Cooking Rhubarb

recovering_spendaholic

I absolutely love rhubarb and today was at a friend's house and discovered she had a garden full of it which she never uses. I have brought back bags of the stuff and am now in the process of cooking it and I will freeze it in batches. I just like it gently poached, but one thing I have noticed is that when I do home made rhubarb it is always very acidic, but when I buy something like Sainsburys Be Good to Yourself Rhubarb and Custard the actual rhubarb layer is not as acidic at all. I looked at the ingredients and the only thing I could see was citric acid. Would this make it taste less acidy? It doesn't matter how much you sweeten it because the acid is always there.

saving-grace

When cooking rhubarb I often add the juice and grated rind of an orange. It definitely takes away the "harshness" of the rhubarb. Try it, it really makes a difference.

thriftlady_2

I'm not sure about citric acid,but one thing you can try is bicarb.Adding bicarb to acidic fruit like blackcurrants, gooseberries and rhubarb neutralizes the acid and you need less sugar.Use about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of bicarb for one fruit pie.

twink

i agree with thriftlady about using bicarb and you will probably find you need less sugar too

Mr_Meanie

Believe it or not put a small amount of chalk (like a pinch) in the pan whilst cooking, this apparently binds to the the oxalic acid making the rhubarb taste less acidic.

tootles_2

I always put a little powdered ginger in with rhubarb, it takes the acidic taste away..... a knob of butter, a little orange juice in a casserole and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes......luvvvvvverly.......................

black-saturn

I always cook mine in diet lemonade. Sweetens it and takes away the acid.

TOBRUK

Hi recovering spendaholic.
Why cook it all? I often freeze rhubarb - just clean it and chop it up ready, and if I think oh I'd love a rhubarb tart or crumble just take it out and cook. I find it freezes great and then I have some in the freezer for when I want.

I have seen some recipies for rhubarb recently which I would like to try and sound really nice - rhubarb and almond cake is one. There has been a lot of talk about rhubarb recently and it has become the 'in' thing at the moment.

thriftlady_2

You can freeze uncooked crumble too;) Pop it in a bag,then you can have instant crumbles.

Thriftylady

I don't know the science of this, but I have heard before that you shouldn't cook rhubarb in a metal pan or put it in a metal bowl ? Might be an old wives tale, not sure if it really makes a difference or not. I always cook mine in a glass or ceramic dish in the oven, just put the sugar over it, maybe a tiny bit of water, stick it in a low-ish oven for a while......

barnyblue

Hi

Don't know if you've heard of it but sweet cicely which is grown as a herb from garden centres has an aniseed taste to it and takes away the acidic taste from rhubarb and gooseberries. Chop it up finely and add when cooking the rhubarb with sugar.