Rhubarb Juice Concentrate with Honey
Learn how to juice rhubarb and made a tangy, honey sweetened drink that you can either serve fresh, freeze or preserve in the waterbath canner.
Equipment
- 12 quart stockpot
- 1 long handled mixing spoon
- 1 large cotton straining cloth
- 1 large bowl
Ingredients
- 30 cups rhubarb, cut to 2-3 inch lengths
- 8 cups filtered water
- 2 cups raw honey
Instructions
- Harvest rhubarb stalks in the morning
- Using a knife, remove fan shaped leaves and the base of each stalk
- Bring indoors and rinse clean at the kitchen sink
- Measure 8 C water into a large, 12 quart (3 gallon) stockpot
- Cover your pot with a lid and set to boil on the stovetop
- Slice rinsed rhubarb stalks into 2-3 inch lengths
- Place pieces into a large measuring bowl (aka batter bowl), dumping into the pot when full.
- Measure out 30 cups of 2-3 inch pieces in total
- Once you have 30 cups, put a lid on the stockpot and turn heat to high
- When your water starts simmering, set the timer for 10 minutes
- Cook rhubarb until it softens and falls apart
- Pull your stockpot from the heat and cool until you can handle the contents without burning yourself
- Line a large bowl with a cotton cloth
- Pour the cooked rhubarb and liquid into the cloth
- Gather the 4 corners of your filled cloth and tightly knot together
- Hang the cloth bag for 2-4 hours or until juices stop dripping into the bowl below
- When finished, you should have about 4 quarts of juice concentrate
- Pour your rhubarb juice concentrate into a clean pot and heat to the near-boiling point without letting it actually boil
- Measure in honey and stir to dissolve
- To serve fresh: dilute rhubarb concentrate half n' half with water, or fill a glass 2/3 with ice and pour juice over. Serve.
- How to freeze: pour rhubarb juice concentrate into molds. Freeze until solid. Quickly remove from molds, bag, label and return to freezer. To serve: fill glass or pitcher 2/3 of the way with cubes. Cover with water and let sit several minutes before serving.
- How to water bath can: Ladle near-boiling rhubarb juice into jars, wipe rims, add lids and immediately place in boiling water bath canner.Process pints (500 ml) 10 minutes at 0-1,000 ft. Process quarts (1 litre) 15 minutes at 0-1,000 ft in elevation. Process half gallon for 20 min at 0-1000 ftTo serve: fill glass or pitched 2/3 with ice. Pour rhubarb juice concentrate over and let sit several minutes before serving.
