Venus Rising

Food for SoulIssue: Taurus 08

Rhubarb of Spring

Watercolor by Philip GaligaMarvelous May is upon us and gardens are being planted with high hopes for favorable weather and dreams of peas, spinach, beans, tomatoes, squash, and all of summer’s bounty. We are, essentially, waiting with great anticipation for the arrival and enjoyment of summer food. There are crops that are already popping up early to wet our whistle and feed our anticipation. These stars of the spring season should not to be overlooked. 

Special paparazzi-like attention is often given to asparagus…and for good reason.  It is a bright statuesque leader of the vegetable pack. But, there are others, behind-the-scene veggies, whose time it is to shine. Another stalky vegetable that should be tried and lauded this season is rhubarb. Generally, one of the first to arrive with warmer weather, rhubarb is often a mystery or source of befuddlement to many people. Given a chance, however, it fulfills an important role in the here and now, with its sturdy looks and brazen flavor.

Even though rhubarb it is most often used in sweet recipes with other fruit, it is a vegetable. It is a perennial spring plant that looks a lot like a heartier, tougher Swiss chard. Its fleshy stalks resemble celery ribs and can be ruby red if grown outside and soft pink if the hothouse variety. Rhubarb has broad dark leaves that slightly overwhelm the plant making it seem ominous and not food friendly. Take heed from this sign, the leaves themselves are inedible and poisonous, containing high levels of oxalic acid and, if eaten in large amounts, can cause serious illness, even death! Hence, the leaves are usually removed before being sold. If you have your own rhubarb patch, however, just make sure to strip the stalk of them. The result is perfectly edible tart rhubarb.

Until fairly recently, rhubarb was only used for medicinal purposes. Thought to originate in northwest China, it was used primarily as an ancient laxative. Some Asian cultures still use it for this purpose or continue to harvest the unopened flowers to cook and eat as a delicacy. Rhubarb migrated to Europe for the medicinal uses of its root and was not considered a food source until the mid-seventeenth century. Even then, adventurous cooks used its leaves, braising them much like spinach. In this context it is no surprise that rhubarb was unpopular. The poisonous leaves were acidic and hard to make agreeable. Those that survived eating its leaves dubbed it a refined taste. The use of its stalk started creeping into recipes in the early 1800’s; about the same time that sugar became a staple in most kitchens. Rhubarb was rarely seen in French markets because it was deemed more ornamental than edible. However, it gained favor in northern European countries as a pie plant. Where the beloved pie is honored and favored, rhubarb was and remains a favorite filler.

Pie plant is rhubarb’s pseudonym. Heavily sugared, rhubarb produces one of the most common spring pie fillings. Sugar is the key because rhubarb is very acidic, to say the least. To eat rhubarb raw would be like sucking on a wedge of fresh lemon…with a puckering taste, raising eyebrows and contorting the mouth. But combined with sugar or sweet fruit, rhubarb adds a complexity similar to no other. It is tart and adds zip to recipes. It is sour, slightly earthy and juicy, especially when coaxed with sweetness. In the United States it is used primarily in strawberry rhubarb pie. Its favored match in the United Kingdom is ginger.