Rhubarb

Name: Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum and Rheum × hybridum) — a perennial plant with thick, red to pink-green, celery-like stalks, which are tart and sour and are usually cooked and sweetened, and large, poisonous leaves. It is used like a fruit in desserts.

Description

Rhubarb is native to Asia, with its roots used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years as a laxative, and for centuries it was a valuable trade product along the Silk Road. It reached Europe in the Middle Ages, and by the 18th century had begun to be used as a food, particularly in England, where cheap sugar made its sour stalks palatable.

In Yorkshire, England, an area called the Rhubarb Triangle produces early “forced” rhubarb, grown in dark sheds by candlelight, which makes pale pink, tender, sweet stalks. The leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid and are poisonous, and must never be eaten.

Main nutrition value

Rhubarb stalks provide vitamin K, vitamin C, calcium and fibre, and are low in calories before the sugar is added.

How best to be consumed

Rhubarb stalks are cooked with sugar, and the leaves are always discarded.

1. Trim off the leaves and the base, wash well, and cut into short lengths.
2. Stew gently with sugar, orange or ginger until soft, for compote, crumbles, pies and fools.
3. Roast in the oven with a little sugar, for a tender, pink result.
4. Use in savoury sauces for oily fish and pork, as a sour note.
5. Choose firm, crisp stalks, and store in the fridge.

Overconsumption could cause…

Rhubarb stalks are safe in food amounts, but the leaves are poisonous.

1. Oxalic acid poisoning from eating the leaves, which can cause kidney damage and be dangerous, so the leaves must always be discarded.
2. Oxalates in the stalks, which matter for people prone to kidney stones, especially in large amounts, and which reduce calcium absorption.
3. A lot of added sugar when eaten as crumble, pie and jam.
4. Laxative effects and stomach upset in large amounts.

GroupsStem and Shoot VegetablesKnotweed family (Polygonaceae)Low sodiumFresh

Related foodsAlfalfa SproutsArtichokeAsparagusBamboo ShootsBean SproutsBroccoli Sprouts

Wikipedia — Rhubarb, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhubarb