Of Batter and Dough logo

Jars of strawberry rhubarb jam.

Jam and Preserves

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam {No Pectin}

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Perfect Strawberry Rhubarb Jam without Pectin 

This strawberry rhubarb jam recipe does not include additional pectin, but DOES include a couple of secret ingredients that will have everyone thinking you’re a jam making genius. That is, if you decide to share.

A jar of strawberry rhubarb jam.

THIS. JAM. I have made strawberry jam many, many, many times. But, never have I ever added rhubarb. Until this year. And, dear reader, I cannot believe that I have lived this long without strawberry rhubarb jam.

Oh! The wasted years! All the slices of toast and biscuits and waffles that have been consumed in vain without the pleasure of being spread with a thick layer of strawberry rhubarb jam!

Too much? Yeah, ok. I promise to tone down the drama if you promise to make a batch of strawberry rhubarb jam. Because, even if I manage to silence my inner drama queen,  I’m going to tell you that this stuff is crazy good. Even my rhubarb hating husband couldn’t get enough. 

A bowl of fresh rhubarb.

Want the secret to amazing strawberry rhubarb jam?

There are four ingredients that you should absolutely positively add to this jam that will take it from good to I-am-going-to-quit-my-job-and-go-into-the-jam-business-because-this-stuff-will-make-me-a-fortune. Ready? 

  1. Vanilla extract.
  2. Almond extract.
  3. Salt.
  4. Pepper.

Wait. Salt and pepper? Please don’t click away. For the life of me, I don’t understand why all jam recipes don’t include salt. Hardly any of them do, which is madness. Madness, I tell you.

Salt is a necessary component to pretty much everything delicious – savory AND sweet. Perhaps especially sweet. Salt balances and rounds out the flavors of sweet foods. Even more importantly, salt makes food taste more like itself. When added in the right proportion, salt brings out the flavor in food, intensifying the food’s best qualities. 

In this recipe, just 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt intensifies the strawberry and rhubarb flavors to a somewhat shocking degree. If you really wanted to test that statement (hey there, skeptic, I’m talking to you), make two batches – one with salt and one without – and you will absolutely, positively be able to taste the difference. Or, you can just trust me and get on with it. 

Ok. Salt in jam is a good idea. But pepper? Yes. A thousand times, YES. Just 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper enhances the natural sweetness in the fruit while adding an oh-so-subtle kick and complexity that’s going to seriously step up your jam game. (What? You don’t have a jam game? Well, you do now.)

Jars of strawberry rhubarb jam.

Adding pepper to fruit is not all that unusual.

Stop at a roadside fruit cart in Mexico or South America and there’s a good chance your fruit will be sprinkled with salt (!) and chili powder. And black pepper in cookies – especially sugar cookies and ginger cookies – is phenomenal.

In Mark Bittman’s iconic book, How to Cook Everything, he includes a recipe for strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar and a couple grinds of black pepper, spooned over vanilla ice cream.  It’s the kind of recipe that makes you feel like the secrets of the universe have been suddenly revealed to you. What??? All I had to do to make strawberries and ice cream taste this good is add some vinegar and black pepper??? 

That’s the kind of experience you’re going to have if you add some salt and pepper to your jam. 

Ok. Enough with salt and pepper. Let’s talk pectin.

Strawberry rhubarb jam spread on a biscuit with several jars of jam.

Is pectin necessary for jam?

Yes.

Do you have to add pectin to fruit jam?

No.

Pectin is a naturally occurring starch that forms in the cell walls of fruit and vegetables, giving them structure. When combined with acid and sugar, and heated to 220 degrees (F), it forms a gel that thickens fruit jam, jelly, and preserves. For the most part, the amount of naturally occurring pectin in fruit is sufficient and there’s no need add more.

BUT (there’s always a but) – it’s important to understand how to draw all that natural pectin out of the fruit you’re cooking so that the jam will “set” – i.e., thicken into jam.

In general, the firmer the fruit, the more pectin it contains. Apples, for example, contain a high amount of pectin, while strawberries do not. Rhubarb, is a big fat rule breaker, because it’s BOTH firm and low in pectin. So, because neither strawberries or rhubarb contain much pectin, it’s important to understand how to maximize the thickening power of what’s in there. 

A bowl of cut fresh strawberries.

A spoonful of Jars of strawberry rhubarb jam.

How to get the most thickening power from naturally occurring pectin:

  • Cook to 220 degrees (F). It’s important to make sure that the jam reaches 220 degrees (F), which is jam’s “set” point. 
  • Add lemon juice. Lemon juice is key to great jam because the acid draws out all the pectin in the fruit and then helps all those strands of pectin bind together so that the jam thickens and “sets”. Bonus – lemons themselves contain a high amount of pectin. So, just by adding lemon juice, you’ll naturally raise the amount of pectin in your jam.
  • Add all the sugar. Yes, this recipe contains 4 cups of sugar, which is more than some recipes and less than others. For this recipe, 4 cups was the perfect amount. Sugar does a whole lot more in jam than sweetened it up. Sugar binds the water in the fruit so that it can’t interfere with thickening. Reducing the amount will leave you with more of a strawberry rhubarb sauce instead of jam. (Also, keep in mind that a tablespoon of this jam only contains 3-4 grams of sugar.)
  • Cook it long enough. You’ve simply got to let some of the excess water in the fruit evaporate, a process that only happens if you cook it long enough. “Long enough” will vary. For me, with the particular batch of fruit that I used in the strawberry rhubarb jam that you see here, “long enough” was about an hour and a half. If you’re working with less (or more) juicy strawberries, or live in a different climate or at a different altitude than I do, “long enough” might be different. So how do you know when you’ve reached “long enough”? 

