From Scratch Rhubarb Recipes to Try this Spring (2024)

FAQs

What's the best way to cook rhubarb? ›

Cut into sticks. Scatter with sugar, add a splash of water and simmer gently for 8 minutes until soft and longer to cook it to a puree or compote.

Cut away and discard any tough, woody, or bruised parts of the stalks. Wash the stalks thoroughly and scrub with a vegetable brush. You don't need to peel peak-season rhubarb, but by midsummer, the stalks tend to be tough and fibrous. You might need to peel them to make them tastier.

Sweeten It: Rhubarb's natural tartness can be balanced with sugar or other sweeteners. You can make rhubarb compote, pie, or jam by simmering chopped rhubarb with sugar until it becomes tender and sweet. Adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.

"Once you let it simmer, and it's soft, let it sit overnight. Now you have these tender ribbons that you can jar up, or you can put them on anything." Removing the first layer of skin will take away its "rubbery taste" and bring out the stalk's most appealing flavors, and the brown sugar will temper the tartness.

Peeling it seemed to somewhat reduce the bitterness. Rhubarb can be baked into muffins, cakes, squares, even used as a pizza topping. Stewed up with a little sugar (to taste) and water, it can be a topper for ice cream or biscuits, or eaten on its own.

Rhubarb is a truly special ingredient. With its vivid pink colour and distinctively tangy taste, it can be stewed, poached, roasted and puréed in a range of dishes as well as drinks. Use it in a comforting crumble, a classic syllabub, a fruity chutney or a zingy kebab sauce – the possibilities are endless.

You can freeze rhubarb raw, blanched or fully cooked. Regardless of which stage you choose to freeze at, the rhubarb will break down more as it defrosts, so it's best used in dishes where you don't need neat sticks of it.

“When you are ready to use fresh rhubarb, rinse them for 20 seconds with water and dry on a clean cloth.” Remove and throw away leaves and trim the ends of the rhubarb. Rinse with water and dry with a clean cloth.

While cinnamon may be a more common spice to pair with rhubarb, citrusy, herbal cardamon lends a warm, citrusy note to a dish. A big pinch of ground cardamom can be added to any cake, pie, or compote, or you can simply add a little to the whipped cream you'll be topping your rhubarb dessert with.

What are the tips and tricks for rhubarb? ›

Watering and feeding

Established rhubarb plants – water only during prolonged dry periods in summer or in very light, free-draining soil. Growth will slow down and even stop if conditions are too hot and dry. Rhubarb in containers – water regularly throughout the growing season, as the compost will dry out quickly.

My advice is yes, try honey! The recipe pictured above (and linked below) includes some honey along with the sugar; try making it with just the honey and see how it turns out. Sometimes, depending on how tender and fresh the rhubarb is, I even cut the sugar down by half.

Cardamom, orange and cinnamon all lift the flavour while keeping it a classic.

Depending on your location, rhubarb is typically available from early spring (the end of March or early April) to late spring or early summer (around May or June). Since fresh rhubarb is almost always available in April, it's a common choice for Passover and Easter desserts, as well as other spring celebrations.

Although it can be eaten raw, rhubarb tends to be too tart this way, and it's usually best when cooked with plenty of sugar. It goes well with both ginger and strawberries.

Rhubarb is acidic – you shouldn't cook it in aluminium, copper, or iron pans that react. In metal pans, rhubarb turns brownish and the pan discolours. Instead, cook rhubarb in coated pans or glass baking pans.

Crisp apple slices compliment rhubarb's flavor as well, along with other in-season fruits, like plums and peaches. However, there's a softer, floral flavor that might just be the ultimate match for this sharp-tasting veggie, and that's lavender.