Seasonality
Varieties
Varieties we grow and love:
- Crimson Red is the standard today but there are several other very red-stalked varieties.
- Victoria has the classic green stalk with a pink blush
Storage
As always, fresh produce is most delicious and nutritious when consumed as close to the harvest date as possible.
Remove leaves if they are still attached – we do not sell rhubarb with the leaves intact because they use the water in the stalks and decrease the storage life. Wrap your stalks in a perforated bag so they can breath a little.
Rhubarb freezes really well: cut the stalks in to 1 ” chunks and toss with some sugar. Pack into plastic bags and freeze. This is handy of you want to make a pie or cobbler in the winter. Rhubarb sauce freezes beautifully too!
Culinary Info
– can be enjoyed in:
- Pies (commonly known as pie plant)
- sauces
- juice
- tart accent to meats and fish
Tips for preparing:
NEVER EAT THE LEAVES!!! Even the raw stalks are high in oxalates and can upset some systems, so moderation if you are going to indulge in raw stalks (AGAIN, NEVER THE LEAVES). Trim the ends as needed. No need to peel the stalks, but due to their fibrous nature, I do always cut the stalks into 1″ or less pieces.
Also check out these great recipes:
I see I have not posted any recipes…but my favorite thing to do with rhubarb is make a sauce and serve over good vanilla ice cream.
Prepare a pound of rhubarb, cutting into 1 ” or smaller pieces, toss with 1/3 cup sugar, place in saucepan with 1/4 cup of water. Cover the pot and heat gently, simmering but checking for water, adding more if needed (you should not need to once the rhubarb starts to give off its own water). You can add lemon zest or nutmeg, but we like it as is on ice cream or pound cake.
