Got rhubarb?

Rhubarb season is here. Its vigorous voluminous leaves and sturdy pink, red or green stalks conspicuously announce that summer is on its way. According to “The Rhubarb Compendium” this member of the dock family has been used in medicines and folk healing for centuries, restores a shine to burned pots and pans, dyes light-colored hair a deeper shade of gold and creates an effective organic insecticide.

Earliest records of the plant date back to 2700 B.C. in China where it was cultivated for medicinal purposes, primarily its purgative qualities. Due to its acerbic taste, rhubarb was not considered a food item until sugar became affordable to the common people. Its use as a comestible was first recorded in 17th century England. By the end of the 18th century, these tart stems were increasingly featured in puddings, custards and crumbles.

This cool season perennial, rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber, was nicknamed “pie plant” soon after its introduction to North America. It is extremely winter hardy and resistant to drought. Rheum rhabarbarum’s steadfast crop is produced from crowns consisting of fleshy rhizomes and buds.

As William Woys Weaver mentioned in his book “100 Vegetables,” “rhubarb is one of those plants that absorbs the flavors of everything mixed with it without enhancing its own, so it must be used wisely in any recipe where additional fruit is called for. When used sparingly, red currants will bring out the flavor of rhubarb more than any other fruit with which it is cooked.” 

This week “Food, Faith and Fellowship” is planning a “rhubarb compendium” of it own with a few quips and tips — and recipes, of course, featuring this beloved and versatile fruit. CJK

— “The Rhubarb Compendium,” “The Origins of Fruits and Vegetables” by Jonathan Roberts and “100 Vegetables and Where They Came From” by William Woys Weaver