Rhubarb uses and recipes

[freemotion]

I just came home with a big bag of rhubarb that was given to me, along with a couple of plants.

Besides strawberry rhubarb pie, what can be done with rhubarb, and recipes, please.

Is there anything that is low on sugar, or that I can substitute with stevia?

Pressure canning instructions? Or water bath w/o sugar?

Do you peel it? I am basically rhubarb illiterate. Ate it at other people's homes, and mom made some jams and preserves from it....strawberry/rhubarb and pineapple/rhubarb. And just plain rhubarb when money was tighter.....ick. Dad will eat anything, thank goodness, and enjoy it, too. My dh is pretty good that way, too. I, on the other hand, am a bit picky....

 

[SKR8PN]

My mom used to just cook it down with a wee bit of sugar and we would eat it like that while it was still warm. Ya don't wanna eat a LOT of it like that though....unless your used to a lot of roughage in your diet.
She also used to make preserves with it, and some of the best rhubarb crunch ya ever sunk your lips into.

 

[Blackbird]

Nope, no peeling, just chop the leaves off because they are poisonous.
Aside from in pies and preserves mixed with other fruit, we do like Skr8pn with a bit of sugar, its pretty sour sometimes, my dad usually eats it on his pancakes or waffles. There are also some types of bars you can use it in; I've seen it in cake too.

 

[big brown horse]

Hi freemotion,

If you look under the recipies section of TEG I had the same question for rhubarb. I got so many great ideas from everyone there... YUM you are going to love it!

I used strawberries cut up and cut up rhubarb, about 1 cup each about 1/4 cup of 100% grape juice and cooked over a med heat until just soft. I did add a tiny bit of raw sugar the first batch and a bit of honey in the second batch. How we ate it: As is, on angle food cake and then on buckwheat pancakes. All of it was delicious!!

I think it is easy to grow because it just sprung up in my yard, not even the garden...right out of the grass!

 

[ORChick]

Stewed rhubarb is a good start for various desserts. Just take the leaves off (good in the compost pile), wash well, cut off any bad bits, and cut the stalk into 1/2" pieces. Put in a saucepan with a little water (just to keep it from sticking in the beginning) and some sugar/honey; cook 'till soft. You could probably do it without the sugar, and sweeten afterwards with stevia, or whatever, but I like the syrup made with the sugar/honey; I might try it sometime with part sugar syrup, and part stevia. DH needs things a lot sweeter than I do, so I make up a big batch sweetened to my taste, and then sweeten some of it further for him. This is nice by itself, for some of us , or with a vanilla sauce, or over vanilla pudding, or with whipped, or vanilla ice-, cream.. It freezes well too. Rhubarb makes a lovely crumble - either sweeten the rhubarb pieces to taste, put in a pie plate, and top with a crumble mixture, or start with the stewed rhubarb. I have heard of putting cooked rhubarb into quick breads as well, though I have never tried it. The British use a lot of rhubarb; you might try finding an English cooking site to check for recipes.

 

[Wifezilla]

Is there anything that is low on sugar, or that I can substitute with stevia?

Can you get erythritol in your area? I sub it cup for cup for sugar and then use splenda or stevia to get it up to the right sweetness level. Erythritol is about 70% as sweet as sugar so it usually needs a little boost.

 

[ORChick]

Here are a few British recipes to give you some ideas; I've made a note of the rhubarb date bread, and the rhubarb cake, as my rhubarb is just about ready to harvest, and they both sound like something we would like.

http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.u...searchword=rhubarb&option=com_search&Itemid=4

I don't have any recipes for it (though I am sure they wouldn't be hard to find), but for those who are interested in this sort of thing I know that the Brits also make rhubarb wine - but then, the Brits make wine out of many things

 

[big brown horse]

Hattie the Hen (who is Brittish) left a great tip on "blanching" rhubarb on TEG's forum under rhubarb recipes.

I am going to do it next season.

 

[freemotion]

Thanks for all the tips! DH is gonna bring home some strawberries today for a crumble, and I will freeze the rest and use it up soon, I think.

WZ, I can't use any of the sugar alcohols.....not a good thing for those of us with ultra-cranky lower digestive tracts......

 

[Wifezilla]

I can't use malitol or isomalt, but erythritol doesn't make my stomach upset. I know that isn't the case for everyone, but in general, erythritol does not act on the gi tract like other sugar alcohols.