Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Stewed Rhubarb

We're still picking tender rhubarb.  The first stalks that grew this spring were big fat and green.    Now there seems to be a gazillion more slender bright red stalks.  I know you're not supposed to pick too many at a time ... and I thought that by now the plant would be less productive .. perhaps from the long spring, my plants have not realized it's summer yet.  Years ago, we would eat dinner at Knott's Berry Farm .. they serve a side dish of stewed rhubarb with their chicken dinners that was still intact after being cooked; mine always fell apart until I tried this method.

Stewed Rhubarb

3-4 cups one inch diced rhubarb
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar (or to taste)

Place the diced rhubarb in a sauce pan and barely cover with water.  Add the sugar and bring to a boil for about two minutes.  Turn off the heat and allow the rhubarb to sit undisturbed for about an hour.  This allows the rhubarb to cook and keep its shape.  The juice will be a lovely pink. 

5 comments:

Pat said...

My rhubarb isn't doing as well as last year, I hope it gets a second life and produces a bit better.
I want to make a rhubarb crisp with mine, but stewed rhubard also sounds yummy!

MAYBELLINE said...

Oh yum. It's too hot here for rhubarb.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I got some rhubarb frozen this spring, after it was in the refrigerator over a week, and I decided I wasn't going to get anything made with it. I bet this recipe would work for it when mostly thawed.

Laurie said...

Thanks for this recipe. We planted rhubarb last year. This year, I just let it grow. But, I've got high hopes for next year!

Mrs. Mac said...

Pat .. I think rhubarb can be finicky. One of my plants is half the size of the other. Both were planted last year and are in the same part of the garden.

Sue .. Yes, frozen rhubarb makes good stewed rhubarb, pies, etc. I even have a recipe for frozen rhubarb slushie.

Mabelline ... I hope you can at least buy rhubarb seasonally at the market :)

Laurie .. isn't it hard to be so patient waiting for the rhubarb to mature enough to start picking?