The best fruits for baking and cooking are sour fruits or fruits with tart or sour skin, such as rhubarb, plums, grapes, cranberries and sour cherries. Rhubarb makes the best pie and plauts (streusel cake).
Rhubarb is one of my favourite "fruits" and I really look forward to pulling the first stalks every spring. Rhubarb and sorrel are the first harvest from my garden in early spring. If you have a small garden, I recommend planting a rhubarb and a sorrel plant. They are perrenials and come up every year. More on sorrel in future posts.
To pull rhubarb, just pull gently on the stocks. I am told some types of rhubarb require cutting, but mine can just be pulled. I cut the leaves off while still in the garden. Always leave at least 4 stocks as the leaves are needed by the plant to grow more stocks. Red stalks looking are nice but green or red ones both taste good.
You can freeze rhubarb but I haven't tried it yet. Does anyone have tips?
My students from Asia, Latin America, and Europe are not familiar with rhubarb but love this all purpose rhubarb sauce.Rhubarb Orange Ginger Sauce
Ingredients:
- 6 c. rhubarb, chopped
- Water
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 whole orange
- Fresh ginger
- Pull 6 to 8 stocks of rhubarb. Cut off the leaves and discard (do not eat).
- Wash the stalks in water.
- Roughly chop the rhubarb into 1/2" pieces to make 5 - 6 cups.
- Put rhubarb in a pot with 1/2 c. water.
- Wash a large orange with a thick pith. The majority of the nutrients in an orange are in the pith and peel. The pith contains high levels of flavenoids and anti-cancer agents. When I eat an orange I always remove only the peel, leaving the pith, which I find delicious.
- Chop the orange into 1/2" pieces, including the peel and pith. Save the juice and add the juice and chopped orange to the pot.
- Add 1 1/2 c. sugar.
- Add 1-2 T. fresh grated ginger.
- Simmer until the sauce is thick and the rhubarb and orange are cooked. Watch the pot so it doesn't burn. Adjust water and sugar as necessary.
- Store in a glass sealer jar in the frig.
We eat rhubarb sauce as follows:
- On Perfect Wholewheat Bread
- With yogurt
- With ice cream
- As a side dish with meats
Usually when I pick rhubarb I freeze as much rhubarb as I use that day, to make sure I have lots available in winter. It is extremely easy - just wash and chop into 1/2 inch pieces and put into a freezer bag and pop it into the freezer.
ReplyDeleteMy breakfast cereal tastes wonderful with rhubarb sauce. The tartness slightly thickens the milk.
You are the real expert here. Thanks for the suggestions.
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