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Rediscover rhubarb

Meet the healthy veg that’s also a fruit and can help cut cholesterol.

Although it’s not exactly on everyone’s cool and trendy food list, rhubarb not only has arguably the best name of any edible produce, but is also very good for you. What’s more, if you’re reading this during late summer, which is when we’re writing it, rhubarb is one of the few varieties of fruit and veg that’s still in season. In fact, its only companions in Ador’s garden are some very late pears. So if you’re a seasonal food champion like us, get out and buy some rhubarb today!

But before you dash for the door, here’s an insight into the vegetable that’s also a fruit…

Fruit or veg?

Although rhubarb is botanically classified as a vegetable, as far as the US is concerned it’s a fruit. Why? Because the United States Customs Court in Buffalo, New York, ruled in 1947 that rhubarb was a fruit since it was used mainly as such. Of course, this had nothing to do with the fact that the act meant imported rhubarb was taxed less than if it was a vegetable.

The beautifully coloured… er… plant, was actually used as a medicine in ancient China, giving a hint towards its health properties as a food. It was brought to Europe by Marco Polo and has been eaten as a food since the 18th century. In the States, meanwhile, it was originally used as a laxative, before people developed a taste for it’s wonderful tangy flavour at the end of the 1700s.

A member of the family Polygonaceae and related to sorrel, rhubarb grows best in cool climates. It’s a good source of fibre and contains moderate levels of vitamin C, calcium and potassium. Meanwhile, the fibre from rhubarb has been proved to reduce cholesterol levels when digested.

Growing and choosing

In warm countries, rhubarb will grow all year round, but in colder climates the parts of the plant above the ground disappear completely during winter, and begin to grow again from the root in early spring. It can be encouraged to grow early (or ‘forced’) by raising the temperature of its surroundings. This is commonly done by placing an upturned bucket over the shoots as they come up. The effect of forcing was discovered by accident at the Chelsea Physic Garden early in the 19th century.

When choosing your rhubarb, look for crisp, firm, plump stalks with good colour. When preparing it, wash and trim both ends of the stalks, and throw away the leaves, which are actually poisonous – so don’t mix them up with your salad! Its flavour can be very sharp, particularly the late summer varieties, which means rhubarb requires quite a lot of sweetening. What’s more, its acidic nature means you should avoid cooking it in aluminium pans.

Finally, rhubarb keeps well. When fresh, it will stay in good condition for one to two weeks, while both raw and cooked rhubarb freeze well.

Get cooking…

Now you’re all clued up on rhubarb, all you need to do is track some down and have a go at the tasty recipes you’ll find on our Rhubarb Recipes blog…

And on the subject of rhubarb, do you remember Roobarb and Custard?