This year has been a bumper year for rhubarb on our plot, and it’s such an easy plant to maintain once it’s established, I can thoroughly recommend it to any plotholder.
Although rhubarb is a vegetable, it’s more commonly known for its use in desserts rather than main courses, Rich in antioxidants, with anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties, rhubarb can help protect you from many health-related issues such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
It’s a good crop to have on an allotment as it’s a perennial, so you don’t have to start from scratch every year and will keep cropping year after year. As a bonus, it’s attractive to look at all year round. Harvesting is between March and July and the stems can be used for both sweet and savoury dishes so it’s very versatile. The leaves contain oxalate which is poisonous if ingested in large quantities, so these need cutting off (stick them in the compost) before you start preparing your rhubarb.
Growing rhubarb
Pick an open, sunny site with moist, but free-draining soil, not ground that gets waterlogged or a site which is vulnerable to late frosts which can damage young stems. Because it needs to get established for 2-3 years before it will produce in abundance, make sure you pick a spot you won’t want to use for other planting in the future.
Buy plants in pots or ask someone with spare rhubarb to donate you some, rather than growing rhubarb from seed. Plant between autumn and spring ideally, avoiding hot dry weather.
Rhubarb will benefit from having well-rotted manure dug in before planting. Dig a planting hole and position the plant so the tip of the the tip of the crown is just visible above the soil. Plants should be spaced 75–90cm (30–36in) apart. Alternatively, put your plant in a very large pot, at least 50cm (20in) deep and wide.
Preparing, cooking and eating rhubarb
Preparation: Wash rhubarb well and trim off the pink ends and leaves. Chop into pieces – large or small. Or cook whole sticks in the oven – see below.
‘Stewed’ rhubarb – an easy dessert
Cooking on the top: Rhubarb softens almost as soon as you start heating it so cook carefully. Chop into even sized pieces and place in a pan with sugar to taste and as little water as possible -2/3 tablespoons will do. Brown sugar makes for a very flavour-some dessert. Simmer for 5 minutes, remove from heat as soon as the pieces start to soften, or even before, as they will continue to cook in the hot liquid made by the fruit. Serve hot or cold on its own, or try it with custard, or cream, or ice-cream, yoghurt or crème fraiche!
Other ways of cooking:
Microwave: Place the prepared fruit and sugar to taste in a microwave-proof bowl, then cover with clingfilm and pierce once or twice. No need to add any water or liquid. Cook on high for 2-3 minutes, stir and leave for a couple of minutes before you serve it up. If you are doing a large quantity, you may need to microwave for a couple of minutes, then stir the fruit and microwave for a further minute.
Oven: This is the best way to cook rhubarb if you have the time, as the pieces keep their shape better. Heat the oven to 160 C or Gas Mark 3. Put the pieces into an ovenproof dish with sugar mixed in. You’ll need between 100-160 g sugar to 400 g rhubarb, depending on how sweet you like it. Cover with foil or a tight-fitting lid and bake for about an hour or until the sugar has dissolved and the rhubarb is tender. For speed, you could cook at a higher temperature (200 C or Gas Mark 6) for just 10 minutes.
Serve hot or cold with any of the additions suggested above.
Other flavour variations –
Before cooking:
Add a vanilla pod/stick to the rhubarb and sugar, or
Add a vanilla pod and star anise to the rhubarb and sugar, or
Add a 2 cm piece of ginger root, or a few pinches of dried ginger; use brown sugar if you have some.
Remove the vanilla (can be dried and re-used) or ginger root after cooking
After cooking: Add a thin slice of lemon, some honey or syrup to the cooked rhubarb.
Freezing
You can store surplus rhubarb simply by cutting into chunks, laying them out on a tray to freeze, then transferring the pieces to a bag. Blanching in boiling water for a minute will help retain the colour, but isn’t essential. Alternatively, stew chunks briefly with or without sugar and then you can defrost ready for use in cooking later in the year.
Rhubarb Fool
Cook the rhubarb by one of the methods suggested. The fruit needs to have collapsed. Pour into a sieve placed over a bowl. Liquidise the pulp in a blender, adding in some of the liquid if the mixture is too thick, or mash it with a fork, depending on how smooth a texture is required, then let it cool. Whip some cream – whipping or double cream, or crème fraiche will do, till it forms soft peaks. For every 250 g of rhubarb (3-4 stalks approx.), you’ll need 100 ml of cream. Whisk the cream and cooled cooked rhubarb together. Taste the mixture, and add more sugar or a squeeze of lemon, so that you get a nice balance between sweet and sour. Chill for about 4 hours.
Fruit crumble
This recipe can easily be adapted using a selection of other fruits depending on the season
Ingredients
300 g rhubarb (4 long stalks approx.), cut into 2-3 cm chunks
OR 2 cooking apples, cored peeled and sliced OR plums, damsons, gooseberries etc
3 tablespoons of brown or white sugar (more if you have a sweet tooth)
1 tablespoon of butter (optional)
½ teaspoon of cinnamon (with apple – optional)
½ teaspoon of ginger (with rhubarb – optional)
For the crumble:
100g butter or margarine
200g plain flour OR 100g plain flour plus 100g muesli or porridge oats
75g light brown soft sugar
Optional: 50g shelled nuts – for example brazils, walnuts, pecans, almonds
Optional: A sprinkling of cinnamon – good with apple – or ginger, good with rhubarb
Method
- Put the sliced fruit into a bowl with the sugar and water (plus optional butter and spice), cover with clingfilm and microwave on high for 2 minutes.
- For crumble using a food processor: first combine the flour and butter to form rough breadcrumbs, and then add the remaining ingredients and combine to form a lumpy crumble OR
- Making the crumble mixture by hand: rub the flour and butter/marg to form breadcrumbs then chop the nuts and combine the remaining ingredients to form a more lumpy crumble
- Pour the fruit into an ovenproof dish & scatter the crumble over it making sure that all fruit is covered
- Bake for 25-30 minutes in an oven at 180c or Gas Mark 4
Note: You can make a fruitier crumble using more fruit and less crumble mix, or have more crumble and less fruit! This recipe is very adaptable.
Rhubarb and Orange Cake
Preparation: 35 minutes Cook: 1 hour Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 170 g butter at room temperature
170 g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 165 g self raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 oranges
- 300 g rhubarb
- 25g brown sugar
- 23 cm / 9” round cake tin with loose bottom
- baking paper
For a richer mix, substitute 40 g of the flour with ground almonds.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / 160 C fan / 350 F / Gas mark 4.
- Grease and line the tin.
- Using an electric whisk in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together, until creamy and fluffy, and any lumps have disappeared.
- Add the eggs and beat until well combined. This may take a minute or two.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder, add in the ground almonds if used and the rind from the two oranges. Add most of orange juice, and stir to make a soft dropping consistency. Pour into the prepared tin, and smooth top.
- Chop the rhubarb into 2.5 cm / 1” chunks and distribute evenly over the cake mixture.
- Scatter the brown sugar over the top and put in the oven.
- The cake is done when the top is brown & a skewer inserted comes out clean – 50 – 60 mins.
Rhubarb and ginger loaf cake
An easy to make loaf cake – tangy rhubarb goes well with ginger
Preparation:15 mins Cook: 1 hour Serves 10
Ingredients
For the Rhubarb & Ginger Cake
- 200 g (7oz) rhubarb, weight after trimming
- 1 -2 ball stem ginger finely chopped
- 175 g (6oz) butter softened
- 175 g (6oz) golden caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 200 g (7oz) self-raising flour
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp milk
- demerara sugar to sprinkle
- baking parchment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190℃ (170℃ fan)/375°F/gas mark 5. Lightly grease a 900g (2lb) loaf tin, and line with baking parchment.
- Cut a few pieces of the rhubarb into short lengths and set aside. Cut the remaining rhubarb into small dice.
- Beat 175g (6oz) butter and 175g (6oz) sugar together with a wooden spoon or electric beaters until very pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add a tablespoon of the 200g (7oz) self-raising flour with the last egg.
- Add the chopped stem ginger, then sieve in the remaining flour and 1 teaspoon ground ginger into the bowl. Fold in along with 2 tablespoons of milk.
- Fold in the prepared rhubarb and spoon into the prepared loaf tin and level the top. Place the reserved strips of rhubarb on top and sprinkle with a little demerara sugar.
- Bake in the centre of the oven and about 1 hour until golden risen and a cake skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Storage
Store In an airtight container in a cool place for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Rhubarb and ginger muffins
Cooks in 40 minutes. Serves 12
Ingredients
- 350 g plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt 325 g brown sugar
- ½ a lemon 1 orange, zest only
- 250 ml milk 2 pieces of stem ginger , finely chopped
- 1 large free-range egg 100 g butter , plus 1 tablespoon extra, melted
- 300 g rhubarb , finely chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 and line a muffin tray with muffin cases.
- In a large mixing bowl place the flour, baking powder, salt and 225g of the brown sugar. Mix, then make a well in the centre.
- Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into the milk and set aside for a couple of minutes. Place the orange zest, half the stem ginger, the egg, 100g of melted butter and the milk mixture into the bowl and beat thoroughly. Fold in the chopped rhubarb. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases, filling each one to the top.
