Rhubarb - What Else To Use It For?

freshfood

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ducks4you said:
QUICK-I was reading that if your rubarb is up and you get a frost, you should cut it down to the ground and not cook with it, because the poison from the leaves will have permeated the stalk, too. We've had one frost, and almost frost, since my rubarb came up, and my rubarb grows adjacent to the west side of my garage. Should I cut it back and throw the stalks away? Love the above recipes, but I don't wanna be poisoned!! :ep ...help... :hide
NO! At least not in my experience...and we've had rhubarb for nearly 50 years. We had a frost just the other night, a hard frost, too. I've made pie and rhubarb muffins since, eaten both, and am not yet dead! I've never heard such a thing... If you cut it down to the ground this time of year, I don't know whether enough more would come up to keep the plant alive. It needs to grow to store energy in the root so it can come back next year.

As I say, I've eaten rhubarb for years, and I'm certain we've had many a frost after it was up, and I've never ever heard that it was harmful, nor have I ever been harmed by it. Eat and enjoy!
 

freshfood

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simple life said:
Well this is a timely thread, a friend of mine came by the house this week and wanted to know if I wanted to come over to her mother's garden and dig up her rhubarb plants.
She said her mother isn't gardening anymore and she has some enormous plants and thought of me so her daughter swung by and made me an offer I would be crazy to refuse.
I do have a couple of rhubarb plants that I started almost two years ago but they are still way too small to be able to harvest enough stalks to make all these interesting recipes.

Thanks to all that posted them.

Now I have to figure out a way to dig up these plants without injuring them.

Does anyone have an opinion on whether it would be best to dig it up all in one piece or to divide it.
Which would be less traumatic to it?
I don't have any idea what the mature roots even look like.
Mark where the plants are now, wait until the leaves and stalks die back in the fall and dig then. If you dig them now, they may well die, as they need the energy stored all summer to survive the winter. Transplanting now is not a good idea!

You won't have any doubt when you dig up a root - they are large, chunky things and most can be divided (mature patches should be divided periodically anyway, sort of like daffodil bulbs except you divide rhubarb roots with a shovel or a big knife!)
 

freshfood

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My mom stews rhubarb with a bit of water and sugar to taste, when it's sauce she pours it over either pound cake or angel food cake (my favorite), with or without ice cream. To die for!!
 

jojo54

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freshfood said:
My mom stews rhubarb with a bit of water and sugar to taste, when it's sauce she pours it over either pound cake or angel food cake (my favorite), with or without ice cream. To die for!!
yes we love stewed rhubarb. I sometimes add other fruit as well - strawberries, cherries, saskatoons, yum. :drool

I also use jello powder instead of sugar - usually red flavors - double yum! :drool :drool

We usually eat it warm with ice cream melting in it or if lucky enough to have some cream on hand - pour on some cream. Heavenly :drool :drool :drool
 

Kim_NC

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Here are 2 deserts using rhubarb

Fresh Rhubarb Cake

http://millriverfarm.com/recipe.cfm?id=432&catname:Desserts and Sweets

recipe_rhubarbcake.jpg


Pineapple Rhubarb Pie

http://millriverfarm.com/recipe.cfm?id=431&catname:Desserts and Sweets

recipe_rhubarbpie.jpg
 

lesa

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I made rhubarb jam. It has a little orange zest in it and a bit of orange juice. It tastes like tangy marmalade. Very easy to make. Had a lot to harvest this year. Made rhubarb crisp, and sauce. Not many things I can grow that I can make dessert from...
 

Kim_NC

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lesa said:
I made rhubarb jam. It has a little orange zest in it and a bit of orange juice. It tastes like tangy marmalade. Very easy to make. Had a lot to harvest this year. Made rhubarb crisp, and sauce. Not many things I can grow that I can make dessert from...
Would you post the Rhubarb Jam recipe? Thanks!
 

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