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Stellar use for rhubarb from the garden. Cooked down to a cup it is thick, richly flavoured but not intense or overpowering. It is delicious! Thanks for the recipe. ~Andy
So when was the last time you saw a jar of rhubarb butter in a store? Probably never. It’s one of those specialty foods you just have to make at home. Lucky thing it’s so easy! In fact fruit butters are the perfect project for beginners, even if you’ve never made jam or jelly, you’ve got this.
Once you make your first batch of jewel colored rhubarb butter you’ll want to do this with lots of different fruit, from apple butter to peach butter. Berries too! I have an incredibly silky cranberry butter recipe that you can make in the slow cooker. Making fruit butter is easy, and habit forming!
what you need to make rhubarb butter
- rhubarb
- I used fresh rhubarb, the first of the season to show up in my supermarket. You can use frozen if you’ve got it. Note: choose the reddest stalks for deepest color in your butter.
- sugar
- lemon juice
my jars
I collect Weck jars (a German company) They come in all shapes and sizes, and are perfect for storing, sharing, and serving homemade fruit preserves like rhubarb butter.
the three stages of making rhubarb butter
With no pectin, fruit butter is the easy way to preserve fruit. You are basically cooking it down so it reduces excess moisture and concentrates the flavor.
stage 1: cooking the rhubarb until soft
During this stage you’re just looking to cook the rhubarb until soft and reduce some of the moisture. You don’t have to babysit it much at this stage, just keep an eye on it.
Stage 2: blending the cooked fruit
Blend until really smooth. This is going to give your fruit butter that silky quality. Be extra careful when pureeing hot foods like this rhubarb butter. Make sure your blender top is securely fastened, and that it is vented. Then to be extra safe place a kitchen towel over the top and stand back when turning on the blender.
Stage 3: reducing the puree until thick
The final stage is critical: you’re going to continue to cook it down until it has the thick spreadable consistency we know and love in fruit butters. Moderate your heat so it is bubbling but not violently. It will sputter a bit, so stand back and use a long handled silicone spoonula to scrape the sides and bottom of the pot often.
How to know when your rhubarb butter is done? When the rhubarb butter is getting close to done it will darken a bit and get glossier. Your butter is done when you can drag your spoon across the bottom of the pan and the jam doesn’t fill in the space. The fruit butter will thicken even further upon chilling.
Storing your rhubarb butter
This rhubarb butter recipe is intended as a small batch preserve, not for canning. It will keep 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator, and up to a year in the freezer.
As for canning I only share safe tested recipes from reputable sources (i.e. government, University, or food safety organizations) and I have not been able to find such a recipe for canning rhubarb butter. If anyone has one, let me know in the comment section!
rhubarb butter faqs
Rhubarb varies quite a bit in color. Some stalks are deep vibrant red, and others vary from green to pink. The flavor will be the same, but the color of your butter may vary. Often supermarket rhubarb is bred for a bright color, and I always try to make sure I get nice bright stalks. My original batch of rhubarb curd, back in 2013, below, was much paler, but no less delicious.
I use a Vitamix blender to blend my rhubarb. It has enough power to really blend foods to the silkiest consistency. A regular blender will work fine, but the butter will have more texture to it.
Sure, use equal amounts of each. You could do rhubarb and peaches, too.
Yes, for sure, the process will be exactly the same.
Yes, you can use honey, stevia, or your choice of sweetener. Just keep in mind different sweeteners might be more or less sweet than regular sugar, and might impart a new flavor to the butter. I recommend taste testing if you alter the recipe.
what to do with your rhubarb butter
Your little jars of tart rhubarb butter can be used in so many ways (good thing a little goes a long way!)
Spread on hot buttered toast, English muffins, or biscuits
Serve with scones and clotted cream.
Use as a filling for cakes, tarts, cookies, or crumble bars.
Swirl it into yogurt or oatmeal.
Make a peanut butter and jelly rhubarb butter sandwich
Make rhubarb ice cream!
MORE REASONS TO HOARD RHUBARB!
Rhubarb is such a unique flavor, and it’s around for such a short time, I go a little crazy with it during the season:
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Rhubarb Butter
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 lb rhubarb, this is about 4 cups, sliced.
- 1/2 cup sugar
- squeeze of fresh lemon
Instructions
- Rinse the 1 lb rhubarb and trim the the ends (the leaves are toxic.) Slice it into 1 inch pieces and put in a heavy bottomed pot along with the 1/2 cup sugar. Add 2 tablespoons of water and a squeeze of fresh lemon, and stir to combine.
- Heat, stirring constantly, until the rhubarb starts to give off juice and the mixture comes to a boil. Boil gently for about 15-20 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft and mostly broken down.
- Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. Get it as smooth as you can. Note: Be careful when pureeing hot foods, as they can 'explode' up through the spout of the processor or blender. Make sure the top is on securely, and that it is vented.
- Put the puree back on the stove and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it gently bubble away until reduced and thickened about another 20 minutes or so, Stir often, and be careful not to let the fruit scorch. When the rhubarb butter is getting close to done it will darken a bit and get glossier. Your butter is done when you can drag your spoon across the bottom of the pan and the jam doesn't fill in the space. The fruit butter will thicken even further upon chilling. (See the post for photos and details.)
