Honey Sweetened Rhubarb Compote With Ginger

June 13, 2014(updated on August 30, 2021)

chopped rhubarb

I am currently in a motel room about an hour north of Pittsburgh, PA. My class in Columbus yesterday went gloriously well (so many thanks to The Seasoned Farmhouse for having me!) and my appearance on All Sides with Ann Fisher earlier today was so fun (you can watch it or download the podcast here).

The upcoming weekend in Pittsburgh got some really nice coverage in the Post-Gazette today. If you’re in the area, please do come out and say hi!

rhubarb compote

Happily, this blog post isn’t only about what’s happened over the last few days and what’s to come later this week. I also have a recipe for honey sweetened rhubarb compote with ginger. This particular preserve doesn’t have much of a story behind it. It was one of those ideas that sprang fully formed into my brain and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it until I made it.

I used two forms of ginger (freshly grated and juice. I used this bottled juice, but instructions on how to make your own can be found here) to make it kicky, and had I been able to find my jar of crystalized ginger, I would have included some chopped bits as well (how does one misplace a pint jar of ginger?), but the kitchen is a bit of a mess these days and I just couldn’t put my hands on it.

Still, even without the third form of ginger, it’s quite good. I had intended it to be something closer to a jam, but it refused to thicken beyond a very soft set, and so I’m calling it a compote in order to set consistency expectations. You can call it whatever you’d like.

5 from 1 vote

Honey Sweetened Rhubarb Compote With Ginger

Servings: 0

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds rhubarb stalks
  • 1 pound honey or 1 1/3 cups, if you prefer volume measurements
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon ginger juice

Instructions

  • Prepare a boiling water bath canner and four half pint jars.
  • Trim rhubarb stalks and cut them into inch-sized segments. Place them in a pot and add the honey, grated ginger, and ginger juice.
  • Let the rhubarb sit for 5-10 minutes, until the honey mingles with the ginger juice and starts to dissolve.
  • Place the pot on the stove and bring the rhubarb to a boil. Cook at a fast bubble, stirring regularly, until the rhubarb breaks down and the whole mess has thickened to your liking.
  • Remove jam/compote from heat and funnel it into the prepared jars, leaving about 1/2 inch head space. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
  • When time is up, remove jars from canner and let them cool. Sealed jars are shelf stable for a good long while. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and eaten within a couple of weeks.

Sharing is caring!

5 from 1 vote

Leave a comment & rate this recipe

If you enjoy this recipe, please do give it a star rating when you post a comment. Star ratings help people discover my recipes. Thank you!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




23 thoughts on "Honey Sweetened Rhubarb Compote With Ginger"

  • Hi Marissa: What is the name that is embossed on the jar in the picture? Does it say ‘Orchard Road’? Thanks!

  • thanks for the recipe. I only wish that a person could grow rhubarb here in Texas. Have tried but gets 2 hot in the summer and not cold enough in the winter.
    Orchard Road jars; how unique. Have never seen them before until I done a little searching

  • LOVE rhubarb and ginger!!

    Safety question: As long as the fruit/sweetener is appropriately acidic (following trusted sources), you brought it up to a good boil to TRY to set, and it got the solid 10 minutes in a boiling water bath, do I need to worry if its more sauce than jam? Is it still shelf stable?

    I want to continue with seasonal small batches (thank YOU for the inspiration!), but my sets are iffy (and that will come with experience). Safety first!!

    1. The set of the preserve plays no role in making it safe for canning. It’s really all about acid levels and heat. This jam/compote/sauce is vigorously boiled for at least ten minutes and then is processed for ten minutes once in the jars and that’s all you need for shelf stability. And rhubarb is highly acidic so it’s safe on that front as well.

      1. Thank you! No one would dare complain about loose set if I serve it over ice cream or poundcake, right?

  • Hi, this is my first time on your blog. The recipe looks delicious. I have some rhubarb but was planning on vanilla, not ginger. You have me undecided, lol. Which would you prefer after testing it with ginger?

    1. I really like the ginger, but rhubarb is also good with vanilla. It really depends on your preferred flavor profile.

      1. I’m actually more of a ginger than vanilla girl. I guess I’ll have to try both, such sorrow, lol.

  • Do you know roughly how many stalks or how many cups of chopped rhubarb this would require? I’m not sure how to figure out how many pounds i have without a scale available!

    1. The problem is that the stalks vary so much in width and length that there’s no way to say with any reliability how many stalks equal a pound. And measuring them by the cup isn’t particularly reliable either, since you’ll get more or less into a measuring cup depending on how much you chop them. But all that said, two cups of chopped rhubarb is probably about a pound.

  • Marisa,

    I love your blog (and your books!) thanks for your time and effort!
    Am I correct that you do not peel the rhubarb? Here in Germany “everybody” peels it (which is a pain…), don’t you need to? Kind regards!

  • It was so fun to see you in Columbus. Good luck on the rest of your travels and finding down time to rest and blog in between everything else!

    1. Rachel, it was so nice to see you too! Next time I come through Columbus, I want to come out and see your homestead! 🙂

  • Sigh. I just discovered your blog. Been reading through your blog over the past few days and it’s great! I could kick myself that I missed you while you were in Pittsburgh just a few weeks ago. 🙁

  • Just found your blog. It was so timely as I just started canning for the first time. My Rhubarb has grown insanely this year, so I now have some recipes to run home and try. Can’t wait.

  • Neighbor gifted us with tons ‘o rhubarb. Tonight I made your Orange Rhubarb Butter (two thumbs up!) and this honey-ginger-rhubarb compote/jam. I didn’t feel like making ginger juice but did have candied ginger so used that plus the grated ginger. Both recipes have a completely different vibe and both are delicious! Even my non-ginger-loving hubby likes both. Thanks!

  • I was a fan of Marisa’s before, but this is over the top delicious! Somehow the flavors amplify each other and calling it a compote lets them stay bright.