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Ingredient Spotlight: Cooking with Rhubarb

May 6, 2016 By justalittlebitofbacon 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. Click here for details.

Wondering what to do with those red stalks of rhubarb that you’re seeing in your grocery store or farmer’s market? Or at least wondering what they are good for besides strawberry rhubarb pie? Strawberry rhubarb pie is great, but there is so much more to rhubarb!

Ingredient Spotlight: Rhubarb - With its deep, red stalks and intensely sour and puckery flavor, rhubarb is great in desserts as well as in stews and savory sauces. If all you know is strawberry rhubarb pie, you'll be impressed by rhubarb's versatility. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

spotlight collectionI’ve been figuring out how I want to do these focus posts where I talk about a more unusual ingredient and give a little bit of history and some ideas on how to cook it. (Check out my new ingredient spotlight collection for all my spotlight posts!) Since my last one, which was a while ago, I’ve decided to make this a monthly feature. Each month I will take a seasonal ingredient and give you some bullet points about it – such as what it is, where it comes from, nutritional info – and then end the post with a round up of 5-10 links to recipes which include the ingredient to give you an idea of different ways to use it. Shall we begin?

What is rhubarb?

Rhubarb is a vegetable with big, green, fan-like leaves and reddish or green stalks. Most of the rhubarb used for cooking has reddish stalks since, well, it’s prettier. 🙂 And it has a more delicate, sweeter flavor. Only the stalks of the rhubarb are used for cooking. The leaves are poisonous (DO NOT EAT) and the roots are used in traditional medicines. Rhubarb prefers cold, damp climates, and doesn’t like to grow in warmer places, which is probably why it’s popular in Northern Europe/England, and in the Northern US.

One interesting fact – rhubarb is legally classified as a fruit in the US. Though there are a number of botanical fruits which we think of as culinary vegetables (such as tomatoes and cucumbers), rhubarb is the only vegetable I can think of which has crossed the divide in the other direction.

Where does rhubarb come from?

Rhubarb has been cultivated for thousands of years. The earliest records we have of it are from China, and it probably was first found somewhere in Northern China, Mongolia, or Siberia. It made its way to Europe in the 1300s but didn’t make its way into dinner until the 1600s, with the first recorded recipe we know of in 1807, which is a recipe for a rhubarb tart. Sounds good to me! By the 1820s, rhubarb was growing in the US, starting in Maine and Massachusetts. I know that rhubarb is still very popular here in MA, and, since rhubarb is very much a seasonal plant, seeing the stalks show up in April and May means spring is truly here.

Ingredient Spotlight: Rhubarb - With its deep, red stalks and intensely sour and puckery flavor, rhubarb is great in desserts as well as in stews and savory sauces. If all you know is strawberry rhubarb pie, you'll be impressed by rhubarb's versatility. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

This is my little rhubarb plant! I don’t think I have it in a sunny enough location so I’ll be transplanting it this year.

What does rhubarb taste like?

Rhubarb is very tart and rather tannic, which gives it a astringent flavor. Raw rhubarb is firm and crunchy, with long fibers going up the stalks, a bit like celery. Young, thin stalks will be pink in the middle and they have a more delicate, sweeter flavor and are also more tender. When cooking rhubarb, you may want to adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe to account for how young or old your rhubarb stalks are. Though you can eat rhubarb raw, just dip it in sugar and munch, rhubarb is generally cooked and shines in pies, sorbets, compotes, and baked goods.

What’s the nutritional info on rhubarb?

Rhubarb is naturally very low in calories and high in fiber. (Noting that most people eat rhubarb in pie and custard, so the low calorie count is rather negated there.) And it is also packed with vitamins, such as vitamin C, vitamin K, various B vitamins; minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, manganese; and antioxidents, like beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. Tasty and good for you!

For more info you can visit: High Altitude Rhubarb, The Kitchen Project : Rhubarb, and Rhubarb: A Brief History of Rhubarb in Britain.

Ingredient Spotlight: Rhubarb - With its deep, red stalks and intensely sour and puckery flavor, rhubarb is great in desserts as well as in stews and savory sauces. If all you know is strawberry rhubarb pie, you'll be impressed by rhubarb's versatility. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

How do you cook rhubarb?

But you want to know how to cook it and I can help!

  1. Vegan Gluten Free Raspberry Rhubarb Crisp – for those looking for a gluten-free option, rhubarb makes a great crisp
  2. Strawberry Rhubarb Smash – anyone up for a cocktail?
  3. Pork Tenderloin with Spiced Rhubarb Chutney – a great sweet and savory recipe for rhubarb
  4. Persian Rhubarb and Beef with Rice – a classic Persian stew for rhubarb
  5. Rhubarb Jam – Rhubarb the way it was meant to be. All by itself!

And of course I have a few recipes myself (this list will be updated as I add more recipes to the site):

Rhubarb Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping - Spring is here with this rhubarb coffee cake, which has a tart layer of rhubarb sandwiched between soft cake on the bottom and crumb topping above. A little sweet, a little tart, and all yummy! | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Rhubarb Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping
Rhubarb Orange Compote - Don't know what to do with rhubarb? Try this quick and easy rhubarb compote recipe. Spoon it over ice cream and cake and it's awesome on pancakes! | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Rhubarb Orange Compote
Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal - This baked oatmeal smells like a cross between strawberry rhubarb pie and pancakes as it bakes. And it tastes as wonderful as it smells! Pour a little cream over the top, spoon some yogurt next to it, or eat it as is. It's all good. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal

These rhubarb muffins are packed full of fruit and toasted walnuts and then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar to make a great, family-pleasing breakfast. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Rhubarb Muffins with Cinnamon and Walnuts
Strawberry Rhubarb Bundt Cake
Make the most of fresh spring fruit with homemade rhubarb and strawberry hand pies! These mini, individual pastries are fun to make and to eat. Can be prepared ahead and frozen or made and served immediately. Great with vanilla ice cream!
Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies

What do you get when you combine a custard pie and fruit cobbler? A strawberry rhubarb cobbler with custard filling! Delicious, creamy, and full of fruit.
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler with Custard Filling
Easy to make, this homemade rhubarb syrup has so many uses! Rhubarb simple syrup can be poured over pancakes, made into cocktails and drinks, served over ice cream, added to pound cake, and more. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #rhubarb #springrecipes #dessertrecipes #syrup #simplesyrup
Rhubarb Simple Syrup
For the perfect spring and summer cocktail, learn how to make a rhubarb rickey! Lime juice, a rhubarb simple syrup, and mint combine to make this tasty drink. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #rhubarb #springrecipes #cocktails #drinkrecipes #summerrecipes #limerickey
Rhubarb Lime Rickey

Ingredient Spotlight: Rhubarb - With its deep, red stalks and intensely sour and puckery flavor, rhubarb is great in desserts as well as in stews and savory sauces. If all you know is strawberry rhubarb pie, you'll be impressed by rhubarb's versatility. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Ingredient Spotlight: Rhubarb - With its deep, red stalks and intensely sour and puckery flavor, rhubarb is great in desserts as well as in stews and savory sauces. If all you know is strawberry rhubarb pie, you'll be impressed by rhubarb's versatility. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Related Posts:

  • A Guide to the Spring Farmers' Market
    A Guide to the Spring Farmers' Market
  • Rhubarb Orange Compote
    Rhubarb Orange Compote
  • Baked Strawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal
    Baked Strawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal
  • Homemade Rhubarb Simple Syrup
    Homemade Rhubarb Simple Syrup
  • Rhubarb Muffins with Cinnamon and Walnuts
    Rhubarb Muffins with Cinnamon and Walnuts
  • Spiced Rhubarb Crisp with Oatmeal Pecan Crumble
    Spiced Rhubarb Crisp with Oatmeal Pecan Crumble

Filed Under: ingredient spotlight, roundup post, spring Tagged With: rhubarb

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Comments

  1. simonacallas says

    May 10, 2016 at 10:43 am

    Thank you for the information you give through this article ❤ I discovered rhubarb recently and I fell in love with it. I think my first recipe was a Rhubarb Custard Cake (an Australian recipe) and it was amazing 🙂

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      May 15, 2016 at 7:43 pm

      You’re welcome! 🙂 Rhubarb is a great and versatile vegetable and that custard cake sounds great.

      Reply

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Hello, I’m Annemarie

Welcome to my kitchen! I’m a Italian-American girl who loves fresh foods, local ingredients, and all sorts of comfort foods. Here you will find Mediterranean flavors and recipes from a New England perspective.

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