- Spoon the finished butter into a glass jar. Let cool, then cap and refrigerate. It will thicken further as it cools. You will have about a one and a half cups.
Notes
- If you want to make a larger batch, you can freeze this. I just keep it in the fridge, it will be scarfed up within a couple of weeks.
- There is no firm rule about how long to cook the pureed fruit. The longer you cook it and reduce it down, the thicker it will be. It’s a matter of personal taste.
- You can add a splash of vanilla (or the seeds of a vanilla bean) to your butter at the very end, if you like.Â
- You can also add a small amount of cinnamon or cardamom. Add it once the rhubarb has been pureed. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and add more to taste.
I decided to make a double recipe in my crockpot and here is what I discovered. The water is not needed. After cooking on high for a couple hours the rhubarb had released a lot of water and it was very soupy. I added more rhubarb and let it cook until the new rhubarb was soft, then used my immersion blender to purée everything. Then I added more sugar to taste. My rhubarb is a green variety so I added a few drops of red food colouring to make a more attractive color. At this point I left the lid off the crockpot and continued cooking on high, stirring every hour or so. At bedtime the mixture was still too loose so I turned the crockpot to low, put the lid on and went to bed. I had to get up in the middle of the night so I checked on the butter. It was still very loose and was turning a darker color so I turned the pot off and allowed it to cool, hoping it would thicken as it cooled. Alas, it did not. I now have it in a saucepan on the stove and will see if I can eliminate some of the moisture that way. Unfortunately the color is no longer very attractive. I was hoping for a pretty pink butter for toast and thumbprint cookies. If I was to try again I would eliminate the water (if using the crockpot) and wait to alter the color until I was closer to desired consistency.
So after a slow simmer in the stovetop the rhubarb butter has thickened up. I added one and a half tablespoons of pure vanilla extract and added a little bit more sugar. It tastes and smells delicious. I should have measured it before I packaged it but I would say that after doubling and adding a little bit more rhubarb in hopes of offsetting the excess liquid I’ve ended up with approximately 3 cups. I’m freezing some for the filling for thumbprint cookies for my holiday cookie platters.
Thanks for the full report Shelley, and your holiday cookies sound like they’ll be delish.
It is really tasty and the vanilla added a lovely fragrance as well. I only wish it was as beautifully coloured as yours Sue. Thank you for the inspiration.
Rhubarb comes in so many different shades, Shelley, and I’m guessing yours was a little on the green side? The flavor shouldn’t be affected, though!
Where can I find glass jars like the one filled with the butter, with the clip and glass lid?
Those are Weck canning jars, Robyn, and they come in all shapes and sizes. It’s a German company ~ here’s a link to them on Amazon
I am wondering if this could be made (step #2) in a crock pot? Any thoughts?? Thanks!
Hi Marcy ~ yes, I’ve made several fruit butters in the crock pot, my Cranberry Butter is one, here’s the recipe for reference: http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/minimal-monday-crock-pot-cranberry-butter/ You might want to add a touch of water if you’re going to leave it in the crock pot for a long period.
Have you ever tried adding strawberries to this. I’m just wondering how it would come out or how much to add. I was thinking 2 parts rhubarb one part strawberry but I haven’t made fruit butter before so I wasn’t sure how this would change the texture.
I don’t think you can go wrong, Megan, because I’ve made all kinds of fruit butters…I say go for it, either in a 2 to 1 or even 1 to 1 ratio!
Yes it will be wonderful . I mix strawberries with Rhubarb all the time .love a strawberry and rhubarb sauce I grew up on . Slice rhubarb and strawberries and put in sauce pan . Cook on med-low till they cook down . Add sugar to taste . Great over ice cream or just along it’s also great with bananas or apples
So simple yet so delicious!
Could I use honey instead of the sugar?
I think that should work, Christina — let us know your results!
Unbelievably good. Like this way better than Rhubarb Jam. Used Vanilla in mine. Waiting on the toaster for a second helping. Thank you!
I’m so glad you like it Stephanie, I agree, fruit butters are much better than jam 🙂
I’m wondering if you can use frozen rhubarb & if so how much would a pound be in cups? Also wondering about using the crockpot instead of stove for final cooking? It would be so much less likely to scorch. I need to use up my freezer rhubarb before the fresh starts soon.
Any tips for canning it? It sounds divine, and my rhubarb patch still has some life left!
I’m so sorry, I’m not much of a canner, Kayleigh!
I just looked it up and it said if using hot rhubarb butter in sterilized jars, can then in a water bath for 5 mins. If just using clean jars, can them in a water bath for 10 mins.
This will never make the freezer. I could eat it with a spoon. I added a wee bit more sugar in the second “cooking” process as mine was a bit too tart. Mine is cooling and I added a vanilla bean. I’m taking it with homemade cream scones to my friends house tomorrow. YUM and thank you!!!
Gorgeous, I’d love this on ice cream or spread on fresh bread!