Rhubarb – often the butt of jokes .. remember the cries of “Rhubarb!, Rhubarb!”
But the joke is that Rhubarb is actually a very versatile plant that we often treat as a fruit because of the way it pulps when gently stewed.
The fact that it is a tart acidic plant means that it can work very well as a sauce or chutney-like accompaniment to rich or fattier foods such as duck or even Foie Gras, cutting through the fats and elevating a meat dish to a new level.
But Rhubarb will always be thought of primarily as a dessert ingredient and why not? The delights of a rhubarb based crumble .. either with the addition of other fruits or sweetended with sugar and enlivened with stem ginger … are hard to beat. The acidic palate cleansing that you also get from lemon based dessert dishes is a feature of Rhubarb.
The finest rhubarb will be found just now and maybe over the next 2-3 weeks as it is forced to grow in darkened conditions. The stalks will be tender and perhaps just a tad sweeter than the later outdoor raised stems and maybe more palatable to those who dislike extremely tart rhubarb.
Rhubarb also has medicinal properties … i.e. it does have a potential laxative effect, perhaps in part due to the high fibre content, so enjoy in moderation. A further word of warning .. the leaves are extremely toxic and should never be eaten. Commercial sold rhubarb will be trimemd and sold as stalks, but if you do pick up from a farm, be sure that you cut the leaves away and discard before cooking.
Rhubarb is a wonderful seasonal ingredient that people should use considerably more than they do today … and that is NO JOKE!