- In a small bowl place the remaining 100g of brown sugar, the extra tablespoon of melted butter and the rest of the stem ginger. Mix until it looks like a crumble topping, then sprinkle over the muffins.
- Bake for 25 minutes so the sugar turns golden and crispy and the muffins are cooked through. Serve warm with custard or crème fraîche for a lovely pudding.
Rhubarb and ginger jam
This is an ideal recipe for making something delicious from an over-abundant rhubarb plot. Half quantities are given in brackets. If you don’t have root or crystallised ginger, ground ginger will give a very acceptable ginger flavour to the jam.
Ingredients
1.4 kg (700 g) rhubarb
6-8 teaspoons (3-4) of lemon juice
1.4 kg (700 g) sugar
30 g (15 g) root ginger (or a thumb’s length)
50-100 g of crystallised ginger (optional)
- Wash the rhubarb and cut into short (2.5 cm) pieces.
- Alternate layers of rhubarb and sugar in the jam pan. Sprinkle on the lemon juice. Cover and leave overnight. No need to add water, as the mix will be moist by the morning.
- Bruise the ginger root and tie in a small muslin bag to put in with the rhubarb.
- Bring the rhubarb, sugar and root ginger to the boil. Boil for 15 minutes.
- Remove the root ginger. If you have some, cut the crystallised ginger into small chunks and add to the jam mix.
- Boil for a further 5 minutes until the rhubarb clarifies.
- Put in clean jam jars and cover.
Tips for jam-making
1 Testing for setting point without a thermometer:
- Plate test: Put a teaspoonful of jam on a cold plate and leave for a minute or two in a cool place. If setting point has been reached, the jam will wrinkle when pushed with the finger.
- Flake test: Dip a clean wooden spoon in the pan and lift it out with some of the jam clinging to it. When the jam on the spoon has cooled a little, tilt the spoon and let it drop from the edge. If it has boiled long enough, the jam will partly set on the spoon and the drops will run together, forming flakes which break off sharply and cleanly.
If you are near setting point, remove the pan from the heat while testing, otherwise you could overboil and make the jam too stiff and sticky.
2 Storage. Jams can keep for months or even years if prepared and stored properly, but can go mouldy on top during long storage. Tips to avoid this:
- To sterilise the jars, wash thoroughly in very hot soapy water. Rinse in very hot water then put on a baking sheet in a 140C/Gas Mark 1 oven until completely dry
- Fill jars just short of overflowing. Put a waxed disc cover over the top of the jam, wax side downwards, taking care to leave no air pockets between the disc and the jam where mould could form during storage.
- Put covers on immediately after pouring in jam OR when the jars are cold, not when they are warm. If you cover the jars straight after pouring the jam in, the heat of the jam will dry off any moisture on the disc covers.
- Finally cover with screw lids when cold.
- Store in a dry, airy place away from heat and light.
Rhubarb chutney
This recipe is an adaptable one – you can use malt or wine vinegar, white or brown sugar, and choose your own combination of spices – or just use rhubarb, onions and sugar. A good way to make use of a bumper harvest, as chutneys keep for years
Ingredients
3 kg rhubarb (4.5 lb)
500 g onions (1 lb)
20 g salt (3/4 oz)
1 kg sugar (2 lb 3 oz)
1 litre vinegar (2 pints)
Spices eg ginger and mixed spice, ginger and curry powder – about 20 g in total, approx. 3 tablespoons
Method
- Wash the rhubarb and cut into short (2.5 cm) pieces and place with the finely chopped or minced onions, salt, sugar and spices into a large pan.
- Add half the vinegar – 500 ml – and simmer the mixture until tender.
- Add the rest of the vinegar, stir and simmer until the mix has a pulpy consistency.
- Load into clean jars and seal
Tips
See Storage section for making jam, for tips on preparing jars for chutney. Preferably use plastic rather than metal lids as these can be affected by the acid in vinegar.
Note that chutney flavour improves if you leave it to mature for a few months, and chutneys will keep for several years if unopened. Once open, best to use quickly or keep in the fridge.
Rhubarb puree
For a sweet and sour dish such as roast duck with sauce, this puree provides a tart flavour to contrast with the meat. The quantity given is to serve 4.
Ingredients
- 100 g rhubarb
- 2 star anise
- 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds reserved
Method
- For the purée, wash and roughly chop the rhubarb & combine with the sugar, star anise and vanilla in a small pan. Add enough water to cover place over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer cook until the rhubarb is tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Strain the rhubarb, remove the star anise & reserve the liquid. Add the rhubarb to the blender & blitz until smooth – setting aside some reserved liquid to achieve the right consistency. Pass the purée through a fine strainer & set aside to cool.