With its pink-purple stalks, rhubarb is one of spring’s first crops. It appears about the same time as strawberries. But because rhubarb is a bit tart and has to be cooked, it’s often relegated to the back of the recipe box. Rhubarb is not as pretty as the strawberry, and its stepsister role usually is to accompany the red berry in a pie or cobbler.
Cooking rhubarb requires your undivided attention. “You can’t simply put it in a pan and let it simmer,” said Roland McIntosh, owner of Paw Paw Plantation in Powell County, Ky., who has about 200 plants.
Here are his instructions for cooking rhubarb:
n After it’s washed, cut it into small pieces, about 2- to 3-inch segments.
n Place the rhubarb in a pan, then fill the pan with water until it just covers the rhubarb.
n Cook until the rhubarb falls apart, about 10 minutes.
n Add sugar. If you add the sugar at the beginning, the mixture is likely to scorch, McIntosh said.
Once the rhubarb is cooked, it can be used as a sauce, pie filling, side dish, or it can be packed into freezer containers and frozen.
Because rhubarb has a sweet-tart taste like fruit, it’s usually classed as fruit, although botanically it’s a vegetable. Its taste goes well with low-acid fruits, such as plums and strawberries. Good flavor partners are ginger, orange, cinnamon and brown sugar.
Mark Bittman, author of “How to Cook Everything,” said rhubarb’s sour side provides contrast in sweet meat dishes using pork and chicken.
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RHUBARB TIPS
-Choose stalks that are firm and crisp with glossy skin that is free of blemishes. Check both ends to make sure they aren’t dried out.
-Wrap, unwashed, in plastic, and refrigerate three to seven days.
-Blanched rhubarb freezes wonderfully, so there’s no need to buy it off-season. Blanch spring-grown stems for about one to two minutes in boiling water, chill them in ice water, then cut them into 1-inch long pieces and freeze on baking sheets. When they’re frozen, transfer to freezer bags and store.
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