Strawberry rhubarb jelly blends the sweetness of strawberries with the tart bite of rhubarb, giving you a classic spread that’s always a hit. Using liquid pectin makes this easy strawberry rhubarb jelly especially beginner-friendly. This method yields about 7 half-pint jars and is safe to can in pints or half-pints.
About Strawberries and Rhubarb
Strawberries and rhubarb share the spotlight in many desserts and preserves for a reason. Sweet, juicy strawberries balance the tangy flavor of rhubarb, resulting in a jelly that pops with color and taste. For best results, use juicy, ripe fruit. If you want to learn more about picking quality strawberries, check out How to Select Strawberries.
Why Use Liquid Pectin?
Pectin, found naturally in many fruits, is what lets jam and jelly thicken as they cool. Liquid pectin is ready to use straight from the pouch, so it simplifies the process. It gives reliable results and lets your fruit flavors shine, making it perfect for anyone new to canning or who wants an easy, fuss-free process. For more inspiration, take a look at Jam and Jelly Recipes for Preserving.
Ingredients for Strawberry Rhubarb Jelly
Here are the items you will need to make strawberry rhubarb jelly. This recipe can be canned in pint jars or half-pint jars. It will yield about 7 half-pint jars of jelly.
- 1 1/2 lbs Red Rhubarb Stalks
- 1 1/2 quarts Strawberries
- 1/2 tsp Butter
- 6 cups Sugar
- 6 oz Liquid Pectin
Equipment Needed to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Jelly
Here is the equipment I use when making this jelly:
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Food Processor
- Cheesecloth
- Liquid Measuring Cups
- Large Stainless Steel Pot
- Water Bath Canner or Steam Canner
- Jar Lifter
- 1/2 pint Canning Ladle
- Headspace Measurer/De-Bubbler
- Half-Pint Canning Jars
- Rings
- Lids
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How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Jelly with Liquid Pectin
The process of making strawberry rhubarb jelly with liquid pectin is straightforward and rewarding.
Prepare the Fruits
Wash rhubarb stalks and cut into 1-inch chunks. Blitz these in a food processor or blender until finely chopped.
Rinse, hull, and crush strawberries a layer at a time. You can pulse them in a food processor if they resist mashing.
Prepare Canner and Jars
Clean jars and lids with hot, soapy water. Check for any chips or cracks. Sterilize jars by boiling them for 10 minutes since this recipe uses a short processing time.
Prepare your canner
Using Water Bath Canner:
Put your water bath canner on your stove. Add your canning rack to the water bath canner. Add enough water to cover jars with at least 2-3 inches of water. Start to bring your water to a boil.
Using a Steam Canner:
Put your steam canner on your stove. Add the steam canner rack to the bottom of the steam canner. Add the recommended amount of water to the steam canner according to the manufacturer. Put the lid on your steam canner and start your stove.
Cook Jelly
Place both crushed fruits into a jelly bag or a double layer of cheesecloth.
Over a liquid measuring cup, gently squeeze out the juice from the fruit. Continue squeezing until you measure 3 1/2 cups of juice. Add juice to a pot.
Add butter (this is to reduce the foam formation. Do not add more than it says in the recipe) and sugar.
Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.
Immediately stir in liquid pectin.
Bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and quickly skim off the foam.
Fill Jars
Once you have hot sterilized jars and hot jelly.
Water Bath Canner:
Remove your jars from the water bath canner one at a time using your jar lifter. Dump the water out of the jar into your water bath canner to ensure there is still 2-3 inches of water above your jars.
Steam Canner:
Remove the steam canner lid and remove your jars one at a time using your jar lifter.
Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch (.5 cm) headspace (Check with headspace measurer). Remove air bubbles with a de-bubbler and adjust the headspace by adding more hot jelly if necessary.
Wipe the rim to ensure a good seal is made with the lid. Center the lid on the jar and screw the band down to fingertip tight. Repeat until all jelly is used.
Place jars in the canner with your jar lifter.
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Process Jars
Water Bath Canner:
Lower the water bath canner rack into the boiling water. Ensure your jars are covered by at least 2 inches of water.
If your water is not boiling, start your processing time when the water is boiling. Process Pint jars or 1/2 pint jars for 5 minutes. Make sure to adjust your time for altitude.
Set a timer, it makes it much easier to make sure you process for the correct time. When your timer goes off, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid.
Leave the jars in the water for 5 minutes.
Steam Canner:
Put the lid on the steam canner. Turn your stove on high until your steam canner water comes to a vigorous boil. Continue heating so the indicator is in the correct “Zone” per your altitude.
Start your processing time when the needle reaches the maximum point you have tested your steam canner to reach in your “Zone”.
Adjust the burner so that it maintains an even rolling boil throughout the entire processing time. Usually, this will be much lower than where it was set for the vigorous boil. If the top lid is lifting and/or spitting water from the edges, this is an indication that you have the heat turned up too high. Slowly reduce the heat until this stops. Watch the indicator to ensure the temperature does not decrease.
The processing times for steam canning are the same as for water bath canning. Process pint jars or 1/2 pint jars for 5 minutes.
Make sure to adjust your time for altitude. Set a timer, it makes it much easier to make sure you process for the correct time.
When your timer goes off, turn off the heat and let the canner stand for 5 minutes with the lid on before removing the jars. The lid MUST remain ON the canner during this time. This cool-down period is necessary to ensure the jar contents are properly processed.
Carefully remove the lid by tilting it away from you to avoid steam burns.
Cooling and Storing Strawberry Rhubarb Jelly
Using your jar lifter, carefully move the jars onto a wire rack or kitchen towel to allow them to cool. When moving the jars, try not to tilt them to the side, as this could affect the seal of the jars. Allow your jars to cool for 12-24 hours before handling.
Once cool, remove the canning rings from the jars. Wash your jars off to ensure no food residue is on the outside of the jars from processing. Label your jar with the name of the recipe and date. This will help you remember what recipe you used to can, and the date will allow you to use the oldest canned goods first.
Tips for Successful Jelly
- Use the freshest strawberries and rhubarb you can find.
- Always sterilize jars when processing for less than 10 minutes to prevent spoilage.
- Stick to the recipe for reliable jelling, especially with pectin.
Enjoying Your Homemade Jelly
This strawberry rhubarb jelly recipe is perfect on toast, as a pastry filling, or even as a glaze for meats. The bright color and tart-sweet flavor make it a favorite. Try more ideas from Jam and Jelly Recipes for Preserving.
Making strawberry rhubarb jelly with pectin is a simple way to capture fresh, summer flavors that last all year. Happy preserving!
Additional Recipes
Looking for additional recipes using strawberries and rhubarb?
Recipe Card
Strawberry Rhubarb Jelly Recipe with Liquid Pectin
Equipment
- Blender or Food Processor
- Food Processor or Blender
- Large stainless steel pot or Enameled Dutch Oven
- Enameled Dutch Oven or Large Stainless Steel Pot
- Water Bath Canner or Steam Canner
- Steam Canner or Water Bath Canner
- Half Pint size canning jars or pint size canning jars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs Red Rhubarb Stalks
- 1 1/2 quarts Strawberries
- 1/2 tsp Butter
- 6 cups Granulated Sugar
- 6 oz Liquid Pectin
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Instructions
- Prepare the rhubarb: Wash your rhubarb stalks. Using your cutting board and knife, cut rhubarb into 1-inch pieces.
- Blend or grind the rhubarb pieces using a blender or food processor.
- Wash, hull, and crush strawberries one layer at a time in a pot. If it is too hard to crush the strawberries, pulse them in a food processor.
- Wash your jars and lids in warm, soapy water. Make sure there are no chips or bubbles in your jars.
- Since this is a short processing time, you need to ensure your jars are sterilized by boiling them for 10 minutes. You can use this recipe for pint jars or half-pint jars.
- Prepare your cannerUsing Water Bath Canner: Put your water bath canner on your stove. Add your canning rack to the water bath canner. Add enough water to cover jars with at least 2-3 inches of water. Start to bring your water to a boil. Using a Steam Canner: Put your steam canner on your stove. Add the steam canner rack to the bottom of the steam canner. Add the recommended amount of water to the steam canner according to the manufacturer. Put the lid on your steam canner and start your stove.
- Place both crushed fruits into a jelly bag or a double layer of cheesecloth.
- Over a liquid measuring cup, gently squeeze out the juice from the fruit. Continue squeezing until you measure 3 1/2 cups of juice. Add juice to a pot.
- Add butter (this is to reduce the foam formation. Do not add more than it says in the recipe) and sugar.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.
- Immediately stir in pectin.
- Bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and quickly skim off the foam.
- Once you have hot sterilized jars and hot jelly.Water Bath Canner:Remove your jars from the boiling water one at a time using your jar lifter. Dump the water out of the jar into your water bath canner to ensure there is still 2-3 inches of water above your jars.Steam Canner:Remove the steam canner lid and remove your jars one at a time using your jar lifter.
- Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch (.5 cm) headspace (Check with headspace measurer). Remove air bubbles with a de-bubbler and adjust the headspace by adding more hot jelly if necessary.
- Wipe the rim to ensure a good seal is made with the lid. Center the lid on the jar and screw the band down to fingertip tight. Repeat until all jelly is used.
- Place jars in the canner with your jar lifter.
- Water Bath Canner:Lower the water bath canner rack into the boiling water. Ensure your jars are covered by at least 2 inches of water.If your water is not boiling, start your processing time when the water is boiling. Process Pint jars or 1/2 pint jars for 5 minutes. Make sure to adjust your time for altitude.Set a timer, it makes it much easier to make sure you process for the correct time. When your timer goes off, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid.Leave the jars in the water for 5 minutes.Steam Canner:Put the lid on the steam canner. Turn your stove on high until your steam canner water comes to a vigorous boil. Continue heating so the indicator is in the correct "Zone" per your altitude. Start your processing time when the needle reaches the maximum point you have tested your steam canner to reach in your "Zone".Adjust the burner so that it maintains an even rolling boil throughout the entire processing time. Usually, this will be much lower than where it was set for the vigorous boil. If the top lid is lifting and/or spitting water from the edges, this is an indication that you have the heat turned up too high. Slowly reduce the heat until this stops. Watch the indicator to ensure the temperature does not decrease.The processing times for steam canning are the same as for water bath canning. Process pint jars or 1/2 pint jars for 5 minutes.Make sure to adjust your time for altitude. Set a timer, it makes it much easier to make sure you process for the correct time.When your timer goes off, turn off the heat and let the canner stand for 5 minutes with the lid on before removing the jars. The lid MUST remain ON the canner during this time. This cool-down period is necessary to ensure the jar contents are properly processed.Carefully remove the lid by tilting it away from you to avoid steam burns.
- Using your jar lifter, carefully move the jars onto a wire rack or kitchen towel to allow them to cool. When moving the jars, try not to tilt them to the side, as this could affect the seal of the jars. Allow your jars to cool for 12-24 hours before handling.
- Once cool, remove the canning rings from the jars. Wash your jars off to ensure no food residue is on the outside of the jars from processing. Label your jar with the name of the recipe and date. This will help you remember what recipe you used to can, and the date will allow you to use the oldest canned goods first.
Notes
Editorial Process
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