In search of the perfect Rhubarb Crumble
Please do not give me any credit for this post: my wife is the crumble-queen in this household, I merely grow it - a task involving no effort at all.
So: Rhubarb: one of the first ‘fruits’ of any average Scottish cottage garden in Springtime - and I love it: the taste of a classic Rhubarb crumble, with the stalks, some apple and brown sugar and oats combine to make a perfect dessert.
First cut up the stalks into chunks, then add a layer of apples.
Add the other ingredients to taste, and bake like this: serve with custard or ice cream - it is always delicious!
Jamie Oliver’s version is as good as any: and I like the way he adds almonds, which give it a touch of class: https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/rhubarb-and-custard-tart/
Its an easy plant to grow, and pretty much looks after itself, requiring virtually no cultivation at all: it is often found on old ruined cottage gardens, as the sole wild survivor of once proud kitchen gardens.
But what do we know about it? Well, according to Wikipedia:
”Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks (petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of Rheum in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food.The plant is a herbaceous perennial that grows from short, thick rhizomes. Historically, different plants have been called "rhubarb" in English. The large, triangular leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid and anthrone glycosides, making them inedible. The small flowers are grouped in large compound leafy greenish-white to rose-red inflorescences.
The precise origin of culinary rhubarb is unknown. The species Rheum rhabarbarum (syn. R. undulatum) and R. rhaponticum were grown in Europe before the 18th century and used for medicinal purposes. By the early 18th century, these two species and a possible hybrid of unknown origin, R. × hybridum, were grown as vegetable crops in England and Scandinavia. They readily hybridize, and culinary rhubarb was developed by selecting open-pollinated seed, so its precise origin is almost impossible to determine.[3] In appearance, samples of culinary rhubarb vary on a continuum between R. rhaponticum and R. rhabarbarum. However, modern rhubarb cultivars are tetraploids with 2n = 44, in contrast to 2n = 22 for the wild species.[4]
Although rhubarb is a vegetable, it is often put to the same culinary uses as fruits.[5] The leaf stalks can be used raw, when they have a crisp texture (similar to celery, although it is in a different family), but are most commonly cooked with sugar and used in pies, crumbles and other desserts. They have a strong, tart taste. Many cultivars have been developed for human consumption, most of which are recognised as Rheum × hybridum by the Royal Horticultural Society.”
Enjoy this classic pudding: and please like and share ;-)
Emma Kay, (no relation) ! a British food historian who founded the Museum of Kitchenalia in England’s Cotswolds area, says rhubarb was smuggled into Britain from Russia by a Scottish doctor called James Mounsey, who set up a practice in Moscow in the 1700s. The doctor treated both Russian Tsar Peter the Great and Catherine, Peter’s second wife and successor.
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3103436/history-rhubarb-medicinal-uses-recipes-and-why-owning-it
Sounds delicious, thank you for the recipe and inspiration to give it a go. I see rhubarb is also good for you in ways that are so relevant today!
It contains, vitamin K which plays an important role in bone health, wound healing, and blood clotting and vitamin C which supports immunity and helps promote iron absorption. It’s also linked to the reduction of high blood pressure and may lower the risk of heart disease.