Rhubarb is a spring treat with a distinctively sour flavor. This vegetable is normally used in sweet recipes, with sugar added to soften the bite and show off its taste to the best advantage. But there are also some interesting recipes that use it in savory dishes. Let’s find out How to Cook Rhubarb and explore some great recipes using the pink stems.
What is Rhubarb?
Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable in the same plant family as buckwheat (Polygonaceae), with thick, fleshy stems with a vibrant pink color, ending in large green leaves. It grows best in cooler climates and usually considered a spring crop, with the peak maincrop season being from March through to early June.
Earlier in the season, from January onwards, you may also see “forced rhubarb” in the store. Forced rhubarb is grown indoors or undercover to encourage earlier growth, which typically leads to more tender stems and a sweeter flavor. If covered, the stems may also have a paler pink color. Forced rhubarb usually requires a shorter cooking time than maincrop rhubarb and often less sugar to make it palatable.
How to Cook Rhubarb
The only parts of rhubarb which is edible are the stems. The leaves contain a high amount of oxalic acid, which is toxic. In supermarkets, you’re likely to see the stems packaged alone with the leaves already removed, but many farmers markets will sell it with the leaves intact. If your rhubarb has green leaves on it, always cut them off and discard them. They cannot be eaten.
The pink stems are crunchy when raw, like celery, and soften once cooked. It’s perfectly safe to eat it raw, but it’s not very palatable due to its distinctive taste which requires other ingredients to mellow and soften it.
Rhubarb has a very tart flavor and is almost always paired with sweet ingredients or sugar to counter its sourness. The most typical way to cook rhubarb is to simmer it with sugar and some liquid, to create a sweet and sour stew or compote, which can be mixed with many things. But there are also other, more creative uses for rhubarb. Let’s find out more.
1. Strawberry Rhubarb Bread
Strawberries are a classic pairing with rhubarb, with their sweetness counteracting the tart rhubarb perfectly. This is one of the most popular recipes on my blog, and for good reason – it’s really easy as well as being delicious.
Recipe by: Yummy Addiction
2. Rhubarb Compote
This is the basic and simple compote recipe that forms the basis of so many other rhubarb recipes. Adjust the amount of sugar according to taste and feel free to add spices or other flavors.
Recipe by: Stephanie’s Dish
3. Rhubarb Lemonade
An absolutely stunning pink lemonade, this recipe uses all natural rhubarb to color and flavor a classic lemonade. It tastes delicious and looks even better!
Recipe by: The Olive Blogger
4. Spicy Rhubarb Chutney
The chutney itself is sweetened, like all chutneys, but this is designed to go with savory dishes. Try it with a curry, with grilled pork or just very simply, with your favorite cheese. Super easy to make, keeps very well in the pantry and tastes amazing.
Recipe by: An Oregon Cottage
5. Healthy Banana Rhubarb Muffins
I love muffins! These are a healthy and delicious way to add some vitamins to your baked goods. With coconut sugar, rhubarb and bananas, plus whole grain spelt flour, they’re a much more healthful alternative to regular muffins.
Recipe by: Yummy Addiction
6. Rhubarb Crumble
A classic recipe and for very good reason. Rhubarb crumble has sweetened stewed rhubarb as the base with a wonderful crunchy streusel topping. I love this version which keeps it simple, stripping right down to the basics to let the natural flavor shine.
Recipe by: Fox and Briar
7. Rhubarb Cookies
A classic brown sugar cookie with diced rhubarb stalks mixed into the cookie dough. The rhubarb adds a tart note to an otherwise one-note sweetness. Cinnamon adds to the symphony. These are cookies for grown ups.
Recipe by: Kitchen Divas
8. Rhubarb and Cinnamon Red Lentil Curry
This recipe also pairs cinnamon with rhubarb, but in a much more unusual way. Really intriguing flavors going on, with the flavor of the earthy lentils lifted and sharpened by the tang of the rhubarb, in the same kind of way that a squeeze of lemon juice makes everything taste brighter.
Recipe by: Lowly Food
9. Rhubarb Chicken
Another savory recipe that uses rhubarb to great effect as a flavor enhancer. I love the way that it blends into the rich sauce, like a sophisticated and less retro version of chicken a l’orange.
Recipe by: Where is My Spoon
10. Rhubarb Salsa
A really nice and unusual Mexican-inspired salsa. This is one of the few recipes that uses rhubarb raw, choosing to soften the flavor with a simple pickle, then mixing with the other ingredients.
Recipe by: Sabrina Currie
11. Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies
I don’t make pastry very often, and sweet pastry even less. But when I do, this has got to be one of the best ways I know to use it. Strawberries and rhubarb are simmered with orange zest to make the filling for these delectable little hand pies.
Recipe by: Yummy Addiction
12. Rhubarb Asparagus Salad
I adore the colors in this salad! It’s so vibrant and beautiful, and I also love the way it pairs two classic spring ingredients together in a single dish. The recipe has no added sugar at all, relying on the sweet spring asparagus and mealy beans to balance the tart rhubarb.
Recipe by: Food n Heal
13. Tomato Rhubarb Soup
It’s unusual, but a really good twist on a classic tomato soup. Recipe writer Very Vegan Gal suggests serving it hot, but I’ve made this and then chilled it like a gazpacho in summer time, and can report that it’s great served cold as well.
Recipe by: Very Vegan Gal
14. Savory Rhubarb Chickpeas
I love legumes, and this Indian-inspired recipe uses spices and rhubarb to bring out the flavor of the chickpeas. Like the writer notes, this cooking method loses the beautiful pink color so it’s not the prettiest of dishes. Still tastes great, though!
Recipe by: Inhabited Kitchen
15. Rhubarb Fool
Fools are traditional English dishes that fold sweetened stewed fruit through whipped cream. They’re refreshing and simple desserts usually served in summer. One of the best uses for stewed rhubarb.
Recipe by: Caroline’s Cooking
16. Cheesecake-Filled Rhubarb Muffins
This recipe combines two of my favorite things in a single dish – rhubarb and cheesecake! The muffins are incredibly moist and delicious with the rhubarb batter mixing beautifully with the cheesecake filling.
Recipe by: Yummy Addiction
17. Rhubarb Ice Cream
Ice cream needs plenty of sugar to get the right texture and rhubarb needs the sugar to soften the tartness. The perfect match. Ginger completes the picture, adding a sharp spicy note to the sour-sweet flavor. Very refreshing on a hot summer day.
Recipe by: Honest Cooking
18. Rhubarb Elderflower Cake
Elderflowers are fragrant and wonderful and they match beautifully with rhubarb. The stewed rhubarb is used as a flavorful topping. I also love that this recipe uses almond flour as well as regular flour.
Recipe by: Beyond Sweet and Savory
Conclusion
Do you know how to cook rhubarb in any other ways? Is it sweetened desserts all the way, or do you like to branch out into in unusual savory recipes? Let me know your favorite rhubarb recipes in the comments.
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