Rhubarb Butter

A friend gave me a gazillion stalks of rhubarb that I couldn't bear to waste, so I put up some really yummy rhubarb butter!

I played around with a very old recipe calling for 15 C Rhubarb and 14 C sugar and came up with a somewhat healthier version:

32 C rhubarb chopped in 1" pieces

4 large oranges

5 C agave syrup

1 1/2 C sugar mixed with 1 C Clear Jel

Process the entire orange, peel and all, in a food processor or high power blender until it's a liquid/paste. Pour this over the rhubarb pieces and mix. Let it stand overnight.

In the morning, put the rhubarb/orange into a large pot, add the agave syrup and bring to a boil. Let simmer for an hour or so until the rhubarb breaks down to a sauce and thickens, stirring off and on so it doesn't burn.

Next, blend the "clear jel" into the sugar. Sift this mixture slowly into the rhubarb sauce, stirring constantly until it has thickened - about 5 or 10 minutes.

In the meantime, boil some canning jars & lids for 10 minutes to sterilize them. Pour the hot rhubarb into the hot jars leaving 1/4" headspace, (wipe off the rim of the jar so there can be a good seal) put the seals on, then the lids, and then just let them sit on a towel on the counter until they self seal!

I used 12 pint jars and then put the rest (about a quart) in my fridge. This morning we put it on whole wheat pancakes.....YUM!