I went to our local farmers' market with hubby this morning. It's early in the season, so there wasn't a huge selection, but I picked up some tok choy (never had it before, sort of like a spicy spinach), smoked turkey breast, and rhubarb.
When my brother and I were kids, my parents always kept a garden, and we had fruit trees in the yard (an apple, pear, dwarf cherry, and two peach), and rhubarb and raspberry patches (all on a single city lot). In the summer, Mom would give us a small bowl of sugar and send us out to eat rhubarb and pick some for her to make pies or jam, warning us not to eat too much (which we always ignored, and ended up with at least a mild stomach ache or case of the poos).
Tonight, I poured a couple tablespoons of Splenda in a bowl, and ate a stalk of rhubarb, dipping it in sugar. I was smart enough not to go back for another stalk, but it was as deliciously tart-sweet as I remembered (more sour than sweet, even dipped in the sugar).
I've never had rhubarb but they had it at the farmers market and all they could say is "its good for pies". I usually don't shy away from a veggie but I've seen it in the store enough that I can buy it if I want it. They also said the leaves are poisonous which I thought was weird.
Rhubarb is so tasty! I'm not a huge fan of sweets, so the tartness of rhubarb combined with the sweetness of strawberries (a typical combo in Indiana) is awesome. Unfortunately, the only items I've had rhubarb in are jam and pie, or raw, so I'm not sure what else you can do with it. It does make a very good jam, which I typically make with stevia to cut down on calories.
Rhubarb always takes me back to childhood too, my grandma always made me a rhubarb lattice pie for my birthday as a kid.
JasonsLea, rhubarb is the stem of a leafy plant, so technically it's a vegetable, but it's usually treated like a fruit. It is often used for pies, so much so that another name for it is pie plant. It's very tart, so most recipes calling for it, add quite a lot of sugar.
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Originally Posted by nelie
I've never had rhubarb but they had it at the farmers market and all they could say is "its good for pies". I usually don't shy away from a veggie but I've seen it in the store enough that I can buy it if I want it. They also said the leaves are poisonous which I thought was weird.
Not really so weird. The poison is oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is quite common in many plants, and usually is concentrated in the leaves. It's only toxic in very large doses. In fact, your body metabolizes Vitamin C into a small quantity of oxalic acid. There are many food plants that contain quite a bit of oxalic acid, such as tea, beans, black pepper, parsley, potatoes, peas, cabbage, poppy seed, spinach, chard, beets, beat tops, cocoa, chocolate, and most nuts and berries.
In terms of plants that contain oxalic acid, tea leaves are pretty much at the top, but because you don't eat large quantities of tea leaves, or drink 200 cups of tea in a day, you don't ingest a harmful amount of oxalic acid. If you made a salad of tea leaves, it would probably be as deadly or deadlier than one of rhubarb leaves.
I looove rhubarb, but my husband doesn't like it, so I've never made anything with it. I've never tried eating it plain like that, maybe I'll have to pick some up!
The one taste that would bring me back to childhood is mulberries... we had a few trees growing up (or bushes? but they're so tall..) and I would eat as many as I could reach. I think my fingers were stained all summer long. I haven't had one in years.
Rhubarb.. I have a patch of it in my garden. I primarily use it for jams and pies but I sometimes make a mighty good rhubarb relish with the stuff. I cut it and freeze any that I can't use right away. Then I use it during the winter. Yummmmmy. Most people pair it up with strawberries but it's also super good with blueberries in jam or a fruit crisp.
Mayness: you reminded me of mulberries... I haven't had any or seen the trees in probably 20-some years. Are they sold in stores? I always just picked them off the tree or bush or whatever they grow on. Summer nights... mmm
A taste of childhood
I think my fingers were stained all summer long. I haven't had one in years.
I have a patch of it in my garden. I primarily use it for jams and pies but I sometimes make a mighty good rhubarb relish with the stuff. I cut it and freeze any that I can't use right away. Then I use it during the winter. Yummmmmy. Most people pair it up with strawberries but it's also super good with blueberries in jam or a fruit crisp.
