Rhubarb juice concentrate is an easy way to enjoy rhubarb in season, or preserve it for year round enjoyment.
Making rhubarb juice is an easy way to preserve rhubarb, and it’s perfectly safe for water bath canning. You can also skip the canning, and just store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks (or the freezer for up to 6 months).
What I love about making rhubarb juice is that you can do it anytime the rhubarb is growing. Generally, once temperatures turn hot the rhubarb becomes stringy and tough. At that point, it’s not great for use chopped in rhubarb pie and most other rhubarb recipes.
When you make rhubarb juice, however, it doesn’t matter if the rhubarb is stringy since all the solids are filtered out. You’re just getting pure rhubarb flavor, and you can make this delightful rhubarb canning recipe even at the heat of summer.
This simple recipe for rhubarb juice concentrate comes from the Ball Complete Book of Home Canning, which has quite a few rhubarb canning recipes. I have dozens of canning recipe books, and while most have jam and jelly, this is the only one to have a canning recipe for rhubarb juice.
Ingredients for Rhubarb Juice Concentrate
The ingredients for making rhubarb juice concentrate are pretty simple, and all you really need is chopped rhubarb and water. The water is there to get the process started, and it just helps the rhubarb stalks not burn or scorch until they’ve softened enough to release their juices.
Be sure to remove the rhubarb leaves (they’re toxic), you only want chopped rhubarb stalks for making rhubarb juice.
The sugar is completely optional but obviously recommended for flavor.
The recipe from the Ball Book of Canning says that you’ll get a yield of 4 pints using the following ingredients:
- 12 Cups Rhubarb, sliced into 1 inch slices
- 4 Cups Water
- 1 Cup Sugar
If you have a rhubarb patch at home, the required 12 cups of rhubarb shouldn’t be a problem. Plants can be incredibly prolific once established!
Part of our rhubarb harvest in a wheelbarrow
Sugar is optional, and not required for safe canning, so it’s perfectly fine to can plain unsweetened rhubarb juice. That said, it’s very sour and you’ll need something to sweeten it unless you plan to use it in savory rhubarb recipes.
Alternative sweeteners work well here, just make sure they’re safe for canning (if canning). Using honey, maple or agave is perfectly fine here. I’d suggest using about 2/3rds as much because they’re sweeter by the cup than granular sugar.
I can’t keep track of the constantly changing recommendations regarding splenda, stevia, monkfruit and the myriad of other modern sweeteners since they’re not something I use. If you plant to use those for canning, just do a quick search and a bit of research yourself to see if what you have on hand is safe for canning.
(Most are fine, I believe, but I’d recommend double checking.)
How to Make Rhubarb Juice Concentrate
The basic process for making rhubarb juice concentrate is quite simple. All you really need to do is place the chopped rhubarb in a stockpot with the water. Bring it to a boil, and then turn it down to a simmer for about 10 minutes until the rhubarb is very soft.
Strain through a jelly bag or a colander lined with a double layer of dampened cheesecloth.
From 12 cups rhubarb and 4 cups water, you should get roughly 8 cups juice (or 4 pints).
Once the juice has been strained, place it back in a saucepan and add in the sugar (if using). Gently heat to dissolve the sugar, but don’t boil.
Rhubarb Juice Variations
The ball book of home canning includes one variation that adds both the zest and juice of a lemon and orange, creating a citrus-y rhubarb juice concentrate. The zest is filtered out with the rhubarb pieces before canning.
They call it “Sunshine Rhubarb Juice Concentrate.” Because you’re adding tart citrus juice, they recommend increasing the sugar to 1 1/2 cups (instead of just 1 cup).
Personally, I’m fond of a few different rhubarb juice canning variations:
- Rhubarb Lemonade Concentrate ~ Add the juice of 2 to 4 lemons, or around 1/4 to 1/2 cup of lemon juice. I prefer the higher amount, which adds just under one lemon’s worth of juice per pint of concentrate. Increase the sugar to 2 cups. The yield should be closer to 5 pints (instead of 4). This concentrate is much stronger, as it has a lot of lemon tartness (and flavor), and will go a lot further when reconstituted than plain rhubarb juice concentrate.
- Strawberry Rhubarb Juice Concentrate ~ Add 1 to 2 quarts of strawberries to the mix when extracting the juice. Keep the sugar at 1 cup. Each quart of strawberries adds about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of juice to the final mix, so if you add about 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups), you should get a total yield of 5 pints of strawberry rhubarb juice concentrate.
Canning Rhubarb Juice
Rhubarb juice is naturally acidic and safe for canning without added sugar or lemon juice. Adding those is optional, and just for flavor.
To can rhubarb juice, bring the rhubarb juice to a gentle simmer (around 180 to 190 F) and add sugar (if using). Stir to dissolve.
Fill pints or half pints with hot juice leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Seal with 2 part canning lids (rings and lids) to finger tight.
Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave the jars in for an additional 5 minutes before removing them to cool on a towel on the counter.
Check seals, and store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator for immediate use.
Sealed jars should maintain quality for 12-18 months on the pantry shelf. Refrigerate after opening.
(If you’re not familiar with water bath canning, please read my beginner’s guide to water bath canning before proceeding.)
Using Rhubarb Juice Concentrate
Rhubarb juice concentrate is delicious added to cold water or seltzer for a quick, refreshing drink. The amount depends entirely on your tastes, but I usually add about 1/4 cup to a pint of cold water.
You can also use it in rhubarb drink recipes, whether they be virgin mocktails or fancy rhubarb cocktails.
Rhubarb Juice Concentrate (with Canning Instructions)
Rhubarb juice concentrate is an easy way to preserve the flavor of rhubarb in a convenient easy to use juice concentrate.
Ingredients
- 12 cups rhubarb, sliced into 1'' pieces, stalks only, leaves removed
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup sugar (optional, see notes)
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, combine sliced rhubarb and water.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until rhubarb is very soft and starting to fall apart, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Prepare a jelly strainer bag, or line a colander with a double layer of dampened cheesecloth. Strain rhubarb and collect juice. You should have around 8 cups (4 pints) of juice. Allow the juice to drip until the rhubarb is quite dry, about 1 to 2 hours.
- If canning, prepare a water bath canner by pre-heating it to just simmering (roughly 180 degrees F).
- Place extracted rhubarb juice back in a clean saucepan and add sugar (if using). Warm to dissolve sugar. It should be just barely simmering, but do not boil. Remove from heat and skim off foam (if any).
- Ladle hot rhubarb juice concentrate into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Cap with 2 part canning lids to finger tight.
- If canning, process jars (pints and half pints) in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the jars in the canner for an additional 5 minutes to cool slightly before removing them with a canning jar lifter to cool completely on a towel on the counter.
- Wait 12 to 24 hours, then check seals. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator for immediate use. Properly canned and sealed jars may be store in the pantry. Refrigerate after opening.
Notes
The sugar is optional, and not required for canning safety. Sugar can be increased, decreased or eliminated to suit your tastes. For a Rhubarb Syrup instead of juice, add 1 cup of sugar for each cup of rhubarb juice. Canning instructions are the same.
Alternative sweeteners may be used, but check to make sure they're approved for canning (if canning).
Try these variations for a slightly different flavor:
- Rhubarb Lemonade Concentrate ~ Add the juice of 2 to 4 lemons, or around 1/4 to 1/2 cup of lemon juice. I prefer the higher amount, which adds just under one lemon's worth of juice per pint of concentrate. Increase the sugar to 2 cups. The yield should closer to 5 pints (instead of 4). This concentrate is much stronger, as it has a lot of lemon tartness (and flavor), and will go a lot further when reconstituted than plain rhubarb juice concentrate.
- Strawberry Rhubarb Juice Concentrate ~ Add 1 to 2 quarts of strawberries to the mix when extracting the juice. Keep the sugar at 1 cup. Each quart of strawberries adds about 1 to 1 1/2 cup of juice to the final mix, so if you add about 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups), you should get a total yield of 5 pints of strawberry rhubarb juice concentrate.
- Sunshine Rhubarb Concentrate ~ Add the zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange to the mixture when extracting the rhubarb juice. Add an extra 1/2 cup sugar (1 1/2 cups total) to account for the tartness of the lemon juice.
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Looking for more ways to use rhubarb this season?
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There’s plenty more to can this season…
- Canning Strawberries
- Strawberry Jelly
- Old Fashioned Strawberry Jam
- Canning Strawberry Pie Filling (coming soon)
- Honeyberry Jam (Haskap Jam)
- Dandelion Jelly
- Violet Flower Jelly
Cate
Everytime I am looking for a paricular recipe, I almost ALWAYS find it on your website!!
I wanted rhubarb concentrate for canning and here it is!!.
Thank you for all your hard work that you put into this blog. It’s fantastic!
Ashley Adamant
You are quite welcome! I’m so glad it’s helpful to you =)
Colleen
I followed the instructions for rhubarb, although i steam juiced mine about 18 months ago and went to consume a jar, I was going to mix it with lemonade but i noticed it bubbling and smelled and tasted fermented. Have you had this happen before? A friend was worried about botulism but it can’t be because rhubarb is acidic. Did i just make rhubarb wine? Is it still safe to consume?
Ashley Adamant
If it fermented, then you had a false seal, and it sounds like it didn’t can/process properly, and there are lots of reasons why this can happen. You made rhubarb wine, or something close, as it could be a lacto-ferment instead (like sauerkraut or yogurt). But either way, probably not tasty in that form, and you should toss it.
Did you take the rings off before storage? And, when you opened it, was the jar really “sealed” or was the lid just sitting on top?
Barb
Like above, I was thinking about using my steam juicer for this. I think I remember that you have one; is there a reason not to use it? I got mine last year and was able to process a lot of Concord grapes that would have otherwise gone to waste.
I divided a monster rhubarb into 14 plants while leaving some of the original last year. Hopefully this year I will have a bounty of rhubarb. (Would you believe I’ve never tasted it? I like most things and I’m excited to try it, but I figure if I really don’t like it, enough people around me do love it and I can offer it up on Front Porch Forum. Meanwhile, I’m using it as a weed suppressor within various gardens and around the well head!
Ashley Adamant
Sometimes rhubarb takes a year to come back after it’s divided, so you might not have much this year (but you never know).
For the steam juicer, yes, you could definitely use that for rhubarb. Chop it pretty small when you put it in there, but a steam juicer is great for this.
Enjoy!
Carlotta
I would like to make the strawberry rhubarb juice concentrate and can it in pint jars for future use. My question — as a novice canner — is about the method of canning. I invested in a pressure canner that works with my induction cooktop, and have been successful following a variety of recipes from the Ball canning book. Is it safe to pressure can the concentrate? We are just under 1,000 feet elevation. How would I go about pressure canning instead of water bath canning pint jars?
I have just discovered your website, so answers to these questions may be here already, but thank you for responding!
Ashley Adamant
Yes, this recipe is safe to pressure can, but pressure canning is not required, it works just fine in a water bath. If you do want to pressure can water bath canning recipes, you just do 5 pounds pressure and then the same time stated in the recipe. (Recipes that require pressure canning use 10-15 pounds pressure, so under that you’re doing water bath canning in a pressure canner). Hope this helps!