by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: January 08, 2009

There are a great many varieties of rhubarb found around the world but the one most of us think of when we think of rhubarb is known simply as garden rhubarb. It has green leaves, stalks which are a deep red in their infancy but turn a pale shade of green as they mature and a white root. The stalks are of course what we eat but it is worth pointing out and always remembering that rhubarb leaves are poisonous. Just one ounce (25g) of rhubarb leaves could prove fatal to an average sized adult human!

Rhubarb, although technically a vegetable as opposed to a fruit, is usually eaten in puddings or desserts or incorporated in cakes, tarts or pastries. I remember as a child occasionally being given a stalk of fresh rhubarb from the garden along with a small bag of sugar for dipping. That is not of course a particularly healthy way in which to consume rhubarb but it does hold a strange, childish fascination - I promise you! - and can always be offered as an extremely rare treat.

Rhubarb can of course be extremely sour in its natural state and we really have to be looking at some way in which to sweeten it, however and in whatever we may be cooking it. As it can take quite a substantial amount of sugar to sweeten rhubarb, we should perhaps be looking to explore the variety of artificial sweetener there are these days available on the market, some of them extremely good. We could, however, also consider using such as orange blossom honey as a sweetener or even an extremely sweet fruit juice such as pineapple.

The one ingredient I always associate with rhubarb is root ginger. I think that a little bit of grated or very finely chopped ginger root compliments rhubarb like nothing else. Try incorporating this when stewing rhubarb for whatever purpose for what I can assure you is a delicious taste enhancement.

Rhubarb also goes extremely well with other fruits such as apples. Try making a rhubarb and apple (and ginger!) crumble or pie by slowly stewing the fruits together before adding them to the pie or covering with crumble.

Rhubarb smoothies are an excellent and refreshing drink on a hot summer's day. Stew the rhubarb with a little ginger (no sweetener) then blend with some low fat natural yoghurt and honey, or if we are being extremely lavish and forgetting about calories for a time, replace the yoghurt with ice cream.

Rhubarb fool is a popular pudding or dessert with many people. To stewed rhubarb and ginger, add some whipped cream, some honey or sugar and a beaten egg white. Fold the mixture carefully to incorporate all the ingredients together without allowing the air to escape from the cream and egg, before transferring to glass serving dishes and garnishing with a teaspoon of more whipped cream and some crushed amaretto biscuits or cookies.

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