Quick rhubarb questions

Sunnyday

For the first time ever i have rhubarb

I've just picked some and put it an a pan with a bit of water in the bottom but now i am wondering about a few things.

The stalks are very different - some smaller and some huge, some red some tinged with green and some red in the middle and some green in the middle. It also seems stringy (the bigger stalks) have i done the right thing?

Will it all cook down to a nice mush? Oh and should i have peeled it? If its stringy when its cooked i'll rub it through a sieve i think. I don't even know how long it will take to cook :rotfl:

I keep hovering around the pan and am wondering whether or not it will be ok now.

SD

oldtractor

it should cook down ok.no need to seive it. takes about 10 mins. dont forget to add sugar or honey when its cooked. enjoy.
I also like to melt a strawberry jelly in about half a pint of boiling water then add the rhubarb -unsweetened-and set in the fridge. yummy.

Sunnyday

Thankyou :A:D

Just had another peek and the smaller stalks are almost done but i think that the bigger ones may take a while longer yet.

*goes back to look at pan*

SD

[Deleted User]

Hi SUNNYDAY - I always cook rhubarb in my slow cooker on the high setting. Chop it up into 1 - 2" pieces and pop it in with about half a pint of boiling water, it cooks perfectly in a couple of hours and stays whole, it doesn't go mushy. Sweeten it to your taste. We have it very often for breakfast with some yoghurt. It's so easy to do Hope this helps Cheers Lyn. P.S you never need to peel it, it's all edible!

j.e.j.

No, you don't need to peel it, and the thickness of the stalks probably doesn't matter that much, but it does need sugar.

If you wanted to make a rhubarb crumble, there's a Jamie recipe, and he doesn't pre-cook the fruit (be it rhubarb, apple or whatever), - just puts it on the bottom of the dish and adds sugar, then puts the crumble topping on.

It's delicious

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I hear that if you add a sprig of fresh Angelica to the rhubarb, it makes it easier for you to absorb the vitamins in it and it tastes sweeter.

I have the angelica in the garden, just need the rhubarb now.

kittycat204

i roasted mine for the first time the other day. best way i have ever made it. I am never boiling it to a mush like before. The roasting concentrates the flavour, dash of sugar or more if you want. It kept it's shape but was soft and lovely. highly recommended.

Valli

I have just been given a recipe for rhubarb poached in sloe gin...unfortunately I cannot try it as i don't have sufficient sloe gin

*looks puzzled*

I make rhubarb and ginger jam, unpeeled stalks. the jam is pink, pretty and yummy.

[Deleted User]

I would definitely add some honey to the rhubarb when cooking as it always tastes nicer to me than sugar.I too adore Rhubarb and think its highly underated nowadays.We had a rhubarb crown in our garden when I was small and its so verstile and supplied us with a continual spupply of fruit.My Dad always covered the roots up with soot for some reason he said it made it grow better.it must have worked as we always seemed to have lots of it

Horseunderwater

Rhubarb is a vegetable - not fruit. Hence why sugar is needed to make it more pleasant.
Try to pick the larger older thicker stalks first and cut them to approx same sized pieces. That way the newer thinner ones will come through and keep on replenishing your rhubarb patch. Always pick from base with a gentle pull and remove the bottom white bit of root as well as leaves, prior to cooking. Done that way you will get a bigger season of it.
Oh covering the roots up just helps to make the stuff grow slightly better. More nutrients. Soot would have been a cheap source for that. Straw can also be used to help it appear a little earlier as well.

hilstep2000

I do mine in the microwave with a splash of water and sugar. Takes a few minutes, and it's stewed really well.