
April 5, 2021 at 4:29 pmHi Rhonda, it sure seems that you have quite the orchard and garden…I am so very jealous! I’d love to hear what else you grow and can! I can enjoy it vicariously.
Ireland is on my list of places I have yet to visit, but want to soon. Now that we are slowly opening back up, I hope to get over there soon.
Have a wonderful day, my friend.
Hugs,
Lynn