Rhubarb

[Jim Dixon]

I love rhubarb. I hate strawberry-rhubarb pie.

I hold that if you can't take the pleasantly astringent flavor of rhubarb on its own, then don't eat it. And please don't screw it up for those of us who love it by combining it with too-sweet strawberries.

If I can't persuade my mom to whip up a pie, I usually roast rhubarb. Cut it into bite-sized lengths, toss with a bit of good olive oil, and roast at 350F for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar to taste and eat.

This is even better if you use maple syrup for a sweetener. I had a little syrup-sweet rhubarb left over, so last night I made a quick German pancake (2 eggs, 1 T flour, 3-5 T milk..beat eggs a lot, add flour, beat more, add milk, beat more...pour in hot cast iron skillet with a T or more of melted butter already there, bake 425F until puffy and lightly browned, about 15 min). I spread the pancake with creme fraiche and added the rhubarb.

mmmmmm

Jim

[maggiethecat]

I love rhubarb. I hate strawberry-rhubarb pie.

I hold that if you can't take the pleasantly astringent flavor of rhubarb on its own, then don't eat it. And please don't screw it up for those of us who love it by combining it with too-sweet strawberries.

If I can't persuade my mom to whip up a pie, I usually roast rhubarb. Cut it into bite-sized lengths, toss with a bit of good olive oil, and roast at 350F for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar to taste and eat.

This is even better if you use maple syrup for a sweetener. I had a little syrup-sweet rhubarb left over, so last night I made a quick German pancake (2 eggs, 1 T flour, 3-5 T milk..beat eggs a lot, add flour, beat more, add milk, beat more...pour in hot cast iron skillet with a T or more of melted butter already there, bake 425F until puffy and lightly browned, about 15 min). I spread the pancake with creme fraiche and added the rhubarb.

mmmmmm

Jim

I love rhubarb in all its delightful guises. Plain's best, but a few strawbs....no prob.

Jim...the roasting in olive oil is intirguing and new to me. I'll definitely try it. Thanks.

[Pan]

Jim:

Perhaps you'll think I'm nitpicking, but you aren't really having rhubarb all by itself. You're having it with sugar or syrup.

Last summer, I loved the rhubarb tarts that proliferated in the Parisian boulangeries. The French really know how to use and appreciate rhubarb: They treat it like a fruit.

[pixelchef]

Just do not, I repeat do not, eat the leaves.

[nightscotsman]

Amen brother Jim! No strawberries with my rhubarb, thankyouverymuch. Not only because it adulterates the wonderful bite of the rhubarb, but cooked strawberries in any form is a crime against nature.

We had huge rhubarb plants in our garden growing up, and Mom's pies and crisps were the best. My brother always requested rhubarb pie instead of cake for his May birthday (still does). Dad's favorite was vanilla pudding (Jello brand, but non-instant) with rhubarb sauce. We loved it then, but I think I would pass now. Rhubarb does go well with custard, however.

By the way - is there anything you DON'T roast with olive oil?

[col klink]

When I was growing we had a lot of rhubarb in the yard and my mom would make the best rhubarb jam. When I hit double digits she started adding strawberries and she hasn't stopped since.

I'm particularly fond of rhubarb blueberry pie.

I once tried making a rhubarb maple sauce for a duck I was serving but it never panned out.

[Chef/Writer Spencer]

Just do not, I repeat do not, eat the leaves. 

Oh damn, maybe that's what's wrong with me.

[Pan]

Just do not, I repeat do not, eat the leaves. 

I've never tried. Are they too bitter?

[Jim Dixon]

Perhaps you'll think I'm nitpicking, but you aren't really having rhubarb all by itself. You're having it with sugar or syrup.

I do and I am.

By the way - is there anything you DON'T roast with olive oil?

I'm thinking...get back to you later.

I've never tried. Are they too bitter?

Deadly bitter...full of, I think, oxalic acid. Spinach also contans this nasty stuff, albeit in much smaller amounts. But eating too much spinach can make you quite sick.

Jim

ps...I'd been meaning to plant a rhubarb crown for years, and every spring I'd see some in the market and have one of those d'oh! moments realizing I'd forgotten once again. But Judith dug some up from the garden of a friend last month, I planted it, and it's doing nicely. I'll be eating homegrown next spring.

[fifi]

Rhubarb leaves are very high in oxalic acid and soluble oxalates. They are quite toxic. I haven't looked it up but I think the soluble oxalates can lead to kidney problems and other systemic toxicity. The oxalic acid can cause localized problems such as swelling of tissues. (Not a good thing to happen to a tongue.)

[pixelchef]

Pan: they're poisonous.

[snowangel]

ps...I'd been meaning to plant a rhubarb crown for years, and every spring I'd see some in the market and have one of those d'oh! moments realizing I'd forgotten once again. But Judith dug some up from the garden of a friend last month, I planted it, and it's doing nicely. I'll be eating homegrown next spring.

Why, one should never "buy" a rhubarb crown. They come with a history. Mine came from a farm in Southern MN which has been in the family of my bestest friend ever for 125 years.

