Baked Sticky Rhubarb Pudding Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to cook rhubarb without it going mushy? ›

Method. Put the rhubarb into a saucepan with the orange zest, juice, sugar and 2 tbsp water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 8 mins until the rhubarb is cooked but still holds its shape.

Stew or poach (8-10 mins) or roast (15 mins for forced, 20 for maincrop) rhubarb. Use it to make crumbles, pies or jam. Roast and purée to make rhubarb fool. Rhubarb can also be added to savoury dishes, as its tartness can stand up to fatty meats like pork and duck well.

Rhubarb is a truly special ingredient. With its vivid pink colour and distinctively tangy taste, it can be stewed, poached, roasted and puréed in a range of dishes as well as drinks. Use it in a comforting crumble, a classic syllabub, a fruity chutney or a zingy kebab sauce – the possibilities are endless.

Raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries often feel left out when strawberries buddy up so closely with rhubarb. All three are just as wonderful of a match and definitely shouldn't be left out.

Discard leaves and woody ends. Wash rhubarb with cool tap water, but do not soak.

Macerate Your Rhubarb With Sugar To Draw Out Excess Liquid

Mixing fruit with sugar draws out moisture through the process of osmosis, which happens when water naturally balances out by migrating from the cells in your fruit to the dissolved sugar molecules on the surface, the same way it does with salt.

The fiber in rhubarb helps keep things moving through your digestive tract, preventing problems such as constipation. It also contains compounds called sennosides, which act as natural laxatives. The tannins in rhubarb also provide anti-diarrheal effects.

Crisp apple slices compliment rhubarb's flavor as well, along with other in-season fruits, like plums and peaches. However, there's a softer, floral flavor that might just be the ultimate match for this sharp-tasting veggie, and that's lavender.

Removing the first layer of skin will take away its "rubbery taste" and bring out the stalk's most appealing flavors, and the brown sugar will temper the tartness.

There is an erroneous belief that rhubarb stalks are poisonous in summer. The stalks will likely be a little tougher than those harvested in spring, but they are not poisonous. Plant vigor is the reason that rhubarb should not be harvested in summer.

What does rhubarb do to your body? ›

Rhubarb is also a great source of vitamin K₁, which is important for blood clotting and bone health. A half cup of cooked rhubarb provides more than one-third of the recommended dietary intake of vitamin K₁, along with two grams of fiber (which helps prevent colorectal cancer), some calcium and vitamin C.

Stick to the stems if you're eating rhubarb raw—the leaves are poisonous. I repeat: Rhubarb leaves are poisonous. The leaves contain oxalic acid, which can be fatal to both people and pets if consumed in large amounts. (But don't stress, we're talking several pounds' worth of leaves).

Its root and underground stem are used in traditional Chinese medicine combinations. Rhubarb contains chemicals that might help heal cold sores and reduce swelling. Rhubarb also contains fiber, which might help reduce cholesterol levels and affect stomach conditions.

Rhubarb, when mixed with strawberries, gives you that sourness to balance the sweetness and the complexity.

Rhubarb plants can be prone to honey fungus, crown rot and viruses. Any of these diseases will weaken the plant and it is best to dig up affected plants and start again on a new site. Crown rot is the most common. It's a fungal infection at the base of the stalks, and causes the crowns to turn brown and soft.

Rhubarb has a surprising amount of moisture, and sugar draws it out. Make sure you've got plenty of vent holes — either make them with a circle cutter as I did, or top the pie with a lattice. Venting allows moisture to leave the pie as steam, and prevents sogginess.

It takes rhubarb plants two years to become established. During this period, it's normal for the plant to produce spindly rhubarb stalks. Harvesting during this establishment period can reduce the vigor of the plant. The solution: hold off harvesting young rhubarb plants for the first two years.

During hot sunny weather, many large rhubarb leaves wilt and flop over to the ground. This is an indication that an extra-deep water soaking is needed. Water well in the evening so that the water soaks down to below the roots overnight.