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How does one roast rhubarb


HQAntithesis

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Hi everyone,

I would like to make a plated dessert incorporating roasted rhubarb, but I've never roasted rhubarb before so I was wondering if anyone had any advice. Can you just blanch it in a simple syrup then put it in an oven at 200C with some sugar sprinkled on top? I'm hoping the final texture will have a little bit of bite to it but otherwise be tender and, fingers crossed, a slight crispiness from caramelisation of the sugar. Will there be too much moisture released to hope for any caramelisation?

Thanks :smile: .

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I've never done this before but a quick Google search shows approximately the following method:

Cut rhubarb to the size you want

Place in a lightly oiled roasting pan or cookie sheet

Shift some confectioners sugar over rhubarb (or toss with some granulated sugar)

Bake at 200C (~390F) for about 20 minutes or just until soft.

Personally, I'd be tempted to stick it under the broiler for a few seconds at the very end to caramelize the sugar a bit more, if necessary.

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

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I would skip the blanching. Rhubarb goes from crisp to liquid so quickly that it would be risky, and it's probably unnecessary, especially because it seems like you want the crispness of the rhubarb. John's method seems like it would work fine.

I've done a savory dish with sauteed rhubarb. That works, too, although it involves an extra pan and etc.

"A culture's appetite always springs from its poor" - John Thorne

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I've never done this before but a quick Google search shows approximately the following method:

Cut rhubarb to the size you want

Place in a lightly oiled roasting pan or cookie sheet

Shift some confectioners sugar over rhubarb (or toss with some granulated sugar)

Bake at 200C (~390F) for about 20 minutes or just until soft.

Personally, I'd be tempted to stick it under the broiler for a few seconds at the very end to caramelize the sugar a bit more, if necessary.

I do this occasionally, and it's delicious. The rhubarb gets quite soft, though, and the pieces don't hold their shape well. The whole lot kinds mooshes up like chunky applesauce, and there's enough liquid released that crispy caramelization isn't going to happen. I use it as a side dish (goes great with a pork roast).

B. Keith Ryder

BCakes by BKeith

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hmmm...I've always done it as mentioned above--but why don't you try doing a stalk of it like asparagus--coat it with oil and bake it at 410 or so and see what happens--let us know if it works...

Zoe

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I've never tried it, but perhaps you could try torching the sugar on the rhubarb to get that caramel crust. It probably won't cook the rhubarb at all, though. Maybe you could try steaming it just for a minute before torching? Seems like there's got to be a way to make this work.

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Hmmm... mooshy, that does sound nice but wasn't quite what I had in mind. Is there a way to cook the rhubarb without it losing while maintaining some texture?

Some texture, but not much. I'm skeptical about caramelization; the sugar doesn't really have anything to cling to since rhubarb melts at about the same rate of speed as the Wicked Witch of the West.

Here's a recipe for compote from Alice Waters (oven temperature in F). I personally find butter on rhubarb without pastry unappetizingly greasy and do without. However, the short cooking time is key. Try checking early and don't give into the temptation to stir while the rhubarb bakes. You will end up with a few stalks that appear intact, though you'd be surprised by their fragility if you poke them, especially when everything's still hot.

* * *

I've also made a tarte alsacienne with a custardy-rhubarb filling that came out well. The "trick" for preventing the custard from coagulating around pink, watery pools is to coat the cut pieces of raw rhubarb in sugar and let it drain for a while, reserving the liquid to incorporate with other ingredients in the custard. The pieces of rhubarb are then arranged in the pastry shell, sprinkled with more sugar and partially baked before the custard topping is added and baked until set.

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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There was an article/recipe specifically on this non-mushy roasted rhubarb point by Shuna Lydon (eggbeater.typepad.com) in edible san francisco a while ago. Unfortunately, I don't have the issue and she only ever refers to it on her blog and doesn't actually give out the recipe. However, if you can find that issue (Spring 2006 I believe), apparently it has your answer.

Has anybody seen this article?

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Hmm--hints from an article on the bay area bites website:

I wanted to show off a special method I have of cooking/treating it, so as to preserve its original integrity, its rhubarb-ness. I like to hot-sugar poach the stalk in such a way as to keep it's crunchy, sour nature. {For a full explanation and recipe, order the Spring 2006 issue of Edible San Francisco, where I went into great detail about osmotic reciprocity and why rhubarb always turns into mushy, stringy baby food when it's introduced to heat.}
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A websearch for rhubarb & "osmotic reciprocity" reveals the following, from saute wednesday:

Shuna Fish Lydon never beats around the bush when it comes to food, and if you've read her blog Eggbeater, then you know she can write as well as she cooks. Ever the professional, Shuna offers insights you just can't glean from a cookbook no matter how much you read between the lines, and when it comes to rhubarb, lookout! From her premiere piece for ESF:

    "Contradictory to what your instinct may tell you, creating a thicker, sweeter (thus hotter) syrup to poach rhubarb, results in a less-sweet, crunchier end result. Rhubarb’s high water content means that the liquid cooking it must be of a higher viscosity. The sweeter and denser the syrup is, the less sugar the rhubarb actually absorbs, or at a slower rate than the fruit is releasing its own water, aka macerating. This is the basic premise for why a sauté pan needs to be hot before the oil goes in and why mushrooms shouldn't be washed with water. (Osmotic reciprocity.)"

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Thanks for the reminder, I've been frantically studying French so I forgot to post the results. It's not quite a scientific experiment but what I did was try cooking small sticks of rhubarb, one in just boiling water and one in a hot syrup that was around the 145C mark.

I found the rhubarb cooking in boiling water was 'just' ready in about one and a half minutes while the one cooked in the syrup was ready in about one minute. There was a difference with the texture between the two, the one being cooked in syrup holding it's shape better though neither being really 'crisp' or 'crunchy' so to speak. I'm not sure if the syrup-rhubarb was better off simply because it had a reduced cooking time though. Another thing I found with both was that the outer red 'skin' seemed eager to slide off after cooking and it took a bit of coaxing to make it look like it was all as one intact piece.

So that's what I found from my experimenting, it's not really conclusive but for me the difference wasn't really worth boiling the sugar and cleaning the pot afterward etc. I'd be inclined to get a hold of the article before trying again.

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I'd be inclined to get a hold of the article before trying again.

Thanks for the report. I'll be in San Francisco this weekend & hope to find a stash of edible san franciscos available somewhere... Back issues are also available through the website.

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