Conscious Choice: Rhubarb Revival

April 2002 | Cooking with the Seasons

Rhubarb Revival

by Terra Brockman

Not so long ago, every backyard had a rhubarb patch. It’s not hard to imagine why. After months of winter, and many meals consisting mainly of root vegetables, imagine the first taste of rosy red, tart green spring bursting on your tongue. But with our loss of connection with the seasons, and the demise of the backyard patch, this harbinger of spring is on the endangered list.

The large corporate growers who supply supermarket shelves do not bother with rhubarb. They plant only crops that sell big, and rhubarb doesn’t. In 1992, only 861 acres of rhubarb were cultivated in the entire United States. In little more than a generation, rhubarb has gone from overabundant backyard plant to a rare expensive treat in upscale restaurants. This is just another reason to seek out a local farmer’s market or CSA that will bring you back to rhubarb and give you a sense of the seasons.

Rhubarb originated in Western China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Siberia. It thrived in those frigid climes, and it does equally well in the frigid upper Midwest. Chinese herbalists treasured rhubarb for its medicinal value. It was not the stem, however, but the dried roots that were used to treat a variety of ailments.

Marco Polo wrote at length about rhubarb in the accounts of his travels in China. Rhubarb came into Europe via a number of routes — across China and Russia, through the Arab world and into Spain, and through Italian ports. As a result of Arab trade and medicinal knowledge, Chinese rhubarb was soon widely used in European pharmacies. The first recorded planting of rhubarb in Italy was in 1608. Britain got to know rhubarb in the fourteenth century; for the next 400 years, it was grown solely as a medicinal herb. It was highly valued, selling for 2.7 times the price of opium in England in 1657.

Then around 1800, someone discovered that the stems of rhubarb were good to eat. Andrew Wynter in his Curiosities of Civilization (1860) records its introduction to the metropolis of London: "Rhybarb is almost solely furnished by the London market gardeners. It was first introduced by Mr. Miatt forty years ago who sent his two sons to the Borough Market with five bunches, of which they sold three." A year later, Mrs. Beeton was writing in her Book of Household Management that rhubarb "was comparatively little known until within the last twenty or thirty years, but is now cultivated in almost every British garden."

Rhubarb Sweet and Savory

One of rhubarb’s colloquial names is "pie plant," and it is most often used in sweet pies and tarts. I am partial to these old-fashioned uses, but am gradually expanding my horizons to include rhubarb as an accompaniment to seafood or meats. Restaurants are now offering surprising pairings such as foie gras with rhubarb and pork with rhubarb sauce or rhubarb chutney.

Spicy Rhubarb Chutney

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
2 Tablespoons finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4-1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper
6 cups 1/2-inch chunks rhubarb (about 2 pounds)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup dried tart cherries or golden raisins

1. Combine the first eight ingredients in large heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

2. Add rhubarb, onion, and dried cherries; increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the rhubarb is tender and the mixture thickens slightly, about five minutes. Cool to room temperature.

3. Brush meat of your choice with the chutney and bake or grill. Or serve the chutney as a side to any dish. Makes about four cups.

Sweet Rhubarb & Onion Chutney

1-1/2 pounds sweet onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup hot water
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup sugar
1 pound rhubarb, trimmed and cut into one-half inch pieces (about three cups)

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onions until they are soft.

2. While the onions are cooking, combine the raisins, one-half cup hot water, vinegar, cloves, and sugar in a bowl. Let the mixture stand for fifteen minutes, then stir it into the onions.

3. Bring the onion mixture to a boil. Stir, then top with the rhubarb. Do not stir the rhubarb in. Simmer, covered, for five minutes. Then stir and cook at a slow boil, uncovered, for three to five minutes, or until the rhubarb is just tender. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve at room temperature. Makes about three cups.

Simple Rhubarb Compote

6 pounds rhubarb, trimmed, peeled, and diced
1/4 cup water
2 cups sugar

1. Place the rhubarb and water in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Stir, then cover the pot and cook until the rhubarb begins to soften, about five minutes.

2. Stir in the sugar, cover partially, and continue cooking until the rhubarb is completely soft, about twenty to thirty minutes. Stir from time to time to be sure it isn’t sticking.

3. Remove the compote from the heat and let cool before serving. I think of this as "rhubarb applesauce," and I serve it as such. Makes eight servings.

Easy Rhubarb Marmalade

2 pounds rhubarb
Grated rind of 2 lemons
4 cups sugar
Juice of 2 lemons

1. Mix the rhubarb, lemon rind, and sugar in a bowl and let stand overnight.

2. Pour the mixture into a large pot, add lemon juice, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened.

3. Pour the mixture into glass jars and refrigerate, or pour into hot, sterilized jelly glasses and seal with a thin layer of melted paraffin. Makes about five cups.

Rhubarb-Ginger Refrigerator Jam

2 pounds sliced rhubarb
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves.

2. Reduce heat and simmer until the jam thickens and mounds on spoon, about twenty minutes. Stir often to prevent scorching. Cool to room temperature and transfer to a bowl or to jars. Cover and chill. Makes two cups.

Gingery Rhubarb Sauce

Ginger and rhubarb make a wonderful pair. You can use either fresh ginger or candied ginger, adjusting the sugar to your taste. This is wonderful over vanilla ice cream, garnished with fresh mint leaves.

1 pound rhubarb, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about three cups)
1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/3 cup sugar (or to taste)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

1. In a saucepan, combine the rhubarb, orange juice, ginger, sugar, and butter. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for five minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender.

2. Let the mixture cool slightly. Serve it with ice cream. Makes about two cups.

Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Custard Pie

1 cup sugar
11/2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups of 1/2-inch rhubarb slices
1 can (or 2/3 cup) evaporated milk
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
Pastry dough for a double crust pie (see The Joy of Cooking or your favorite cookbook)

1. Roll out half the pastry dough and line a nine-inch pie pan. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Combine sugar, flour, nutmeg, and salt; toss with the rhubarb. Let stand about fifteen minutes. Spoon into unbaked pie shell.

3. Combine milk, eggs, and one-half cup sugar; mix well. Pour over rhubarb.

4. Roll out the remaining one-half pastry dough. Cut in strips and make a lattice top crust.

5. Bake for fifteen minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. Bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes or until top crust is brown and custard is set. Cool on rack.

Rhubarb Tart Song

I have tried a number of rhubarb tart recipes, but tarts drip rhubarb juice all over my oven, so I stick with pies. Yet who can resist a few verses of Monty Python’s Rhubarb Tart Song?

The principles of modern philosophy
Were postulated by Descartes
Discarding everything he wasn’t certain of
He said "I think therefore I am a rhubarb tart."
A rhubarb what? A rhubarb tart!
A René who? René Descartes!
Poor nut he thought he was a rhubarb tart!

Read all the existentialist philosophers
Like Schopenhauer and Jean-Paul Sartre
Even Martin Heidegger agree on one thing:
Eternal happiness is rhubarb tart.
A rhubarb what? A rhubarb tart!
A Jean-Paul who? A Jean-Paul Sartre!
Eternal happiness is rhubarb tart!

Terra Brockman is the director of The Land Connection Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving farmland and promoting small-scale, diversified, organic agriculture in Illinois. Visit www.thelandconnection.org or call 309-965-2407 to learn how to get involved.

Recommend this page to a friend

Top Ten pages recommended to friends: