On my evening walks lately, I’ve been noticing the many rhubarb plants all around the neighborhood. These enormous plants, sitting along edges of vegetable gardens, beg for attention. Even my own herb garden now has a big, beautiful plant in all of its glory, towering alongside the meeker sages and thymes.
Rhubarb is a curious one. I’m a fairly new convert to rhubarbism and my repertoire of recipes is still growing. I’m curious as I admire my neighbor’s plants, what interesting recipes might they have? Or do they grow it simply for its elegant leaves? If you’ve got an interesting recipe, send it to me at janice@mlui.org! I’d love to learn more ways to cook with this fascinating plant.
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Selecting and Storing
- Harvest rhubarb only once leaves are well developed. Pull stalks from the base of the plant and snap off. Cutting stems with a knife can cause rot.
- Select crisp, celery-like stalks. Don’t harvest more than half of the stems in one year. Allow the rest to continue to grow and strengthen the plant.
- Remember that the leaves are poisonous.
- Storing: Wrap in a damp paper towel or place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to a week.
- Freezing: Cut spears into one-inch pieces and blanche for one minute in boiling water. Rinse in ice water, then drain and pack in airtight containers.
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Fun Facts
- The name “rhubarb” comes from the Latin word rha barbarum. In ancient times, rhubarb grew along the Rha river and that region was considered barbarian territory, so it literally means “from the barbarian, Rha.”
- Rhubarb is a member of the buckwheat family.
- One very special variety is the Irish Giant, which has stems 5 feet long and is as thick as a man's arm!
- Rhubarb is often called the “pie plant”, as it is often combined with strawberries to make delicious springtime pies.
- The first recorded recipe containing rhubarb was found in an 1806 cookbook by Maria Eliza Rundell, for Rhubarb Tart.
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Nutritional Information:
- Rhubarb has been classified as a superfood due to its ratio of health benefits to calories. It contains only 7 calories per 100 grams.
- Rhubarb is high in Vitamins A and C, as well as calcium and fiber.
- It also speeds up metabolism.
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Recipes:
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Sources/Links:
www.prevention.com
http://www.plantea.com
http://kitchenproject.com/history/
For a list of farms in your area and more recipes, visit www.localdifference.org.
Taste the Local Difference is a project of the Michigan Land Use Institute’s Entrepreneurial Agriculture Project, which works to grow jobs, save farmland, and build healthier communities with food that’s thousands of miles fresher.
