Rhubarb: Something for Nothing

My backyard “something for nothing” rhubarb patch is the horticultural equivalent of finding a $5 bill under a sofa cushion. Its progenitor was grimly handed over the fence after our neighbors’ battled it with a rototiller (not recommended). Despite its availability in some local grocery store produce sections and farmers' markets, some people apparently resort to less savory tactics for satisfying their rhubarb jones. I once heard a local resident complain that someone had been shamelessly pilfering her rhubarb patch through her alley fence.

Rhubarb leaves, whether raw or cooked, contain high levels of poisonous toxins. Without the addition of sugar, the stalks of the plant (which can be eaten) are very sour. In The First Four Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder recounted an embarrassing incident when, as a young newlywed, she omitted sugar in a batch of "pie plant" (rhubarb) pies baked for a hungry threshing crew:

“Mr. Perry, a neighbor of Laura’s parents, tasted his first. Then he lifted the top crust, and reaching for the sugar bowl, spread sugar thickly over his piece of pie. “That is the way I like it,” he said. “If there is no sugar in the pie, then every fellow can sweeten his own as much as he likes without hurting the cook’s feelings.”

You'll find rhubarb's split personality reflected in Morton Grove Public Library collection. For warnings and cautionary tales about the dangerous leaves, MGPL readers can check out Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities and The North American Guide to Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms. Both books mention the same unfortunate story about rhubarb leaf cooking tips during World War I in Great Britain.

Anyone browsing the indexes of cookbooks in our library's 641.5 section will discover a number of recipes using rhubarb's edible stalks. The New Best Recipe has a recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. Martha Stewart, naturally, gets in on the act with sauces, compotes, and pudding in The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook : The New Classics. Adventurous rhubarb lovers may want to adapt recipes to exploit their backyard bumper crop. For example, try substituting diced rhubarb for the tart cherries in the Apple Cherry Crisp recipe in Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites.