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  • #1

    Rhubarb ripeness?

    Hi there

    My rhubarb is going great guns so I decided to pick some last weekend and make a delicious rhubarb crumble, only it wasn't delicious. Despite me cooking it before hand, then adding lots of sugar, ginger and honey it still seemed to be 'under ripe'. Would this be true? I don't know what variety it is, it's in the sunniest part of the garden and the stems first grow pinky red and then turn green.

    Does rhubarb have a ripe season?
    Many thanks
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  • #2
    Pick it when it is big enough and stop picking by the end July to allow the plant to make some energy reserves for next year . . . it doesn't get ripe as such, as long as the stems are a reasonable size, you can pick and eat them.

    What was the reason for your disappointment ? Rhubarb is meant to be tart, lighten up on the sugar and enjoy the flavour
    My allotment in pictures

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    • #3
      The young stems will be less acid than the large green ones.
      Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

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      • #4
        No, rhubarb doesn't ripen. The young stems are more tender and sweet than the older ones.

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        • #5
          and the reason it doesn't ripen is that rhubarb is a vegetable and not a fruit although we treat it as a fruit. Vegetables mature, they do not ripen.

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          • #6
            Thanks folks, ok will pick the smaller stems. Sorry I think my terminology wasn't quite right. The rhubarb stayed very firm despite it being cooked twice so wondered if I had picked it too soon. I enjoy the tartness so am very reserved with sugar etc but I just always recalled rhubarb turning to mush really quickly and oddly my rhubarb didn't have a strong rhubarb flavour. I will try again as my rhubarb patch has gone mad already !!

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            • #7
              Originally posted by newbieveggie View Post
              Thanks folks, ok will pick the smaller stems. Sorry I think my terminology wasn't quite right. The rhubarb stayed very firm despite it being cooked twice so wondered if I had picked it too soon. I enjoy the tartness so am very reserved with sugar etc but I just always recalled rhubarb turning to mush really quickly and oddly my rhubarb didn't have a strong rhubarb flavour. I will try again as my rhubarb patch has gone mad already !!
              Are you absolutely sure it's rhubarb?

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              • #8
                Hi Rusty

                Yes I'm 100% sure it's rhubarb. I will try some younger stems in a couple of weeks and hope for the best as I love rhubarb.

                Thanks everyone for your advice

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by newbieveggie View Post
                  The rhubarb stayed very firm despite it being cooked twice so wondered if I had picked it too soon. I enjoy the tartness so am very reserved with sugar etc but I just always recalled rhubarb turning to mush really quickly and oddly my rhubarb didn't have a strong rhubarb flavour. I will try again as my rhubarb patch has gone mad already !!
                  How did you cook it before adding to the crumble?

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                  • #10
                    Ha! I've just picked some rhubarb for my mother I law to make a crumble... So I'll see how it turns out!! Was quite large stalks so a bit worried it will be too woody??

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                    • #11
                      The rhubarb crumble was lovely! she added pear and .... ? It was yummy!! Now I need to try and brave making my own!!

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