Rhubarb Canning Recipes

As one of the first items that can be harvested, I can’t help but think of rhubarb as a symbol of spring.

The other day I overheard a woman tell an elderly man "Grandpa, this rhubarb sauce was made with the rhubarb from your garden, so you have to taste it and tell me if it tastes right." The conversation made me feel warm inside.

Spring is here!

I think most anybody with a rhubarb plant in their yard looks forward to the first rhubarb sauce for the year. You can also can the sauce so you can have some in the middle of winter.


Since Rhubarb is acidic, you can safely preserve rhubarb sauce using the water bath method. Fill hot half-pint jars with hot rhubarb sauce, leaving 1/4 inch headspace and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes

If there is anybody who has never made rhubarb sauce, I suggest that you give it a try. Even a very simple sauce with nothing but rhubarb and sugar makes a nice topping for ice cream or pound cake.

I only use about 2 tablespoons of sugar for each cup of chopped rhubarb, but you can use more or less according to your taste. Cook the rhubarb until soft stirring frequently. A little bit of water in the pan helps keep the rhubarb from sticking until the liquid starts cooking out of the rhubarb. When the rhubarb is soft, add the sugar and cook to boiling, stirring constantly. Of course, you can spice it up with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, or whatever spice sounds good to you.

You can also add, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries. All of these are high acid so the canning instructions remain the same. I will write more next time about how to tell if a modification to a recipe changes the canning method that needs to be used in order to ensure food safety.

Rhubarb Jam

This recipe is adapted from Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook. This cookbook was written in 1950 (when the "Open Kettle" method of canning was still considered safe.) Any canning recipes that you get that use the open kettle method, should be updated in order to ensure food safety. I plan to have a post soon on unsafe processing methods.

The recipe depends on the pectin in the orange peel so use the peel and all. Yield is about 6 half-pint jars

2 oranges
6 cups chopped rhubarb
3 cups sugar

Process oranges in a blender or food processor. Combine with remaining ingredients. Cook to 220°F (on a candy thermometer). Fill hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes


Rhubarb-Blueberry Jam

This recipe is adapted from The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving Yield is about 6 half-pint jars.

31/2 cups chopped Rhubarb
1/2 cup water
21/2 cups crushed blueberries
1 Tbsp lemon Juice
1 package powdered pectin
51/2 cups sugar

Combine rhubarb and water and heat to boiling. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. Mix in blueberries, lemon Juice and pectin. Heat to boiling. Add sugar and return to boiling. Boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Fill hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes