Is it afruit ? Is it a veg ? Most people do n’t really seem to have a go at it , but they bed one thing for sure : They ’ve never tasted anything quite like it . You ’d be forgive for think that we ’re referring to atomato , but there ’s really another crimson - hued plant on our brain : rhubarb .
What Is Rhubarb?
Rhubarb is aplantknown for its frilly green leaves ( more on those later ) and its moody — and vividly red — stalks that resembleceleryin shape and texture . Although rhubarb originated in Asia , it is now grown across Europe and North America , most famously in theRhubarb Triangle , which is the surface area between Wakefield , Morley and Rothwell in the U.K.
In the United States , the Pacific Northwest is perhaps the most coarse expanse for originate rhubarb plant , as the plant thrives in that mood . Tim Richter is a fourth - genesis farmer of rhubarb in Puyallup , Washington , and the owner ofEG Richter Family Farm .
Richter ’s heavy - granddaddy went west from Minnesota during the Gold Rush , but he missed the boat on that opportunity and instead started a menage farm growing pieplant and other crops in the late 1800s . The farm has been passed down through the generation , and Richter ’s son now also helps hightail it the farm .
" There ’s nowhere in the world that is better for grow rhubarb than the Puyallup valley . They kind of like the moist , soft mood , and that ’s what you ’ve produce in Washington , specifically westerly Washington , " pronounce Richter . " When you get too much sun and too much hotness , the rhubarb can maturate , but what tends to happen … it loses the colour . The stubble start to plow quite unripened . "
Field Rhubarb vs. Hothouse Rhubarb
Not all rhubarb gustatory sensation or look the same . Two unlike varieties of pieplant compete on the grocery store : field rhubarb plant and drive ( also known as indoor garden ) pieplant .
As the name imply , field rhubarb comes straight from the field . As field rhubarb plant becomes exposed to outdoor visible light , it can have a green tinge and a slightly wiry grain when you crack undetermined the stalking , fit in to Richter .
Hothouse , on the other mitt , requires a more calculated , thrifty growing process , which entails deprive the rhubarb of Christ Within inside a indoor garden so as to intimately cast out its raw red hue . The only time that the pieplant becomes discover to indoor kindling is during the harvesting process . Richter explains the heedful work that run into call forth conservatory rhubarb :
Richter explains that due to the deficiency of clear vulnerability , the hothouse rhubarb leaves often turn " bright chicken " and the stalk turn into a " vivid cherry-red " gloss . These unusual color and the soft uprise process means that indoor garden commands a premium price compare to field rhubarb .
But as for which one tastes better ? Richter is agnostical on that front .
" You put two stalks side by side , one being hothouse , one being field , you would probably taste that difference . I do n’t require to say one ’s better than the other . They ’re different . "
Outside the U.S. , Yorkshire growers in the U.K. receive worldwide eclat for their hothouse , or draw , rhubarb . They ’re especially known for the traditional practice of harvesting rhubarbby candlelightto keep the still hunt tender .
The Rise and Fall of Rhubarb
The popularity of American - rise rhubarb has fallen in recent decades since its heyday in the 1960s and ' 70s , according to Richter . With so much international garden truck come in from across the earth , it can be hard for the full-blooded red plant to compete in the global market . Plus , most recipe postulate the rhubarb plant to be wangle , which can make it less sympathetic than ready - to - eat produce .
" When my outstanding - grandfather was doing it , and my grandfather , there was n’t all the shipping merchandise fall from South America and all over the human beings . Rhubarb was kind of the first group on the market place , so to speak . It was a big affair , " say Richter .
Richter says that Fannie Farmer are growing less pieplant in the U.S. as the supply line up to the drop-off in consumer demand .
But there are still plenty of pieplant enthusiasts out there , as seen in the plethora of rhubarb - centric festival fromWakefieldin the U.K. toPennsylvania Dutch CountrytoLanesboro(also known as the Rhubarb Capital of Minnesota ) .
And if you desire to find pieplant , Richter says that many of the major chain grocery stores in the U.S. , like Kroger and Safeway , readily carry it .
So, Is Rhubarb a Fruit or a Vegetable?
Due to its frequent usage in sweet treats , it ’s no surprise that home cook might think that rhubarb is a fruit . Andin 1947 , a U.S. Customs motor inn in Buffalo , New York , even deemed rhubarb plant to be a fruit , because Captain James Cook mainly use it that elbow room . By de jure classifying pieplant as a yield , the court made it so that rhubarb plant could be taxed with small import fees — even though rhubarb wasn’treallya fruit .
Wait , what ? Yes , despite the legal classification , rhubarb isactuallya vegetable in botanic footing . The rhubarb ’s stalk can be defined as apetiole , which touch base a folio to a stem . In botanic terms , the edible leafstalk officially marks rhubarb as avegetable .
But if you want to go on forebode it a fruit , Richter surely wo n’t blame you . " For the person cook it up , I would say pieplant is a fruit . "
Is Rhubarb Poisonous?
Typically , you would only eat the stalk of a rhubarb plant , which is dependable to eat on both in the buff and uncooked , according to Richter . The stalk contains no toxicant , and you will usually not get sick eat it , though you ’ll in all probability want tosweetenor cook the stalking before rust it to make it more palatable .
pieplant leaves , however , are a unlike story , and should NOT be consumed , unless you are looking for a nasty bout of food for thought poisoning . Rhubarb leavescontaina lethal toxin known asoxalic acid . Although other plant contain oxalic acid in small amounts , rhubarb plant leaf moderate a morepotent doseof it , which make them more toxic to humans .
True , you ’re unconvincing to eat up a lethal dose of oxalic acid in one sitting of unhinged rhubarb leaf intake , but the risk is decidedly still there . You may also hurt fromnauseaorvomitingeven when consuming depressed superman of oxalic superman .
So , to be on the safe side , do not consume rhubarbleaves . But rhubarbstalksare perfectly fine to rust .
How Do You Cook Rhubarb?
There are dateless ways that you’re able to train pieplant . The most common would be in a pie . Rhubarb is so closely associated with Proto-Indo European - fashioning that it ’s earned a common nickname , agree to Richter : the pie plant life . Any rhubarb cookbook worth its salt will featurestrawberry rhubarb pie , copulate the sweet flavor of the strawberry with the more or less sourish flavor of the rhubarb . It ’s also common to combine orchard apple tree with rhubarbs .
But what if you ’re long for some other creative ways to make use of your new preferred veg ? Richter suggests arhubarb crispy , much like an apple crisp . Or , you may stress one of Richter ’s preferred method of preparing rhubarb , which involves cooking down rhubarb in a pan , blend it with wampum to taste , and cooling it down before spoon it over vanilla extract water ice cream .
Other democratic sweet rhubarb recipes admit rhubarb cobbler , rhubarb loot , rhubarb plant cake , andrhubarb cookie . For savory rhubarb plant meal , you’re able to trybaked Brie with rhubarb chutney , rhubarb chicken , rhubarb fishandrhubarb soup . And if you ’re looking to quiz out your brewing chops , you may even make a fine rhubarbmead .
But if you ’re not up for cooking , you may always take hold of a in the buff rhubarb stalk and dip it in simoleons for a crunchy snack , according to Richter , who bask this treat as a child .
Health Benefits of Rhubarb
While we may argue over whether pieplant is a yield or a vegetable today , theancient Chineseconsidered rhubarb a hardheaded purgative medicine ; Marco Polo reportedly falter across rhubarb on his travels to China in 1271 . The Romans usually used rhubarb as bowel - cleansing music as well .
Trade brought rhubarb to Europe , and the plant became assay after as a medicative plant in Britain . In 1771 , Benjamin Franklin introduced Formosan rhubarbto his friend , John Bartram , who exercise as a plant scientist for the king of England in the American colonies . It was n’t until theearly nineteenth centurythat rhubarb shifted from being primarily a medicative industrial plant to a afters flora used in pies in North America and the United Kingdom .
Rhubarb ’s medicative property have long been fuck in America , and Richter say that rhubarb has a reputation for help indigestion , though it ’s undecipherable to what extent scientific discipline support these claim .
Today , scientists study pieplant for its numerous aim wellness benefits , including treatment for heatstroke , kidney bankruptcy , wound healingandcancerand for itsanti - inflammatoryandanti - oxidantproperties .
