Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Tuesday, May 16. 2023

Is Rhubarb food? Reposted

Our friend thinks not. I happen to love the flavor. As with cranberries, use 1/2 the sugar a recipe asks for to get the full flavor. Boil it with a little water and sugar and dump it on vanilla ice cream. I'd go for a rhubarb gelato too, if anybody made it. Or a tarte.


I drove my Smart Car (in photo) over to check the patch and observed that it is happy but has bolted. I chopped off those cool flowers and Mrs. BD put them in a vase.



Posted by Bird Dog in Gardens, Plants, etc. at 16:41 | Comments (22) | Trackbacks (0)

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My rhubarb bolted too. First time I ever planted it. Never made it before.
I hope you don't really have a smart car.
#1 fjord on 2015-05-18 05:29 (Reply)
Rhubarb is one of the easiest plants to grow in NE. My parents' patch produced year after year, with no work on their part. Don't recall the rhubarb bolting.

In TX grocery stores, frozen rhubarb is a lot cheaper than fresh. And just as tasty.
#2 Gringo on 2015-05-18 20:39 (Reply)
Is rhubarb food? Will I eat rhubarb? Hell, yes.
#2.1 Gringo on 2015-05-18 20:40 (Reply)
Many plants become bitter after going to flower. I notice the local cottontails prefer parsley that has not bolted.
#3 Andrew Stanton on 2020-05-06 16:58 (Reply)
Sounds delicious. Mrs. steve walsh makes rhubarb sauce (similar to yours), strawberry rhubarb pie, and strawberry rhubarb crisp. This last one, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, is my favorite of all of them.
#4 steve walsh on 2020-05-06 17:03 (Reply)
I'm with you, Steve. Strawberry-rhubarb crisp is to die for. Even the grandbrats go for that dessert.
#4.1 Frances on 2020-05-06 23:21 (Reply)
Piestengel! One of the things we miss about Iowa. We've tried to find it fresh but it just doesn't seem to grow well here. Not sure if we're too far south or not.
#5 Christopher B on 2020-05-06 17:08 (Reply)
You didn't happen to find my golf ball in there, did you?
#6 NEBrooks (Link) on 2020-05-06 17:23 (Reply)
You win the thread
#6.1 Assistant Village Idiot on 2020-05-06 20:52 (Reply)
You do realize that your "Smart" Car creates just as much pollution as any other red & yellow clown car. How many birds must be killed by windmills, how many fish killed by hydroelectric dams, just so you can shave a few minutes off your commute??
Think of The Children!!

.
#7 nunnya bidnez jr on 2020-05-06 17:41 (Reply)
I'm not a huge fan of rhubarb, even though my mom made it into desserts when I was a kid. But my sis-in-law makes a most delicious raspberry/rhubarb pie that astonishes me every time.
#8 Annie on 2020-05-06 18:49 (Reply)
Rhubarb is all about the pie, with or without strawberries, I love it.
#9 LP on 2020-05-06 19:03 (Reply)
Roger on the pie, though my mom makes some killer apple-rhubarb jam as well.

Hell yes, rhubarb is food. This site has details. Vitamin K1! Fiber! W00t!
#9.1 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2020-05-06 21:17 (Reply)
I once read that rhubard was historically important because it was the first high vitamin C plant that sprouted and could be eaten in country farms.
#9.1.1 molloaggie on 2020-05-07 12:34 (Reply)
My rhubarb just got out of the ground (Maine).
#10 tim ferrell on 2020-05-07 05:47 (Reply)
Unpopular opinion: rhubarb is just an invasive weed that would be considered only marginally edible but for its being the only somewhat sweet thing that can be harvested this early in a New England Spring. My grandmother made a rhubarb kuchen that would have been an 8th Amendment violation if served to prisoners.

Secondly, there is a smart car in my town with exactly that paint job.
#11 Another Guy named Dan on 2020-05-07 07:17 (Reply)
Rhubard sauce and strawberry rhubarb crisp/pie are all delicious, but what people keeping back for more in our house is the rhubarb vodka we make.
#12 Elizabeth on 2020-05-07 08:16 (Reply)
Oh god rhubarb, here in west central Ohio we have piles of it, Rhubarb jam, mom and grandma made gallons of it, about all we had for bread when I was a kid, that and molasses, and of course butter, My mom, grandma and sisters made a crisp or as we called it crunch, with a oatmeal, sugar and butter crust, always stuck to the pan, dad and I always chiseled the leftovers off the dish, it was gooey and stuck to your teeth great with ice cream or a late night snack, my poor wife tries but just doesn't seem to quite get it. Us kids always said "more crust"
#13 Dave on 2020-05-07 08:22 (Reply)
Alas, one of the plants I had to give up on when we moved to the Middle East. Does not do well in heat, and does not love lime soil. A few farms in the higher elevations of the Golan/Galilee region (which has tufa soil) grow it. And even that is not as I remember.
#14 Ben David on 2020-05-07 13:12 (Reply)
I cooked a bit of rhubarb yesterday, chilled it overnight, and stirred in a bit of creme fraiche, absolutely delicious, it just mellowed the tartness a bit. A drop or two of aged balsamic vinegar really made it pop.
#15 Ed on 2023-05-16 18:21 (Reply)
My parents grew rhubarb in western PA and used it for desserts ... pies and crisps (especially strawberry rhubarb, but straight rhubarb too) and into a sauce over vanilla ice cream.
It is always best harvested young while the stalks are tender, like asparagus, as it becomes fibrous and stemmy as it gets older. We were told the leaves are toxic.
#16 ruralcounsel on 2023-05-16 19:20 (Reply)
Isn't it pretty analogous to lemons or limes? There's obviously a place in cuisine for tart flavors, even if they're not terribly popular all by themselves.
#17 Texan99 on 2023-05-17 11:44 (Reply)

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