Maggie's Farm

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Saturday, May 19. 2012

Fun with Rhubarb

Ever gnaw on a raw Rhubarb stem? I used to love that, when I was a kid. Especially the tender thin stems. Huge flavor, tangy, bitter, spicey.


While "researching" this post, I learned that it's commonly done in Turkey and Iraq. Our garden rhubarb came from China. The leaves are poisonous. There are lots of types of rhubarbs, most inedible.


Rhubarb is the most reliable edible perennial that you can have in your northern garden. Just throw some manure on them every Spring, and you're done. The only problem I have had with them (my last patch) was that the plants kept going to flower and seed without producing new stems. I guess I should have cut off the flowering stems sooner.


How to make a rhubarb patch.


A few fine Rhubarb recipes (don't talk to me about Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie which is an insult to both Strawberry and Rhubarb).


Rhubarb Crisp


Rhubarb Tart


Rhubarb Custard Pie

Posted by Bird Dog in Gardens, Plants, etc., Our Essays at 13:16 | Comments (12) | Trackbacks (0)

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Raw rhubarb, yum! When I lived in the shanty on the mountain I had the most prolific and tasty rhubarb patch ever. It was sited along the remains of the old pigpen, so it was well fertilized. I haven't found a better patch ever since, and the Seppofarm is lacking that, I need to remedy that.
#1 Seppo on 2010-04-28 15:36 (Reply)
(don't talk to me about Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie which is an insult to both Strawberry and Rhubarb).

Oh man - now you've gone and insulted one of my favorite types of pies. I LOVE Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The tangy sweet/tart taste - oh my gosh there is nothing in Heaven or on Earth that tastes so delicious.

You have obviously never had a really well made strawberry/rhubarb pie.

How sad. :>)

PS: Check your email - incoming.
#2 Tom Francis on 2010-04-28 15:44 (Reply)
Beat me to it. Rhubarb and strawberries love each other. Who is this man, this BD, who thinks that the lovely couple must be cut asunder to satisfy his outdated ideas of vegetable purity?
#2.1 chuck on 2012-05-20 01:36 (Reply)
One of the interesting questions about foods like rhubarb, that some botanists, and food scholars have debated, is who, and how did such foods as rhubarb become food in the first place. Rhubarb is poisonous, except for the stalks,{which have to be cooked] and we have domesticated it. After centuries of cultivation, we enjoy it. I'll bet the wild form wasn't quite so edible. Eat the wrong part, and you get sick. Same with many other plants. Ifs the first cave family in cave one eats rhubarbs leaves or roots, and gets sick, the other cavemen in the valley ain't going to touch the stuff. Did somebody get lucky, and just first eat the stalks, first? Interesting questions.
#3 brierrabbit3030 on 2010-04-28 18:01 (Reply)
Well BD, nothing beats a simple rhubarb pie. I've made two so far this year. However, a decent strawberry-rhubarb pie that isn't too sweet can be very, very fine, too. That's the secret. Ya gotta try one of the good ones - you'll change your mind.
#4 Skookumchuk on 2010-04-28 18:45 (Reply)
I have fond memories of my parents' rhubarb patch. Such good pies. These days I buy frozen rhubarb, which is about half the price of fresh. I make a rhubarb-apple cobbler.
#5 Gringo on 2010-04-28 21:09 (Reply)
My father-in-law refuses to let a rhubarb-strawberry pie into his house.
#6 Tralfaz on 2010-04-29 10:39 (Reply)
FYI: the link to rhubarb crisp goes to a "page not found."

I love strawberry-rhubarb pie, but have never had rhubarb only, so I'll reserve final judgment.
#7 Judith on 2012-05-19 14:34 (Reply)
Ah!! More voices of reason in the vast sea of rhubarb/strawberry lovers. I whole-heartedly agree with those of you who despise the straw/rhu combination.

Tom, I'm sorry to disagree with you. I've been to many a picnic / bbq / church dinner over my 50+ years, when people have said, "OH, you HAVE to have the strawberry/rhubarb pie. It's the best pie in the world." And I'll say, "No thanks." But they insist saying that if I just try a piece, I'll change my mind and lo and behold, to me, it's barely edible.

Strawberries have too delicate a flavour to put them with rhubarb. They deserve their own place in the sun. AND other than jam, they shouldn't be cooked at all, IMO.

And all they do to rhubarb is water down that deliciously tangy flavour.

When people tell me their favourite pie is strawberry/rhubarb, I look at them with pity and compassion. Poor things probably lost their taste buds in some horrible childhood accident, like getting their tongue stuck to a frozen metal pole.

Once you've had rhubarb custard, strawberry/rhubarb is an abomination.
#8 Lori G (Link) on 2012-05-19 22:17 (Reply)
I was raised on straight rhubarb, so I never saw the need to add strawberries. I have tried rhubarb-strawberry pies, and find them quite edible, but prefer plain rhubarb pies.

I do like a rhubarb-apple cobbler, however.
#8.1 Gringo on 2012-05-20 16:12 (Reply)
Here's my Mom's recipe for a Rhubarb Cobbler

Oven – 350 deg.
Medium baking dish

Fruit Base:
3 cups fresh rhubarb (diced)
1 cup white sugar
3 tbsp. grated orange rind
½ cup frozen orange juice
1 tsp. flour

Combine and place in bottom of medium baking dish. Put in oven and let warm up while you’re making the cobbler topping. ** Very important ** If you are using frozen fruit, you MUST let it thaw completely and warm it up before putting the cobbler on top, otherwise, the dough will not bake and will stay raw.

Cobbler Topping:
2 cups stirred flour
4 tsp. baking powder
4 tbsp. sugar
½ cup butter (hard)
½ cup milk

Mix flour, powder, sugar and salt. With pastry blender, cut in hard butter until it’s like coarse meal. Beat egg and milk together and add to the dry ingredients.
Drop by tablespoonful all over the rhubarb mixture and spread lightly to cover fruit.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Take a knife and poke down into the cobbler to make sure it's baked all the way through.
Remove from oven and while still HOT, brush glaze over top.

Glaze:
1/4 cup orange juice 2 tbsp. white sugar
Mix together until sugar partially dissolved.

Serve warm by itself or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
#9 Lori G (Link) on 2012-05-19 22:24 (Reply)
Add Blueberries to the Rhubarb crisp. Yum!
#10 Terry on 2012-05-20 14:22 (Reply)

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