It’s time for our first sweet harvests of the season – rhubarb is here and strawberries aren’t far behind. I get really excited when I see new seasonal products on the market and whether I have a plan or not, I buy them. So I ended up with four giant stalks of rhubarb in my fridge.
I originally intended to make a crumble, but it didn’t happen. I had rhubarb sitting loose in my fridge, so I decided to turn this spicy, sour stalk, often found in the back lanes of Canada, into something sweet, smooth and delicious.
Something you might not know: Rhubarb is higher in calcium than milk per cup – milk has 300 mg, rhubarb has 380 mg.
I know you’re not going to go eat a whole cup of rhubarb or you’ll end up with terrible…um…rapid bowel movements (it always comes back to poop with nutritionists).
Today, I’m sharing with you two amazing rhubarb recipes for fruity spreads. We have straight up rhubarb butter and a lovely early summer variation of strawberry rhubarb butter.
The main difference between a fruit ‘butter’ and a jam is that we mash the final product to a smooth texture. You could, of course, keep it thicker and call it jam. As with all the jams I make, I swap out the sugar for honey and use whole apples, or in some cases applesauce, instead of powdered pectin. This just helps make the jam or butter a little more natural and unprocessed.
I eliminated all sweeteners from my diet several years ago (you can read more about exactly how I did this here) and if you’re trying to reduce or eliminate natural sweeteners, you can swap the honey for more apples in the rhubarb butter or more apples and/or strawberries in the strawberry rhubarb butter. If needed, you can add some honey afterwards.
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This spread goes amazingly well with the banana berry Oatmazing Muffins from my cookbook and is also perfect on a slice of grain-free almond bread.
Imprint
Description
An easy 5 ingredient rhubarb butter recipe with all natural ingredients.
- 4 rhubarb stalks (approx 4 cups)
- 1 apple, peeled and diced
- 1/2 fl honey
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4–1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- Purée the apple and rhubarb together until smooth in a food processor or vitamix.
- Pour the apple/rhubarb mixture into a saucepan and stir in the honey, vanilla and cinnamon.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce to a simmer and continue to stir every 4-5 minutes or so.
- Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
- Pour into a jar, (if canning, can your own) and let cool.
- Store in the refrigerator.
- Preparation time: 5 minutes
- Cooking time: 20 minutes
- Category: Condiments
As I mentioned above, adding strawberries to the mix makes for an incredibly simple variation. You can also swap out the strawberries and rhubarb and do the same with apples, pears, plums, peaches, or any of your favorite fresh market fruits.
Subscribe below for 5 more amazing rhubarb recipes
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Enjoy over 40 downloadable guides, recipes and resources.
These butters also make a great imprint cookie filling!
Imprint
Description
A simple strawberry rhubarb butter with all natural ingredients.
- 3–4 cups strawberries – remove stems
- 2 rhubarb stalks (approx 2 fl)
- 2 apples, peeled and diced
- 1/3 fl honey
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4–1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- Puree the strawberries, rhubarb and apples together until smooth in a food processor or vitamix.
- Pour the strawberry, rhubarb and apple mixture into a saucepan and stir in the honey, vanilla and cinnamon.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce to a simmer and continue to stir every 4-5 minutes or so.
- Cook for about 30 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
- Pour into a jar, (if canning, make your own) and let cool
- Store in the refrigerator.
- Preparation time: 5 minutes
- Cooking time: 20 minutes
- Kitchen: Condiments
