Guide

Fruit and Vegetable Guide

Rhubarb

Spring, Summer

Description: Rhubarb is a perennial that requires a winter dormancy. Only the thick red and green stalks are edible; the leaves and roots are toxic due to excessive oxalic acid. Rhubarb has a tart flavor, so is served sweetened and cooked.

Selection: Choose rhubarb that has a bright, vivid color and feels dry, firm, and crisp. Avoid stalks that are limp or wilted or have brown areas.

Storage and handling: Refrigerate in a plastic bag up to 1 week. Before using, wash well.

Preparation: Remove any leaves or root ends if still attached. Slice or chop as desired. Rhubarb is typically stewed or added to recipes for baked goods. It should be cooked only in nonaluminum pots because it will react with the metal.

Serving suggestions: Not eaten raw. Serve paired with sweeteners in sauces, baked goods, and desserts (SIS, p. 74). Strawberries and rhubarb are frequently used together since they ripen in the same season (SIS, p. 79).

Nutrients (when cooked): Vitamins C and K; calcium; fiber.

1 lb raw = 4 cups
1 lb cooked = 2 cups

The Fruit and Vegetable Guide is reproduced here with permission of Herald Press, publisher of Simply in Season.


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