The leaves. While inedible, they do make lovely weed preventing mulch. I trim them in the garden, lay them down, and voila, not even creeping charlie creeps under them.

My kids absolutely love custard pie with rhubarb. Not the old recipe where you lay rhubarb in before pouring in the custard, but custard pie with roasted rhubarb on top. The combo of silky/sweet, and the roasted rhubarb is awesome (to quote Peter). Nix on the strawberry/rhubarb combo.

After a long winter, it's finally spring, and my rhubarb is up, and I will be harvesting within a month (or 6 weeks). I'm thinking of rhubarb chutney. Anyone tried this?

Edited April 23, 2003 by snowangel (log)

[Pan]

Funny you should ask about rhubarb chutney! My cousin's wife made it for the first seder for Passover last week. It was very tasty and tasted like a compote with ground cumin. Rhubarb, raisins, and lots of sugar were other evident ingredients. I don't know where the recipe came from or whether it's at all authentic for an Indian-style chutney, but it was good.

[Dana]

My grandma used to just cook it down with sugar and serve it as a side dish with whatever else she was cooking. I usually just put it on bread or rolls as a jam-type topping. It was the best.

[Jim Dixon]

Maggie,

I like roasting the rhubarb because it keeps its shape, and the olive oil adds some richness that balances the astringency.

Jim

[NeroW]

The word "rhubarb" starts to look really weird after you see it over and over again.

[aliwaks]

Funny you should ask about rhubarb chutney! My cousin's wife made it for the first seder for Passover last week. It was very tasty and tasted like a compote with ground cumin. Rhubarb, raisins, and lots of sugar were other evident ingredients. I don't know where the recipe came from or whether it's at all authentic for an Indian-style chutney, but it was good.

I'm thinking about rhubarb chutney too! to go with our pork chop for early spring that or a roasted rhubarb relish as I am curious about the roasting in olive oil ...also the maple syrup hmmmm maple glazed pork chop with roasted rhubarb relish anyone.?....

I love the idea of a chutney but read some where (F&W how America eats isssue I think) that the general public is not fond of chutneys in general.

What is the difference btw a relish & a chutney anyway is it just semantics or is there a raw cooked thing? would roasted rhubarb relish really be a chutney in disguise? I really like the alliteration of roasted rhubarb relish

[Adam Balic]

Rhubarb Khoresh is very good.

[FoodMan]

Is rhubarb easy to grow? When do u plant it? how? Maybe I can plant one in the new garden.

FM

[snowangel]

Is rhubarb easy to grow? When do u plant it? how? Maybe I can plant one in the new garden.

FM

Very easy to grow. Stick it in the ground and watch it grow. If you know someone who has a rhubarb plant, ask them for some.

[hedgehog]

There are two ways I know to really taste rhubarb. The first is Turkish, the second is American or British

1. sprinkle some salt on a young stalk to soften the sour flavor, just the way one tempers radishes or onions and munch slowly for a satisfying snack.

2. dip the young stalk in a bowl of sugar and munch slowly.

."

[elyse]

Rhubarb leaves are so poisonous, you shouldn't even compost them.

[Aquitaine]

1) We occasionally had rhubarb fool in my childhood; today, the thought of that much cream is a bit much (odd, isn't it, how some things beloved in childhood you would never dream of eating now). (Although I guess some British fools are made with custard, which might dilute the fat a bit...)

2) When I was about 10 years old, a friend and I scrunched down in her folks' rhubarb patch and munched on the raw stalks -- whoever grimaced first lost the contest. I have no recollection of the outcome, only that the experience itself was, let us say, more so!

3) Fabulous recipe for a combination of goat cheese, oyster mushrooms, asparagus and rhubarb in a book that I apparently gave away recently without copying down the recipe. Drat! I think it was in Margaret Leibenstein's "The edible mushroom: a gourmet cook's guide." Can be served on pasta or on bruschetta/crostini.... Very rich, unusual...

4) Has anyone actually tried salmon with rhubarb sauce? I keep seeing recipes for it....

5) Hedgehog, have you actually tried the salt route? Very interesting idea....

Edited April 23, 2003 by Aquitaine (log)

[hedgehog]

I have tried it and it is delicious with slow roasted salmon fillet. I use the following recipe from Paula Wolfert:

Raw rhubarb salad with cucumber and mint.

Serves 2

2 young rhubarb stalks, 1 medium crisp cucumber,

Coarse salt, 2 handfuls arugula, 1 tablespoon lemon juice

and 1/2 cup shredded mint leaves

Using a vegetable slicer (mandolin) or a thin bladed knife, slice the rhubarb slightly on the diagonal into 1/16-inch thick strips. Repeat with the peeled cucumber.

Toss rhubarb and cucumber with 2 tablespoons coarse salt and let stand for 10 minutes then rinse and drain. Toss rhubarb, cucumber, and arugula. Correct seasoning

with lemon juice for a slightly mouth-tingling effect. Scatter mint leaves on top and serve.

[Pan]

Rhubarb Khoresh is very good.

What's khoresh? Sounds Persian. Is that right?