How to choose and cook rhubarb?

Everything you need to know about rhubarb

Its nutritional qualities?

Rhubarb has a very high dietary fiber content. A quality that makes it ideal for stimulating intestinal transit. Low in calories, it is however very rich in vitamin C (12 mg/100 g). The only pitfall of this vegetable: it is sugar, often used to counter its acidity. Little tip, lift your hand from the sugar to add a few fresh angelica leaves.

Where is it found?

Rhubarb particularly thrives in the climate of northern countries. It is difficult to find it in France. Prefer AMAP to supermarkets to buy it. It will be less expensive and fresher.

How to choose it?

The redder the stems, the more fragrant, juicy and acidic the rhubarb, and the less it is found in the markets… Be careful, it is important to ensure its freshness because its conservation is very delicate.

Should you peel rhubarb?

Peeling your rhubarb is not always essential. If you want to preserve its magnificent pink color for a particular visual (graphic tart or rustic tart), do not peel it, if on the contrary the stems are very large and fibrous, you can peel it. Concerning the youngest stems, there is no need to peel them.

How to cook rhubarb?

To accommodate it, avoid drowning it in too much sugar, it is its lively acidity which makes it so interesting.
To soften it without weighing it down, simply blanch it for 2 minutes before cooking, and, for sweet recipes, leave it to marinate for a few hours with 2 tbsp. tablespoon of sugar.

Cooking rhubarb in a sweet version

To get started, mix it with apples or bananas before moving on to 100% rhubarb, and combine it with spices.
In compote : sweetened with honey and spiced with a breath of ginger, to be enjoyed with curds or cheese.
In crumble : we marinate the pieces the day before with cinnamon, then we crumble a crumble dough by replacing half of the flour with oat flakes. And presto, 35 minutes at 180°C.
In jam : we leave the pieces to marinate for at least 24 hours and season them with orange or rosemary, like Christine Ferber.
As a fruity dessert : poached in a menthol syrup and accompanied by fresh medlars, as at Jacques Chibois (La Bastide Saint-Antoine, in Grasse).
In cake : on a cake dough, place, with the help of the children, small sections of rhubarb in a star shape, sprinkle with brown sugar and leave to cook for 40 minutes at 180°C.
Poached with vanilla : we cut it into sections 3 cm long and 1 cm wide 600 g of pink rhubarb. Melt 150 g of sugar in 75 cl of water, with the seeds of a nice vanilla pod. When the syrup is simmering, add half of the rhubarb and leave to cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the pieces with a skimmer and place them in a large deep dish. We start again with the remaining rhubarb. Cover the pieces of cooked rhubarb with hot vanilla syrup, cover and leave to marinate for 24 hours in a cool place. Served with fresh raspberries and pink biscuits from Reims.

Cooking rhubarb in a savory version

Its acidity boosts the classics: like lemon and sorrel, it spices up and surprises.
With white meats : we start with the pork tenderloin cooked in the oven on a bed of rhubarb and spring onions. For the spring barbecue, it brilliantly replaces diced peppers in chicken skewers.
Instead of celery : just a rib, to liven up the risotto and the vegetable soup.
With sweetbreads : to serve in sauce, tangy coulis style.
With foie gras : simply pan-fried, like Jean-Michel Lorain (La Côte Saint-Jacques, in Joigny).
With the noble fish : like the line-caught sea bass, rhubarb stewed in butter and sweet onions from Thierry Marx, and the delicate turbot, tender rhubarb chop, bouchot mussels and tarragon foam from Anne-Sophie Pic.

How to store rhubarb?

Rhubarb can be frozen very well after being chopped. In the refrigerator, it softens quickly, prefer a cool place.

What is the toxic part of rhubarb?

Rhubarb leaves are toxic but are never marketed; they contain the highest quantity of oxalic acid which can cause kidney and bladder stones. The stems also contain smaller quantities, between 0.2g and 0.5g per 100g, but it is from 5g that we start to worry. Don't worry, you would have to eat a huge quantity of rhubarb to achieve this level. So you can have a piece of the pie again!