RHEUM RAPHONTICUM  AKA RHEUM RHABARBARUM

Rhubarb’s sour tang and earthy flavor make it especially welcome in the spring when it joins asparagus and radishes among the first crops of the new year.

One of my earliest food memories is of the dishes of stewed rhubarb my mom would set beside the main plate at the dinner table. I liked the way it looked—all reddish and off-white. It was sweet from the sugar she added, but it had the most wonderful tang.

THE ORGANIC FACTOR

Rhubarb from the market or store is not likely to be contaminated with agricultural chemicals—only two pounds of chemicals were used on the entire California crop in 2001—because rhubarb is usually pest and disease resistant. The amount of conventionally grown rhubarb fluctuates, but usually hovers somewhere around just 1,000 acres in the whole country, with most production in northern states, including Washington and Oregon.

Organic rhubarb is likely grown in the field as part of mixed organic crops.

NUTRITION

Citric, malic, and oxalic acids give rhubarb stalks their acidic flavor, although a superabundance of oxalic acid makes the leaves poisonous. Oxalic acid binds with iron, rendering it unavailable in the bloodstream, and so can cause anemia. The long leaf stalks, or petioles, have only about as much oxalic acid as spinach and chard and are the only edible part of the plant.

TYPES

Most of our edible rhubarb is Rheum raphonticum, because, while there other types commonly grown in China, Mongolia, Siberia, and Italy, they are seldom seen here in the United States.

SEASONALITY

You’ll find the choicest stalks in midspring, when the tender young leaves have unfurled and the stalks are ready for picking. The stalks toughen up as summer comes on, usually losing enough quality by late July that picking stops.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

When choosing rhu-barb at the market, check both ends to make sure they aren’t dried out. Many varieties are stringy and need to be peeled, others are tender and need no peeling. .

STORAGE AND PREPARATION

Blanched rhubarb freezes wonderfully, so there’s no need to buy it off season. Blanch spring-grown stems (which are low in oxalic acid and high in quality) for about 1 to 2 minutes in boiling water, chill them in ice water, then cut them into 1-inch-long pieces and freeze on baking sheets. When frozen through, transfer to freezer bags and store.

USES

Because it tastes sweet-tart like fruit, it is usually classed as fruit, although botanically it is a vegetable. Indeed, rhubarb has an affinity for fruit. Rhubarb and strawberry pie is a classic. Rhubarb and huckleberry pie is even better, if you can find huckleberries, or substitute rhubarb and blueberry pie instead. Make a fruit crisp with rhubarb, strawberries, and plums, sweetened with brown sugar and baked in ramekins.

Besides its use as a partner for fruit, think of it as a sour ingredient in sauces to provide contrast in sweet meat dishes using pork and chicken.

Or let its acid content cut through the fattiness of oily fish like salmon or of poultry like duck or goose.  ....read more