How to cook rhubarb
Information for rhubarb in our free cooking ingredients collection.
Rhubarb
Although rhubarb is botanically a vegetable, it is used as a fruit, sometimes even referred to as “pie plant” because of its frequent use as pie filling. Except for its pink color, rhubarb is similar in appearance to celery. The acidity and intensity of flavor vary, and young stalks are more tender than older stalks. The roots and leaves of rhubarb are not eaten because they contain significant amounts of oxalic acid and are highly poisonous.
Family - Polygonaceae
Scientific name - Rheum officinale, Rheum palmatum, Rheum rhaponticum
Common name - rhubarb, rheum
Contains some vitamin C
Varieties
Rhubarb is available in two main types, each of which includes many species and dozens of varieties. Hothouse-grown rhubarb has pink or light red stalks and yellow leaves, and field-grown rhubarb has dark-red stalks and green leaves. The hothouse variety has a milder flavor and is less stringy.
Origin and botanical facts
Much of the history of cultivation of rhubarb is related to its use as a medicinal plant. The earliest recorded use of rhubarb for medicinal purposes appeared in 2700 B.C. Marco Polo was the first to introduce rhubarb to Europe. Although rhubarb stalks were eaten in eastern Turkey as early as the 13th century, it was not until the 18th century that Europeans began to use rhubarb as a food. By 1830, rhubarb had become a popular winter vegetable in the London markets. In the late 18th or early 19th century, seeds and rootstock of rhubarb were brought to New England, where it was cultivated and began to appear in Massachusetts produce markets by the 1820s.
Rhubarb is a large, leafy perennial that can grow to 10 feet. It sends out thick, brown, branching roots. The field-grown variety grows to only 3 feet and has red roots. Rhubarb is a heat-intolerant, cool-season crop that is grown in fields and hothouses throughout Washington, Oregon, and Michigan.
How to cook rhubarb
Rhubarb is available frozen, canned, or fresh, sold as loose stalks or bagged. Most cooks prefer to use the fresh stalks. The leaves should be cut off before storing the stalks in plastic bags. They will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about a week.
Rhubarb is too tart to eat raw. Instead, the stalks are sliced thinly or diced, baked or stewed, and then sweetened. Because rhubarb becomes slightly sweeter when cooked, sweeteners should be added after cooking. Cooked rhubarb may be sweetened with sugar, honey, maple syrup, orange or pineapple juice, or berry preserves. Combining rhubarb with sweet fruits such as strawberries decreases the amount of sweetener needed and hence the number of calories. Cooking causes rhubarb to turn brown, but this can be prevented by the addition of a cooked beet to the pot. Aluminum or cast iron saucepans should not be used to cook rhubarb because the acid in the vegetable will blacken the pot and the rhubarb.
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