Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam is a low-sugar or low-honey cooked jam made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener. Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam is an early summer classic – nice combination of tart and sweet. Feel free to use other sweeteners that measure like sugar or honey in this recipe. For example, you can use Stevia in the Raw or another stevia product that measures like sugar, or Splenda that measures like sugar. You can also use a different liquid sweetener, like agave or maple syrup.
Notes
*If you’re not sure if your jam is sweet enough, taste it after the pectin is dissolved and jam has come back up to a boil. Not sweet enough? Add more sweetener and stir 1 minute at full boil.
Servings 5 cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups mashed strawberries about 4 cups whole strawberries
- 2 cups cooked rhubarb chop rhubarb, add a little water, cook until soft, measure
- 3 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
- ½ cup up to 1 cup honey or ¾ cup up to 2 cups sugar
- 3 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin mixed with sweetener
Instructions
- Before you begin, prepare calcium water.To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
- Wash jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and keep jars in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small sauce pan; cover and heat to a simmer. Turn off heat and keep lids in hot water until ready to use.
- Wash, remove hulls, and mash strawberries. Prepare rhubarb. Measure fruit into sauce pan.
- Add calcium water and mix well.
- Measure sugar or room temperature honey into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sweetener. Set aside.
- Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sweetener mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
- Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
Linda Martin
Need help. Made Strawberry Rhubarb jam but it is not jelling. Used 3 cups finely mashed strawberries and 3 cups chopped rhubarb, 3+1/2 tsps calcium water, and 1 cup white sugar with 3+1/2 tsps pectin. Blended properly and brought to a boil. Water canned for 13 minutes. Should I dump the jam back into a pot and add another 1 tsp pectin blended with some sugar, then can them again?
Shelby Collings
Hello Linda,
Does your jam have any structure to it or is it completely unjelled?
Paula Raulinaitis
The flavor was great but my final product is more like soup. Not sure what I did wrong as I have made jam in the past with no issues. I must say that I didn’t mash my strawberries, instead I put them in the food processor. Could that be where things went downhill?
Shelby Collings
Hello Paula,
That would do it! If you would like to puree them next time, simply add an additional 1/2-1 teaspoon of pectin to help balance out the lack of structure from the strawberries.
Tracy
I read this comment after I finished using my food processor for my strawberries ans so I added an additional 3/4 tsp of pectin (thought I’d split the difference) and it worked too well. Lol. I had a bit leftover that didn’t fit in a jar with proper headspace so I just put in a jar to use right away and it’s very jello-y. I don’t imagine that would affect the storage of the ones I waterbathed but thought I should check.
Shelby Collings
Oh bummer! Yes, your jars should store just fine!
If you would like to remake your jam, you can. It is a bit of a guessing game, due to it being a preference of finished texture, with how much fruit/liquid to add. If you would say that your jam is about 25% too firm for your liking, you will want to add 25% of the called for amount of mashed fruit/juice in your recipe (about 1 cup if you followed a 4 cup recipe). If it is 50% too firm, you’ll use 2 cups of juice; and so forth.
You will empty your jam into a pot, and bring it up to just a boil. Add your additional liquid (unsweetened juice, or mashed fruit or water) and let it boil for 1-2 minutes. Recan your jelly into hot, clean jars and reprocess in a water-bath canner.
Paula C Rossen
Hi, rhubarb is now out of season where I live. I have some and will be making rhubarb jelly today and want to save some for strawberry-rhubarb jam but I don’t know approximately how much rhubarb to save in order to end up with 2 cups cooked rhubarb. Can you help me either in pounds/ounces of fresh rhubarb or cups of sliced rhubarb (not tiny but maybe 1/2 inch wide slices) so I know how much to freeze? The sooner the better as my rhubarb won’t last too long before I freeze it. Thanks.
Shelby Collings
Hello Paula,
3 cups rhubarb is about 2 lbs rhubarb of stalks. So maybe 1.5 lbs of stalks would be a safe guesstime for your situation?
Sue
I double this & used 3 cups of Allulose as the sweetener & it came out great. The texture was spot on, it held its bright red color & it did not crystalize at all. Perfect.
Brianna
Hello,
Can this jam be adjusted to make a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling? Or, is there a pie filling recipe that can be adjusted to include strawberries and rhubarb?
I LOVE that you taste fruit and not just sugar in jams made with Pomona’s.
Thanks so much!
Shelby Collings
Hello Brianna,
We do not have a specific pie filling with strawberries and rhubarb yet, but it is likely it would work just fine with this Blueberry Pie Filling recipe. You will not need to add the lemon juice unless you want to for flavor. Also, you should cut the strawberries and rhubarb into smaller pieces in order to be sure to get some juice. You would use the same amounts of calcium water and pectin.
If you do give it a try with strawberries, we’d love to hear your results 😊
Have a wonderful day!
Barbara M Bolton
There is a strawberry-rhubarb pie filling in the Pomona’s Pectin cookbook. I just made it the other day and it’s delicious!
Rachael
Hello, I see that you can mix and match measurements to get the 4c of fruit/rhubarb. On the directions included in the box of pectin it’s 4C of fruit to 2tsp pectin and calcium water but in this recipe is 4C fruit to 3tsp pectin and calcium water. If not doing equal amounts fruit and rhubarb should the amount of pectin and calcium water be adjusted?
Shelby Collings
When creating your own recipe, we do provide rough estimates. The amount of calcium and pectin neeeded varies depending on the types of fruits you are using. What are you wanting to mix with the rhubarb?
Paris
Can I substitute honey for grape juice?
Shelby Collings
Yes, you sure can. It will just need to be done a little differently. We suggest you use about 1 cup of juice concentrate.
5. Bring juice concentrate to a boil in a separate sauce pan. Put boiling concentrate in cup for immersion blender, or in food processor, or in blender. Add pectin. It is very important to vent the lid (if there is one) to let steam out. Don’t use an enclosed blender that can’t be vented. Blend for 10 seconds, then stop and scrape down the sides so all pectin clumps are in or on the liquid. Then blend for a full minute until all powder is totally dissolved.
6. Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-concentrate. Stir for 1 minute while mixture returns to a full boil. Remove from the heat.
7. Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
Barbara Jones
Hello
I’m a seasoned home canner a d live in Ontario Canada. I’ve always used Certo light and now can’t get that pectin. I just got my first bulk Pomona and am excited to explore a more versatile commercial pectin. My Preserving with Pomona recipe book also arrived today. Certo light didn’t specify jar size and I often make 500ml/pint jars of jam. And also litre/quart jars of pie filling. Does the increased processing time for safe canning larger jars impact the set of preserves made using Pomonas? I note that you indicate the specific jar size and not to change to larger jars. Thanks for the help as I start this new leg if my preserving journey. I’m really excited about the prospect of using less sugar and switching in different sweetners
Shelby Collings
Hello Barbara,
Welcome to the Pomona’s family! We are glad you found us 😊
We do recommend using 4oz or 8oz jars for your preserves, but using a pint jar would also be fine and the processing time would stay the same. Our recommendation is based on the fact that low sugar jams and jellies only last 1-3 weeks in the fridge once opened, and most households are not able to consumer a pint in that time.
Happy jamming!
Judy
Is there a recipe for strawberry rhubarb freezer jam
Shelby Collings
Hello Judy,
We would recommend using this recipe, and simply filling your jars and allowing them to come to room temperature before popping on the lids and placing them in the freezer 😊
Janessa
Hi! Did this recipe but it separated. It looks like dark red juice 2” in bottom and rest if jar is fruit. Any ideas why this happened? Did 250ml jars but doubled the recipe
Shelby Collings
What you have is called “fruit float.” When the jars of jam are very hot and there is no jell yet, the pulp, which is lighter than the juice, is able to float to the top of the jar. Strawberries are prone to fruit float although it doesn’t always happen. Other fruits can have fruit float also. You are not doing anything wrong. However, if you want to discourage fruit float from happening, you can mash your fruit a little more and you can cook your fruit for a little while before you bring it up to the full boil. You could even add a little of your sweetener to cook with the fruit, still leaving enough sweetener to adequately disburse the pectin powder without going over the sweetener limit.
In the future, when you take the jars out of the water bath, leave them for about an hour to start cooling and seal. Then come back and check to make sure they are all sealed. If you see that you have fruit float, turn the jars upside down to force the pulp to redistribute through the jar. Come back in about 45 minutes and turn the jars right side up to once again force the pulp to redistribute through the jar. Check again in another 45 minutes and if you have a distinct dividing line, turn the jars upside down again. Turn the jars right side up again in about 30 minutes. You always want the jars to end up right side up. By keeping the pulp well distributed throughout the jars, there will not be a dividing line when the jell finally starts and locks everything into place.
If your jam has jelled in a separated state, you can gently stir the pulp and juice back together when you open the jar to eat it. Separated jam in sealed jars will store safely.
Debbie Cooper
I made three batches this weekend. Turned out great and love how I didn’t need to use a lot of sugar.
Annee Harrington
This jam is very good. I make a sugar free version using xylitol. It’s fantastic! You can’t tell it’s not sugar. Just use 1 cup of xylitol in place of 1 cup of sugar.
Diana
I use 2 cups sugar when making strawberry rhubard recipe.
How much stevia do I use to achieve the same sweetness? .
Shelby Collings
Hello Diana,
Great question! You will want to follow the conversion chart on your Stevia package, each brand is different.
Lori Patton
There’s no citrus juice included in this recipe as printed here at all. We made a double batch of this recipe this morning and put up 10 pint jars, and now I see that you made a comment here about how this jam DOES need lemon/lime juice for safe canning.
Do we need to empty all those (now SEALED) jars we processed this morning and re-cook the jam so that we can add an amount of lemon juice comparable to other rhubarb jam recipes on this site and then re-can it all with fresh lids?
Shelby Collings
Hello Lori,
Thanks so much for reaching out! We cannot see where there is a comment about lemon juice…
You jars should be just fine, as no lemon juice is needed.
Marlet Crabtre
Can I replace the sugar with granulated splenda or liquid stevia in this recipe?
Shelby Collings
You sure can! Granulated Splenda would be easiest. Liquid stevia would require you to make liquid pectin (directions, here).
Dana L Bower
Could I use frozen rhubarb and fresh strawberries?
Shelby Collings
You sure can!
You can use any frozen fruit/root for the cooked recipes. It’s best to use unsweetened frozen fruit. Defrost, but don’t drain, frozen fruit before using. Generally you use the liquid from the frozen fruit along with the fruit unless you notice that there is an excessive amount of liquid, in which case, you would ladle off some of the excess liquid before measuring your mashed fruit. If you are going to juice the fruit for jelly, then you would use all of the liquid.
Lucille A Lincoln
Can you add reg sugar
Shelby Collings
Hello Lucille,
You sure can! If you are wanting to add ADDITIONAL sugar, you can do so after the initial amount of sugar-pectin is dissolved into your jam.
Elaine
How about all rhubarb? Or one cup strawberry 3 cups rhubarb?
Shelby Collings
Hello Elaine,
Great questions! HERE is our Rhubarb Jam recipe.
Happy jamming!
Ann
Can you use 3 cups of strawberry and one cup of rhubarb? (Only have enough rhubarb measuring one cup)
Shelby Collings
Absolutely!
JTracy
Is it okay to double the recipe?
Shelby Collings
It sure is! Happy jamming 😊
Jena
Can I double this recipe??
Shelby Collings
Hello Jena,
You sure can 😊
Rachel
Can I skip the canning and just freeze it, or does the jam need that heat? Thanks!
Shelby Collings
Absolutely!
Rachel Boudrias
Can I replace some, or all of the sugar with stevia?
Shelby Collings
You sure can! Is it granulated stevia or liquid?
Barb McQuillin
I have made lots of jam with maple syrup and Pomona Pectin. Delicious!
Rhonda
Can you substitute maple syrup for honey in any of the pomona recipes?
Shelby Collings
Hello Rhonda,
You sure can! Happy jamming 😊