ruhbarb

I have this recipe for ruhbarb and strawberry tart. I have never cooked with ruhbarb before. The recipe says to cut the ruhbarb etc. Does ruhbarb require any prep-work?

Usually rinsing with cold water to clean off any dirt etc, and cut the stalks into 1 inch chunks. Rhubarb is one of my favorites !!

None, rhubarb requires nothing aside from a rinse.

Mamaw Smith uses rhubarb in the spring. I sorta like it then but the rest of the year, it ain't so good.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

You should NEVER EAT THE LEAVES - they are toxic, and you should cut off that fat whitish root end of the stalk, then cut into 1" pieces (any longer and you will have a problem with the stringyness of the stalk).

We use two recipes for rhubarb/strawberry tart. One is made with a custard base and the other is just fruit, sugar, and cinnamon or nutmeg - both in a cookie-like tart crust.

BTW: Rhubarb is a great item to grow in your garden. A couple of well established plants will fill the average family needs, it is totally carefree, and takes up little room.

Question: Why don't we eat rhubarb after about July 4th? Or, maybe all the rest of you out there do eat it all summer and it's just us here in the Hudson Valley who ignore it after a binge with it in the spring?

Cheers, John

John,
I think the use tapers off during the Summer as more appealing (no pun) fruit comes into season. Next week Janet has promised a deep-dish Rhubarb/Berry Pie as a birthday cake of sorts.

Here is a link to a site that has almost everything you could ever want to know about Rhubarb !! The recipe list is great.
http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/

There is nothing as good as a strawberry/ruhbarb homemade pie. The combination of sweet and a deep ruhbarb sourness is just fantastic.

I have tried without much success to grow ruhbarb here in Northern California, I get very little yield. In upstate New York around the Taconics I was able to get a very good crop. I think the weather in the Northeast has a lot to do with it.

I like to eat ruhbarb all year long, I used to make it into a compote and can it for use all year round. Nothing like it on a Cold Winter day, plus I think it helps to keep you regular..

I think we stop eating rhubarb after the spring because it becomes more bitter as the weather heats up. Sorta like garden lettuce. It's best in the spring, but bitter in the heat.