Good old fashioned rhubarb (Rhubarb)

Member Name: gill1960

Product:	Rhubarb
Date:	20/03/03 (1586 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty, Good old fashioned cooking

Disadvantages: none

Rhubarb originally came from Asia, where it was mainly used for its medicinal purposes. When it came here we discovered that it is also good to eat and made many a delicious recipe.

Rhubarb is a perennial plant that reaches a height of about 3 feet. It has very large green leaves (Don't eat the leaves: their oxalic acid content makes them poisonous)
The long reddish/green colour stalks are what the plant is prized for.

Who remembers as a child being given a stick of rhubarb with sugar sprinkled down its centre. Just like when we put a line of salt down a stick of celery?. I do?

Rhubarb is thicker than celery and seems slightly hollowish?
If you let Rhubarb mature it becomes bitter to the taste, so I suggest that you either pick it or buy it mid way in the season.

Rhubarb recipes

Rhubarb Crumble
1lb (500g) Rhubarb
4ozs (125g) caster sugar
3ozs (75g) butter
6ozs (175g) plain flour
30zs (75g) Demerara sugar

Top and tail the t rhubarb stem/stalk, then chop it into small pieces.
Put it in a saucepan with the caster sugar and just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.
Cook gently for about 15 minutes until tender, then place in a 2pt casserole dish.
Preheat oven to 180C- Gas mark 4.
Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter till it looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in the Demerara sugar.
Spread the crumble mixture over the rhubarb, and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Serve with custard.

RHUBARB AND GINGER CAKE

1½lb/600g fresh rhubarb
4oz/100g butter
3oz/75g sugar
2 eggs
4oz/100g flour
1tsp/5ml ground ginger

For the topping

3oz/75g butter
4oz/100g flour
2oz/50g sugar

icing sugar to finish

Preheat the oven to 180°C-Gas mark 4.

Top and tail the rhubarb and chop into pieces.
Cream the butter and sugar together then
add the eggs.
Fold in the flour and the ground ginger.

Put the mixture into a greased 8in tin.

Then add the rhubarb and sprinkle with sugar.

Make the topping by rubbing the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs and stir in the sugar.
Put it on top of the rhubarb.
Bake for about 45 mins.
Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar.

A few points to remember, if you pick Rhubarb that is to old it will have a woody texture, just like older turnips do. So always pick it half way through season.

You can always freeze it until a later date if you have grown too much.

Thanks for the read

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