Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam is a quick and easy 15-minute stove top jam made with fresh ginger, lemon zest and a drizzle of honey. Add a slather of this no refined sugar jam to our crispy strawberry jam roll cookies.
You are going to love making Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam as it is a fuss free super easy way to make homemade jam. There is No- Added sugar, no sure jell pectin, no sterilizing jars, and no added chia seeds.
How to Use?
Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam (AKA Bammer's Jammers) adds a delicately sweet topping to yogurt, smoothie bowls, oatmeal, toast, ice-cream, peanut butter sandwiches, on top of pancakes, scones and you name it. This jam is spreadable, spoon able and we are sure it will not last long in your home. If you like this quick and easy jam recipe, you are going to love our Apricot Freezer Jam Recipe too.
Stocking up on Spring Produce
Don’t you just love eating seasonally? This week at the farmer’s market there were fresh rhubarb, strawberries, radishes and artichokes. We made a huge haul. Be sure to try our Thai Grilled Watermelon Salad made with fresh radishes, cucumbers and grilled watermelon with a zippy Thai dressing.
If you found fresh whole artichokes, be sure to try our Mom’s Best Italian Stuffed Artichokes. They are so delicious when fresh and in season.
Take advantage of the stone fruits and strawberries when they are in season with our Summer Salad with Strawberry Rose Dressing. So light and delicious.
Can you guess the Secret Addition?
We added ginger. Yep Ginger! Ginger is warming and adds a little zip along with the lemon zest. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) both Strawberries and rhubarb are cooling foods and to balance this we added warming ginger. If you want to refresh your memory about warming, cooling and neutral foods in TCM, be sure to read our article Introducing the Five Energies of Food.
In addition, you will find adding spices and herbs to foods will reduce your need to have foods so sweet. Instead you enhance the flavors, instead of covering up flavors. Novel idea, right?
Can I make this Refrigerator Jam Vegan?
No, not unless you are willing to add chia seeds, granulated sugar or sure jell. Maple syrup responds very differently compared to honey when heated and allowed to cool. Maple syrup gets thin and if not, pure maple syrup it can even crystallize on you. If you are into the chia seeds you can add this at the end of the cooking process, but we are not real found of little seeds in our jam. How about you?
Honey thickens with heating and if you have not tried our Honey Candied Meyer Lemon Slices, you should. So good. Great for pretty spring cake toppers like on our Icebox Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake.
Is Rhubarb safe to eat?
Rhubarb is poisonous! Now that we have you scared shitless, let us explain. The stalks of rhubarb are fine and no problems. However, in the leaves of rhubarb there is oxalate and that can make you sick if eaten, especially in large quantities. Do not eat the leaves of the rhubarb plant and you are good to go.
Rhubarb is technically speaking a vegetable. It has several vitamins and minerals and fiber. It contains a natural laxative property called sennoside to help you stay regular. If you are familiar with the brand Senna or Senokot? Kind of the same concept but much gentler action.
What does rhubarb taste like?
Rhubarb is super tart! It needs to hang out with some sweet friends like strawberry’s and a little natural sweetener to take the edge off the tart.
We love adding a little Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam to breakfast bars, on top of baked puffed pastry with a dollop of ice cream on top, or simply on top of oatmeal for a delicious treat. What is your favorite way to eat Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam.
Rhubarb for Cranberries around the Holidays
One of our favorite winter holiday treats is to make a “Strawberry Cranberry Refrigerator Jam” You can use frozen or fresh strawberries and just swap out cranberries for the rhubarb. Sometimes we even add a little sprinkle of cinnamon to give it that little holiday flare. We originally made this recipe in November 2013 and we called this Bammer’s Jammers as some of you may remember.
Strawberry Cranberry Refrigerator Jam
1 and ¼ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
1.5 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1.5 teaspoon lemon zest
⅓ cup honey
½ teaspoon cinnamon – optional
What is your favorite way to eat Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam? Please let us know in the comments.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam (No-Refined Sugar)
Ingredients
- 1.25 cups rhubarb
(1 and ¼ cups) frozen or fresh (leaves removed, washed and cut into ½ inch slices) - 2 cups strawberries frozen (or fresh) – washed, tops removed and cut into quarters (2 cups chopped)
- 1.5 teaspoons ginger (freshly grated)
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1.5 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Very important: You must remove the rhubarb leaves, roots and wash well before using.
- Add chopped rhubarb, strawberries, freshly grated ginger and honey into a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the rhubarb and strawberries have broken down and it is a nice thick jam. Add your lemon zest and stir. Remove from heat to cool.