How to know when jam is set.

Jam thickens as it cools. So, the jam that’s bubbling away on the stovetop might be “done”, meaning it’s cooked long enough to thicken up after you’ve taken it off the heat and ladled it into jars. But how do you know???

Before you begin cooking your jam, place a small dish in the freezer. After about an hour of cooking, remove the dish and spoon a teaspoon or two of jam onto the frozen dish. Let it sit for a minute or so, then run your finger through the jam to test it’s consistency. The frozen plate will cool the jam down quickly, helping you know right away whether or not the jam is done or needs to cook for a bit longer.

How long does homemade jam last?

If you process your strawberry rhubarb jam in a hot water bath, it should keep for up to two years, as long as you store it in a relatively cool, dark place. If you choose to freeze it instead, the jam will maintain fantastic taste and texture for up to 6 months, and probably as long as a year. 

Unprocessed jam stored in the refrigerator (or processed jars that have been opened) should keep for at least 3 weeks. 

Jars of strawberry rhubarb jam.

You might also like…

More recipes you might like: No Peel, Slow Cooker Apple Butter, Sugar Free Homemade Applesauce, No Pectin Peach Preserves, Thumbprint Cookies with Peach Preserves

Useful Canning Tools:

Ball Canning Tools

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.

Happy baking!

 

Print
Jars of strawberry rhubarb jam.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam {No Pectin}

★★★★★

5 from 11 reviews

  • Author: Rebecca Blackwell
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes (approximately)
  • Total Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes (approximately)
  • Yield: 6 cups
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 7 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 7 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, stems removed and cut in half
  • 4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (more to taste)
  • 1 tsp almond extract (more to taste)

Instructions

  1. Put the pieces of rhubarb and strawberries in a large heavy bottom saucepan. Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
  2. Once the jam begins to boil, partially cover the pan, adjusting the lid so that it covers about 80% of the pan. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer rather than a violent boil.
  3. Put a small dish in the freezer. Cook the jam for at least one hour, and up to two hours, stirring frequently, especially towards the end of cooking. (Be cautious as you stir; as the jam begins to thicken, it will splatter.) After an hour of cooking, remove the frozen dish from the freezer and spoon a teaspoon or two of jam onto it. Let the jam sit on the frozen dish for a minute or so to cool, then run your finger through it to test the consistency. If it’s still quite runny, put the dish back in the freezer and keep cooking, re-testing it every 15 minutes or so.
  4. When the jam has thickened up enough, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.

To freeze the jam:

  1. Ladle the jam into jars, leaving about 1-inch of room at the top of the jar, and let sit out on the counter, uncovered for an hour or two, until cooled to room temperature. Screw the lids onto the jars and place in the freezer. The jam will keep in the freezer for 6-12 months.

To process in a hot water bath:

  1. Pour the jam into sterilized, dry glass jars leaving about 1/4 inch of room at the top. Using a damp cloth or paper towel, wipe the tops of the jar to ensure a clean seal. Cap and screw on lids, leaving them a bit loose.
  2. Bring a large pot of water, or water-bath canner, to a rolling boil and gently lower the jars into the boiling water using tongs. The water should cover the jars by at least 1/2 inch. Let process for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the water bath and place upside down on a dry towel laid out on a flat surface. Allow to cool completely.
  3. Once the jars are cool, check the seal by gently pressing down on the center of the lid. if it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. if that should happen to a jar or two, just store the preserves in the refrigerator and use it within 3 weeks. (Or freeze for 6-12 months) Properly sealed jars can be stored in a cool dark place for up to 2 years.

Keywords: homemade jam, how to make strawberry rhubarb jam, strawberry rhubarb jam recipe with no pectin

A jar of strawberry rhubarb jam.

Spooning out some strawberry rhubarb jam from a jar.

© Of Batter and Dough. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Of Batter and Dough.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Meg says

    I plan on trying this as soon as I can find rhubarb. Quick question, I canned a strawberry sauce that was also cooked on the stove. Over time, it lost its vibrant strawberry color and I was afraid to eat it. Have you ever had that problem? The jars did seal in the water bath.

