One of the first plants many people acquire when starting a food garden is rhubarb. It is such an easy plant and will thrive with so little care and will grow exponentially with a little manure. 

A new root or large rhizome of rhubarb will take a couple of years to settle in and become really productive but when it does you will have a supply for as long as you are in the same location. For those of you who have an established plant, now is the time to encourage growth through forcing. This is not something to do to a young plant as its leaves need to make the food to build up and strengthen the plant. However for an established plant, this is something that can be done every spring to bring on the most tender, pretty looking stalks for pies, stewed or baking.

Forcing rhubarb is not the same as forcing bulbs. It does not need to come indoors! All that is needed is a large pot with a small hole in the bottom. Tip it up and over the plant as soon as the snow is gone from the crown of the plant or just when you first see signs of growth. The spring shoots stretch out to the small amount of light and will grow tender and pale pink. Once the stalks have grown long enough to start pushing up the pot, reach down to where the stem attaches to the root twist slightly and pull hard. The stalk will come away with a heel (my word). This is how to pull all rhubarb. Snap off or cut the leaf for the compost and then use the stems for your favourite way of eating rhubarb.

Clay pots over the rhubarb and tipped up to view the plant. The difference between the forced and the unforced is clear to see.

I find it hard to believe but as children we would eat those stalks as if they were candy but then sugar was not always in plentiful supply after the war, when the tradition started.  My favourite way to eat that early rhubarb is stewed with custard but I also make rhubarb custard pie, rhubarb and raisin slice, rhubarb coffee cake and with the older stems later in the season, a rhubarb honey cold juice drink known as rhubarb champagne. Rhubarb recipes are abundant on the internet.

The pink colour of rhubarb is typical of champagne which is why some rhubarbs are known as Champagne Rhubarb. Some plants are known as Strawberry Rhubarb but to be honest they all seem similar to me. If forced they will produce that delicate pink champagne colour. Once the forcing jar or pot is taken off, the stems will turn a beautiful red. Somewhere I read that rhubarb at one time, was used to boost the colour of champagne. I still don’t know if that is entirely true. It is a plant that is known to have been grown and used by the Romans. It is native to Asia however and is known to have been used for medicinal as well as culinary purposes. I think most of our mothers have encouraged us not to overindulge in rhubarb if you want to avoid frequent visits to the bathroom! The leaves contain oxalic acid which in a large quantity could be harmful but a person would need to eat pounds. The stalks contain a little oxalic acid but not enough to harm. The deer have started to eat it locally, when accessible but it has not depleted our prolific urban population!

Attractive tall, clay forcing jars were commonly used to force rhubarb but unfortunately are not always easy to find and shipping might be expensive. However if you find one they add an attractive feature to the vegetable garden.

There is an ornamental non–edible rhubarb, Rheum palmatum, which I have growing near my pond. It reminds me of the huge Gunnera plant, which unfortunately is not hardy enough for this zone. It provides enormous early rhubarb like leaves with dynamic colouring but its downside is that those leaves quickly start to decompose in mid to late summer. Edible rhubarb is Rheum rhabarbarum.

One of my favourite rhubarb recipes, which i am often asked for is this slice:

Rhubarb Meringue Squares

Base:

1/2 cup butter or margerine

1 cup all purpose flour

t tbsp. granulated sugar

Mix. Press into square 8″ pan. Bake 350degrees

Filling:

2 cups chopped rhubarb

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup raisins

2 tbsp. flour

1 tsp grated orange rind

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup milk

Mix. pour over base and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes

Meringue:

3 egg whites

1/4 cup icing sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup flaked coconut

Beat all except coconut. When stiff and glossy spread over filling and sprinkle with coconut. Bake again 10 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool and cut into squares.