NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

June 6, 1999

Prairie Fare: Rhubarb and the Global Village

Rhubarb had international appeal long before the Internet came into being. It's just that the electronic superhighway makes it much easier for rhubarb aficionados to find recipes and other tidbits. For example, those with Internet access can go to http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/ and be introduced to The Rhubarb Compendium, which proclaims itself to be the "more than you ever wanted to know" source of rhubarb-related information. The site contains botanical information on rhubarb, its history, growing tips, culinary uses, recipes and more.

In brief, rhubarb's history began in China nearly 5,000 years ago (2700 B.C.). Marco Polo's accounts of his travels to China include mention of rhubarb, which the Chinese used for medicinal purposes. It seems there are several types of rhubarb that grow in many regions of the world, but the Chinese type of rhubarb may be the only one to offer a medical benefit.

As a food, rhubarb is only about as old as the United States. The Rhubarb Compendium's history section says rhubarb was first recorded as a food plant in Europe in 1778. The earliest known use of rhubarb as food was as a filling in pies and tarts, so it seems that some things don't change all that much. Rhubarb came to America around 1800, and by the early 1820s it was appearing in produce markets.

Even with a centuries-old reputation for being a pie filling, rhubarb continues to tempt cooks to find other uses for the leafy stalks it produces: jams, jellies, syrups, bread puddings, crisps and cobblers—anything to which sugar can be added to tame that mouth-puckering tartness. But I think the real trick to creative cooking with rhubarb involves finding unusual ingredients to blend with the sugar.

In my estimation, the following rhubarb recipe accomplishes that goal; it comes from SOAR—the Searchable Online Archive of Recipes at the University of California, Berkeley (http://soar.Berkeley.EDU/recipes/). By the way, matzo meal is ground matzo, which is an unleavened bread and traditional food of the Jewish Passover.

Passover Rhubarb Cobbler
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups sugar, divided
¼ cup quick-cooking tapioca
4 cups ½-inch rhubarb pieces
1 cup unsweetened raspberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup matzo meal
½ cup margarine or butter
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
lemon sorbet or whipped cream (optional)

Procedure:
In a shallow 2-quart baking dish, combine 1 ¼ cups sugar and tapioca. Add rhubarb, raspberries and lemon juice—mixing gently but thoroughly. Let stand from 15 minutes to one hour to soften tapioca, mixing several times. Meanwhile, in a food processor or a bowl, whirl or rub together with your fingers the matzo meal, the remaining ½ cup sugar, margarine and nutmeg to create fine crumbs. Squeeze matzo mixture to compact into lumps, then crumble over rhubarb mixture. Bake in a 375 F oven until cobbler is bubbling in center and top is golden brown, about 1 hour. Let cool 15 minutes; spoon cobbler into bowls and top with sorbet or whipped cream, if desired.

What's Your Take on This, Julie?

In some ways, rhubarb reminds me of zucchini. As with zucchini, if your neighbor has a bumper crop you just might find a pile of rhubarb on your doorstep. Rhubarb's flavor especially lends itself to desserts, hence its other name, "pie plant."

If you remember tasting stalks of rhubarb as a curious child, you may pucker up at the tangy memory. Rhubarb desserts usually contain plenty of sugar to offset the acidity, and sugar contains about 770 calories per cup. Rhubarb itself contains only about 25 calories, no fat and about a gram of fiber per cup, along with some vitamin C and vitamin A. It even contains about 100 milligrams of calcium per cup, but the fiber may bind to the calcium rendering it less available for your body to use.

When it comes to rhubarb desserts, especially cobblers, you may want to remember these two words: "portion control." A serving of Passover Rhubarb Cobbler (one eighth of the recipe) contains about 370 calories and 12 grams of fat. A smaller serving, one-tenth of the recipe, would contain 300 calories and 9.5 grams of fat. If you're watching your waistline, opt for the smaller serving size and savor each bite.

If you're a rhubarb novice, here are some hints. Select crisp well-colored stalks. Avoid wilted and oversized stalks which tend to be woody and dry. Fresh rhubarb is quite perishable, so be sure to refrigerate and use within three days.

To freeze, choose tender stalks with few fibers. Wash, trim and cut into desired lengths. Rhubarb may be frozen from the raw state, but to retain color and flavor, blanch by heating the rhubarb in boiling water for one minute. Cool quickly under cold running water and pack with or without added sugar syrup. The blanching process inactivates enzymes, those chemicals that, without blanching, may continue to act during freezer storage and cause loss of flavor, color and texture. Since rhubarb is so acidic, it may be canned using appropriate USDA recommendations in a water-bath canner.

If you're the owner or recipient of rhubarb, be a little adventurous with your recipe choices. And remember that all foods—in moderation—can fit in a healthy diet.

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Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136 and Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187

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