Rhubarb: A Spring Vegetable Treat

—by Jay Dregni

Each spring I have a ritual of wandering through the garden searching for a first sign of new growth. Most often the knotted fist of green and red rhubarb is the earliest plant to emerge, poking through the surface of the frosty cold ground from its underground root. If I pulled up a chair for a vigil, it would not be long before I would see visible growth in these buds.

Our garden currently has sixteen rhubarb plants of various ages, all from original stock in the garden of our first house, bought in 1961. Numerous friends have root cuttings; the separations and the division often result in revitalization of the parent plant.

When taking a cutting from a rhubarb plant, one takes an ample section of root plus a few green leaves that will be above ground when planted. Space the plants three to four feet apart for best results. Rhubarb transplants well and though it may not take over the garden world like the prodigious hosta, it is found across the globe in climates with frozen seasons. The frigid dormant stage is necessary to the annual cycle of the plant.

Many people call rhubarb "pie plant" because this vegetable is often combined in pies with a variety of fruits, including strawberries, blueberries, apples, or peaches. My favorite story of pie making began when my wife and I joined company with a friend to make four rhubarb pies, two for each family. The rhubarb was collected from the garden while I prepared pie crusts. When the rhubarb was washed and cut for filling, we had a substantial extra amount. I made more crust and ended up with one crust extra. Back to the garden and you can guess the rest. The enjoyment of communal pie making and the expectation of eating took over and the end result was 11 pies.

Rhubarb Harvest

When picked in the spring, rhubarb is light on flavor. The taste builds as stalks mature. Some growers suggest not picking beyond midsummer, late July, so the stalks are less prone to disease and the energy can be stored in the roots for next year.

We pick until the flavor wanes, usually mid-August. During the warm fall of 2007 we had a resurgence of healthy stalks, and our last two pies were prepared and eaten in late September. Selecting only the moist stalks is important for late picking.

Watch your plants for thick round stalks that will yield a whitish blossom. This is a flowering for natural seeding. It is recommended to cut these stalks near the base, as they draw considerable energy from the plant and are not edible.

Picking involves a bit of technique. Grasp a stalk near the base and twist and tug, bringing the entire single stalk loose. Pick a few stalks from each plant. Trim off the upper leaf and bottom inch and toss these on the compost pile.

Caring for Rhubarb

Rhubarb is low maintenance, but it is a heavy feeder. For best results, top-dress the soil around the plant each year with well-rotted manure and compost, and water frequently, about three times per week. Preferred soil is well drained and fertile with a pH slightly acid, 5.5 to 6.5. Rhubarb plants are not too choosy and sandy soil is okay provided that there is ample manure, compost, water, and sun. Piling leaves over the plants in winter also has a beneficial effect.

A witness to durability can be viewed when wandering old farmsteads. I have often come across three telltale markings: a windbreak of trees, lilac groves, and robust rhubarb.

Best with Sugar

There is mixed response regarding eating rhubarb; many people do not like the tart flavor. As a child I ate the pie plant stalks sprinkled with salt. Later I discovered sugar and that was then preferred. The wild variety found in our woodlands is usually too tart and stringy for my taste. Also, the large leaves are toxic due to oxalic acid.

A favorite way to eat rhubarb is as morning fruit compote. To make, use a standard 2-quart sauce pan with half cup of water and four cups of rhubarb cut into one-inch pieces. Cook carefully, watching the process and stirring until the pieces become soft. Depending on your preference, even mushy is okay. Remove from the heat and add sugar to your taste to balance the acidity, usually about one-third to one-half cup. Cinnamon or a dash of molasses, honey, or brown sugar will enhance flavor.

Serve the rhubarb compote on hot or cold cereal, French toast, pancakes, or waffles. It is also eaten warm or cold as a topping on ice cream, bundt cake, or on toast as a jam spread. Rhubarb also makes an excellent ingredient in Brown Betty or cobbler.

Rhubarb can be preserved in a couple of forms. Canning rhubarb sauce in Mason jars was the standard of my mother’s generation. Today, freezing is easier and safer. Freezing freshly cut up pieces in plastic containers provides ingredients for late season pies. Or freeze compote for mid-winter thawing. Jellies, syrups, and wine are other popular uses for rhubarb.

Rhubarb as Medicine

The claims to rhubarb’s medicinal qualities are incredibly numerous and are recorded going back to 2700 BC. The main claim is its purgative effects. Author Patrick O’Brian in his many sailing books on the English navy notes that no ship sailed before casks of rhubarb were brought aboard to help maintain a healthy seagoing crew. Scurvy might be a major problem, but a balanced diet also ranked in importance.

Nutritionally rhubarb is a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins C and K, potassium, magnesium, and manganese. It is low in saturated fat and sodium. These nutritional characteristics lead to claims that it can extinguish heartburn, reduce cholesterol, protect against infection, and decrease hot flashes in menopausal women.

Lastly, it is considered good for weight loss, has an astringent effect on the mucous membranes of the mouth and nasal passages, and is currently being researched for its anti-tumor properties. It is no wonder that radio host Garrison Keillor reminds us weekly that “most any time is a good time for Be Bop A Re Bop Rhubarb Pie.”

Sources

Barbara Damrosch, The Garden Primer, Workman Publishing, 1988 Wikipedia, December 2007, “Rhubarb,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhubarb.

“The Rhubarb Compendium,” September 2004, http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/rhubarb-history.html

[HPC member Jay Dregni is a lazy gardener, choosing only plants that tend themselves. He claims descent from generations of Norwegian rhubarb and raspberry growers.]