    Reply

  2. Deseree says

    I love making homemade jams and will be adding this to my list to make this summer. It sounds amazing and I love the “secret” ingredients.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  3. Debbie says

    You have some wonderful tips for someone that isn’t experienced in canning. I love the combo of strawberry and rhubarb. I bet this is so yummy spread on a hot buttery biscuit.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Rebecca Blackwell says

      Hi Debbie! Thank you! There really is nothing better than a warm biscuit spread with homemade jam. Makes me hungry just thinking about it. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment on this recipe! xo

      Reply

    • Rebecca Blackwell says

      Hi Carrie! My grandma used to make strawberry rhubarb pies when I was a girl and I just loved them. This jam reminds me of those pies. Isn’t it funny how food can be so nostalgic? I do hope you enjoy this jam as much as we do! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment for me! xo

      Reply

    • Louise says

      I made a very small batch last weekend, bought more rhubarb to make a large batch today….it’s so good! Strawberry-rhubarb pie is my specialty, love this crustless option to get the same flavor. I didn’t have enough almond extract last time (still delicious), so I’m looking forward to trying it with the correct ingredients.

      ★★★★★

      Reply

      • Rebecca Blackwell says

        I am so happy to hear that you like this recipe Louise! We can’t get enough of it around our house. 🙂 My grandma used to make strawberry rhubarb pie every year and it was so good. This jam reminds me of that pie, too. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me! xoxo

        Reply

  5. Heather says

    I get so excited when it’s rhubarb season! And so sad when it’s over. I can’t wait to make this jam, and have a little piece of it for when the season is over! Thanks for the tips on thickening too 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  7. Jenni LeBaron says

    I’ve never worked with rhubarb before, which is crazy because it is such a vibrant flavorful ingredient to use. Delicious recipes like this make me positive I need to jump right in!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  8. Sharon says

    The best that the season has to offer, strawberries and rhubarb! Perfect on flaky biscuits or English muffins for breakfast.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  10. Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says

    I love the “secret” ingredients; especially pepper! Pepper pairs absolutely beautifully with strawberries as it helps balance out the sweetness and make it more rounded flavor-wise.

    Your colors are gorgeous btw! These would make perfect gifts when attending cookouts this summer too!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Rebecca Blackwell says

      Thank you Lori! I’ve had that mat of green moss for months, just certain that one of these days, I’d make something that would seem appropriate to use it in photos. This jam was it! And yes- the jam would make great gifts. I recently put a bunch of rhubarb in the freezer just for that purpose. Thank you so much for your comment!

      Reply

  11. Karyl Henry says

    I’ve never tried rhubarb before, but your glowing description makes me want to go out and buy some! And you are so right about salt…it makes SUCH a difference in food!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  12. Carole says

    Curious about the extracts. I’m about to try this yummy-sounding recipe, but my husband has a tree nut allergy. That means I’ll have to omit the almond extract. Wondering if the two extracts play on (complement) each other…should I omit both? Anyone try without one or both extracts?

    Reply

    • Rebecca Blackwell says

      Hi Carole! I would suggest just adding the vanilla. It will be just as delicious without the almond extract. Please let me know if you have any more questions, and I’d love to know what what you think of this jam after you make it! xo

      Reply

  13. Kathy Furgal says

    Love this recipe!!!!! I did not add the almond extract due to family with nut allergies. Will certainly use this again. Thanks.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  14. Ann Marie McNamara says

    I didn’t realize I was supposed to wait until the jars cooled until checking the seal. The recipes I used said they should pop within 5-10 minutes after taking them out of the boiling water. When they didn’t after 15 minutes I tested them. Some pushed down and didn’t pop back up. I technically made the seal by doing that. Are they still safe?

    Reply

  16. Dena says

    I’m looking foward to trying this recipe. I’ve just made some using another recipe and it hasn’t set. I didn’t want to cook it for too long as the fruit seems to lose flavour when I’ve done that before.Esp as it’s not amazing quality to start with. Even this one I can’t really taste the fruit clearly. Other than possibly not getting a violent rolling boil going initially, I did eveything else right. So frustrating. Do you find that your jam maintains its flavour even after 1.5 hrs of cooking? Thanks.

    Reply

    • Rebecca Blackwell says

      Hi Dena! I’m not sure what would be causing the flavor to lesson… unless the fruit itself isn’t flavorful, cooking it for a long time should actually condense it’s flavor, making it more powerful, not less. Every time I’ve made this jam it comes out bright and packed with flavor so I hope you’ll try it! Please let me know if you have any questions… and I’d love to know what you think after you make it! xo

      Reply

  17. Kiesha says

    Hello! I am going to make your jam recipe. My gram had never eaten rhubarb before (shocking, as she once had a farm) but I recently made a strawberry rhubarb pie and she loved it. Her canning days are long gone, but I want her to have some tasty homemade jam for her biscuit cravings. I wondered what kind of pepper you use…..finely ground or coarse grind? TIA!

    Reply

    • Rebecca Blackwell says

      Hi Kiesha! How wonderful of you to make this for your grandma! I’ve used both finely ground and course ground black pepper in this jam. It really just depends on what I have on hand, or happen to reach for. The key is to taste it and adjust to what tastes good to you. The pepper should add a bit of a kick – but not be easily identifiable. If using finely ground, start with a scant teaspoon – or maybe even 3/4 tsp. When the jam is nearly done cooking, dip out a small spoonful, let it cool, then taste it and add a bit more pepper if you like. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I would LOVE to know what your grandma (and you!) thinks of this jam! xo

      Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

shares