Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

rhubarb butter without canning

(1 rating)
Recipe by
Heidi Hoerman
Hingham, MA

Fruit butters have much less sugar in them than jellies, jams, or preserves but are just as good on bread or as a glaze for pork or chicken. This recipe calls for only adding as much salt and sugar as your taste requires. The batch in the picture took 2 very small pinches of salt and 6 tablespoons (3/8 cup) of sugar. Fruit butters may have spices in them like cinnamon or may simply rely on the flavor of the fruits for their kick. Although this same recipe may be adapted for canning, making a small quantity to store in the fridge or freezer works just as well.

(1 rating)
yield serving(s)
prep time 5 Min
cook time 1 Hr

Ingredients For rhubarb butter without canning

  • 3 or 4 stick
    rhubarb, washed, leaves and tought strings removed, and diced
  • 2 or 3 md
    apples, peeled, cored, and diced
  • 2 md
    lemons (juice only) or 3 tbl bottled lemon juice
  • 1 or 2 pinch
    salt (optional)
  • 0 to 8 Tbsp
    sugar (to taste)

How To Make rhubarb butter without canning

  • 1
    In a medium, non-reactive saucepan, on medium-low heat, bring the rhubarb, apples, and lemon juice to a slow boil. Add a pinch of salt (optional).
  • 2
    Simmer on medium low heat, stirring frequently until the fruit becomes the consistency of apple sauce (about 15 minutes). Hurry the fruit along by mashing if you wish.
  • 3
    Taste the unsweetened sauce and add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired sweetness. Add another pinch of salt if desired.
  • 4
    Simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently or until a "thick applesauce" consistency is reached.
  • 5
    Allow the resulting fruit butter to cool in the sauce pan and then transfer to clean containers for storage in the refrigerator or freezer. If your containers are clean and well-sealed, the rhubarb butter should last 2 or 3 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.
  • 6
    Use as you would any jam or preserves. The batch pictured above resulted in about 2 cups of rhubarb butter, one headed to the fridge, the other to the freezer.
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