Friday 8 June 2012

Sunshine Rhubarb Juice Concentrate


So the other day while I was mowing the lawn, my husband and kids thought they would do me a favor, and pick my Rhubarb.  I have 6 huge plants of it, so you can imagine the lovely pile of Rhubarb.  They chopped it up for me and put it in the fridge for me to do something with.  They were thinking cakes and muffins, but they chopped it in chunks that were too big for that.  So then I was thinking, why not try some juice?  I have made and canned juice concentrate out of Blackberries, Raspberries and Black Currants.  All of these have been great homemade juices.  Some searching on the interntet gave me this recipe, and yesterday I gave it a whirl.

Sunshine Rhubarb Juice Concentrate

12 Cups Rhubarb
4 Cups Water
1 Cup Sugar

Chop Rhubarb into 1 inch long peices.  Place in a large pot, add water.  Place on Medium-High heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 10 minutes until the Rhubarb is tender.

Ladle stewed Rhubarb into a cheese cloth lined colander over a clean bucket or large pot to strain out juice.  Leave undisturbed for a few hours for juice to drain.

In a large pot over medium high heat combine juice and sugar.  Stir to dissolve sugar.  Do not boil, just heat it.  

Ladle into clean sterilized hot jars.  Leave a 1/2 inch head room top with new lids, rings and hot water bath for 10 minutes.


To drink it, mix it equal parts with water.  Or you could also mix it with gingerale, sparkling water or some say alcohol?  I haven't tried those yet, but I imagine they would be good too!  

This morning I mixed up some with just water to try it and it reminds me something of lemonade, except that instead of the lemon taste, you have the Rhubarb flavor.  It would be great added to punches.

Ok, Now I sort of cheated, and made a big batch.  I measured the Rhubarb out into my biggest roaster  (28 cups) and added the water to that, and popped it in the oven at 350 for a while.  A few times I gave it a stir.  Then when it was all really tender, I gave it a mash with my potato masher, ladled it into jelly bags and hung it over a huge pot over night.  Then I canned it yesterday.  I got 7 pint jars out of 28 cups of Rhubarb.



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