- Enjoy over your favorite morning bagels, English muffins toast, pancakes, or even on top of your ice cream or in your thumbprint cookies or how about as a layer in a tower cake.
Notes
- This strawberry rhubarb refrigerator jam makes a small batch = total of 1.5 cups (12 ounces)
- Jam will start to thicken as it cooks and bubbles on the stovetop over medium heat. For us that took about 15 minutes. It will also thicken slightly more upon cooling.
- No pectin! There is no need to allow the jam to sit out after cooking for 24 hours like you need to do with strawberry jams that contain pectin. After your jam cools to room temperature, place it in the refrigerator in a container with a sealed lid.
- Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam can be stored safely in your refrigerator in an airtight covered container for 2-3 weeks in a sealed container.
- Alternatively, you can store strawberry rhubarb jam in the freezer in a sealed freezer safe container for up to 6 months (be sure to leave some extra space in the container because the jam will expand when frozen)
- Thaw frozen jam in the refrigerator before using.
- This recipe should not be used for canning.
- If you want to make a holiday festive jam, replace the rhubarb with fresh or frozen cranberries and add a half a teaspoon of cinnamon.
- To make vegan and keep it refined sugar free - use maple syrup instead of honey. However, As maple syrup does not thicken the jam, you will also need to add 2-3 tablespoons of dried chia seeds to thicken.
Morgan says
I've started making this, but please clarify--is it two cups of strawberries that are already chopped or two cups whole berries?
And how long does this keep for in the fridge?
HWC Magazine says
Hi Morgan, thanks for your question. Just to clarify these are 2 cups of strawberries chopped. (2 cups strawberries frozen (or fresh) – washed, tops removed and cut into quarters). This jam will keep for 3 weeks in the refrigerator or for 6 months in the freezer. However, it is a small batch and never lasts a week in our fridge.
Kat says
Curious--the strawberry freezer jam I make needs to set out 24 hours to set. Should I do the same for this instead before freezing it? Thank you!
HWC Magazine says
Hi there Kat, because this strawberry rhubarb refrigerator jam is made without pectin, there is no need to let it is set out for 24 hours to allow it to set before putting it in the freezer. However, you will need to make sure that the jam is cooled and that there is extra space on the top of the container because the jam will expand when it freezes. Enjoy your day!
Kat says
Hi again--maybe I missed it--but how many jam jars does this make?
And without pectin, does it still thicken to the consistency of normal jam?
It looks great! Excited to make it.
HWC Magazine says
Hi Kat, this strawberry rhubarb jam makes 24 tablespoon's or 12 ounces of jam (small batch). Yes, as the jam cooks it thickens to the consistency of regular strawberry jam. We can't wait for you to try it. Also, many of our readers love our Apricot Freezer jam recipe that is also made without refined sugar or pectin. Apricots are in season right now too and so sweet. We hope you give it a try soon. Stay well and take care
Linda Dundas says
Good morning..if I wanted to use blueberries or raspberries to replace the rhubarb with would I use same amount as it calls for with rhubarb? Your recipe is amazing, and just want to use this one with different fruits.
Thank you.
Linda
HWC Magazine says
Hello Linda, thanks for your great question. You would use the same amount or maybe just 1/4 more of fruit because you may want to strain the raspberries to remove the skin or the raspberries to remove the seeds. Of course, you do not need to strain them with a fine mesh strainer but if you like a smoother jam - you may want to do this. It is completely up to your preferred preference. Thank you and take care
Linda says
Hello...if I make the one with cranberry do I sill include the ginger. Made it the other day and found the ginger a little overwhelming. In the strawberry rhubarb it was fine.
Thank you.
HWC Magazine says
Hi there Linda, ginger is optional. You may also like to try our Apricot freezer jam since they are in season. Take Care
Raul says
My aunt made this ….. so good mmmmm
No sugar!!!
HWC Magazine says
Thank Raul! So glad you enjoyed our strawberry refrigerator jam.
Linda says
This is the first jam I have made. It is delicious and love the ginger. I also add cinnamon to the strawberry rhubarb. Gave a jar to my friend and she ate it in a day.
Going to try the strawberry cranberry tomorrow. If making with different berries do you have to have 2 cups of strawberries or just the same amount of fruit combined?
Thank you a sugar free alternative. Nice to know what is going in your food.
HWC Magazine says
Hi there Linda! Delighted you enjoyed our strawberry rhubarb refrigerator jam. It can be 2 cups of any berries or sweet fruit as desired. You may need to adjust the amount of honey to your personal taste. Cranberries, much like rhubarb, are quite sour. Wishing you a super week ahead.