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MAIN REGIONS
Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Ontario

EAT RHUBARB

The outlandishly colored vegetable that thinks it's a fruit. Rhubarb makes deliciously comforting puddings but its sharpness works extremely well with meat and oily fish dishes (the duck recipe below is a resounding success).

HISTORY

Rhubarb was used as a medicine in ancient China. It was brought to Europe by Marco Polo and has been eaten as a food since the eighteenth century.

BIOLOGY

Rhubarb is a member of the family Polygonaceae and is related to sorrel. It grows best in cool climates and the effect of forcing was discovered by accident at the Chelsea Physic Garden early in the 19th century.

TIPS

BUYING
Choose crisp, firm, plump stalks with good color.

STORING
Kept in the fridge, fresh rhubarb will stay in reasonable condition for 1-2 weeks. Raw and cooked rhubarb freeze well.

PREPARING
Wash and trim both ends of the stalks, and discard the poisonous leaves. Rhubarb, in particular the later field-grown variety, is very tart and requires considerable sweetening. As with other relatively acidic foods it is recommended that it is not cooked using aluminium pots.

MISCELLANY

The variety Irish Giant grows stems up to 1.5m long and several inches in diameter.