Rhubarb

valk_scot

Steve_xx wrote: »

OK, what's the recipe for making it into jam?

Any jam recipe book will have this, it's one of the commonest things to make jam from in the UK because if you've got an established rhubarb plant you can hardly give it away fast enough. But ONLY if you leave it alone this year. So you'll have a year to Google for the recipe, no?

valk_scot

Farway wrote: »

And do not pick after July, give it time to recover for the following year

Yes, and it goes a bit rank after July anyway, very tough and stringy and sour.

Steve_xx

Thanks folks for all of the advice. I will leave it to establish for this year, though it does look pretty hearty just now. I think all the rain we've had of late has caused it to do so well.

w50nky

I left mine alone for the first year, the last two years have been great. The freezer has enough stewed to last for at least half a dozen crumbles!

alleycat`

Normally i don't pick after the end of june but my 5 crowns have gone utterly berserk this year so i've decided to stretch it out until the 14th of July.

I tend to agree that not picking in this 1st year is advisable as it'll weaken the plant and next years crop will be somewhat sad.

spirit

Rhubarb and ginger jam is lush, think the recipe is on bbc food page.

Tryagain_2

Rhubabrb makes great wine too, and after you've made wine from it you can still use it for jam/crumbles etc!
Just slice the rhubarb quite thinly, about 1cm slices, toss untill well coated in 3/4 of its own weight granulated sugar & leave in a covered bucket for 3-5 days, stirring daily. Then strain off the syrupy juice, add yeast & any other flavours you want & demijon up to ferment.
The fruit is still good, slightly less juicy but cook it briefly in a little orange juice to re-hydrate & use as normal. (taste before adding any further sugar tho as it will be sweet already).
HTH;)

saraann21

i watched that scrimpers programme on c4 a few weeks ago and the man on there put rhubarb leaves in a large container,like a dustbin,filled with water and covered.left for a few weeks and used it to keep pests off his plants in his allotment,the smell is a deterent apparently.he used it in a spray bottle and said it didn't harm the plants.just an idea for anyone with rhubarb as i can't get mine to grow!!hth

wellused

I planted a rhubarb crown in the spring and it grew at first but then after a spell of rain seemed to falter, after a month or so and another drop of rain it leaped back into life and is now growing like mad. I am resisting the urge to pick any yet though and anticipating a bumper crop next year.