Rhubarb is the fancy fruit that lets you know summer is coming. Available from April to July, this delicious fruit has it all. Not only is it packed full of vitamins, but it is also very low in calories since it is mostly made of water. Clearly there are lots of reasons to cook with rhubarb!
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How to cook rhubarb?
But if you want to cook rhubarb, there are a few guidelines you have to follow. When you are using it at the beginning of the season, you don’t need to peel the stems. But when they become more rigid, the skin becomes harder and doesn’t taste very nice so you should probably remove it. The leaves are also poisonous, so make sure to remove them too! Rhubarb is an acidic fruit by nature, but if you want to make your desserts less acidic, you will need to ‘soak' your rhubarb. To do this, peel and cut it into small pieces, place them in a dish with a little sugar and leave them to soak for between 15 minutes and an hour.
Tasty rhubarb recipe ideas
Even though some chefs love incorporating rhubarb into their savoury dishes, this fruit is also perfect for making desserts and tasty snacks.
You can use it for moist cakes and pies as well as crumbles. But if you want something fresher, remember that rhubarb can also be made into compotes and jams.
And if you fancy something to cool you down on a hot day, you could also use its juice as a way to flavour your iced tea.
What goes well with rhubarb?
Although rhubarb and its unique taste are very good all on their own, it is also possible to use it alongside other ingredients to really bring out the sweetness or the freshness.
Berries go really well with rhubarb. So you could always just throw everything together for a nice pie or cake without worrying too much about how it will taste when it is done. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries… Go crazy!
You could also add a little extra freshness to your rhubarb by using herbs such as mint or basil. These have been proven to be very successful in jams and infused waters.
And finally, if you like the acidic side of rhubarb, you could always use a little lime to bring out the flavour even more, but be careful not to use too much!
