Pucker Up
Rhubarb is the unsung hero of late spring and early summer treats. Well, that’s just my opinion. For those of us who have come to love and appreciate this annual blessing of tartness, we are always looking for new recipes that use rhubarb for more than just making pie. In most cases, you won’t find rhubarb pie on your restaurant menu unless it has strawberries with it. While sweet fruit balances out the tartness of the rhubarb to tantalize your taste buds, I prefer it in a pie all on its own with just one, not-so-secret ingredient to mediate the tartness. It has just a slight bit of pucker, which makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I would liken it to a sour gummy with a touch of sweetness. If you like those, you would enjoy eating rhubarb pie without adding berries to sweeten it up too much.
Rhubarb is commonly mistaken for a fruit, but it is a vegetable because its stalks are edible. Rhubarb belongs to Polygonaceae family, including Buckwheat, Japanese Knotweed, Sorrel, and Dock. Rhubarb stalks contain tannins, which can help aid in better digestion. It may also help manage cholesterol levels, and serves as a good source of fiber and vitamin K. Rhubarb is a perennial and easy to grow. Find a sunny spot with fertile, well-drained soil and you are in business. Rhubarb is not necessarily easy to find in your local supermarket and is often pricy, so another good reason to start your own patch.
The following recipe has probably been in my family for generations. I am not sure where or who it originated from, but it’s the only one my mother used while I was growing up.
Rhubarb Pie
4 cups rhubarb
1 cup white sugar
¾ cup applesauce
1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter
Combine sugar, flour, and applesauce. Add rhubarb and toss. Sprinkle bottom crust with Tapioca to absorb excess moisture while baking. Put mixture into crust and dot with butter.
Cover with top crust. Make several slits in crust to vent while baking. I brush my top crust with a small amount of milk then sprinkle sugar and a pinch of cinnamon over it. I place the pie plate on a cookie sheet to catch any juice that boils out of crust. Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour.
This summer’s experiment involves alcohol. Big surprise, I know…
Just like the grocery stores, finding boozy drinks with rhubarb is hard to come by, so I decided to create my own infusions. I will have to follow up with you on these because they won’t be ready to use for about a month.
Rhubarb Infusions
2 cups rhubarb washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Place in jar with tight fitting lid
Add ½ cup white sugar
Shake jar periodically to cover rhubarb with sugar and leave overnight. The sugar will start breaking down the rhubarb and produce liquid. The next morning, add your choice of liquor. I took a small amount of the sugar liquid and rhubarb and placed into another jar, which I topped with gin. I topped off the original jar with strawberry vodka. Leave in a cool, dark spot for 4 weeks shaking every few days. When time is up, strain and use in cocktails.
Time will tell, but this is a similar method I use to make tinctures with herbs. Now I simply need to create some cocktails of my own once the infusions are ready to be mixed into drinks.