Rhubarb rhubarb

[Birdie Wife]

Hi everyone,

I'm sure someone will be able to answer this query fairly quickly. Rhubarb contains oxalic acid, less so in the stems but still there nevertheless. Does forcing rhubarb mean that oxalic acid doesn't accumulate, ie does lack of light mean that rhubarb can't make it? Intuitively I'd say yes, because forced rhubarb is sweeter than when it's grown in sunlight, but does anyone have a definitive answer?

There's a good reason why I'm asking but it's boring and nerdy so I won't bore you all!

[Shortie]

I have no idea the answer to your question, but I'd love to know why the question? Sorry, I'm incurably nosey

[Birdie Wife]

Hi Shortie,

Well, as it's you...

I've been forcing rhubarb for the first time this year to see what it's like but my OH hates the stuff so I was going to make a wine with it instead. Like the idea of a rhubarb and raspberry wine, I think the colour could be amazing with the lovely shocking pink stem of the rhubarb!

Anyway, my wine making book gives a recipe for rhubarb wine but it's designed for old rhubarb that's no longer any use for desserts. One of the ingredients is precipitated chalk, which deals with the oxalic acid and which apparently you can get from chemists but as I live 30miles from the nearest one and I may well find they don't do it anyway, I'd like to know that I don't need to use it! Another book I have doesn't mention the chalk at all in a different rhubarb wine recipe.

I was going to post this in the food and drink section but if I posted it here I wouldn't have to explain in lengthy and boring detail why I wanted to know! Oh well, should have stuck with the original plan

Okay, so there you go. The explanation was way longer than the question!

[Squirrel]

Rhubarb Wine

Birdie Wife

My wine receipe uses young stems and no leaves! And says the best time to make it is in May! Interested?

[Birdie Wife]

Hi Squirrel,
I think one of my recipes is the same as yours, probably in early May the rhubarb hasn't had so much of a chance to accumulate the oxalic acid and so the chalk isn't needed to clear it up. Thanks anyway!

[Shortie]

I found Precipitated Chalk!

Birdie Wife.... Did you find you Precipitated Chalk in the end? If not, I've just bought some in a shop near me in Enfield... It's by Youngs so you might be able to buy direct otherwise I'll send you some up if you're having no luck...?

[andrewo]

Birdie Wife

My wine receipe uses young stems and no leaves! And says the best time to make it is in May! Interested?

I hope you don't make anything with the leaves, good as bug poisoner and very effective in killing you. Forcing rhubarb does make it sweeter but whether this is anything to do with the acid is unknown to me. However, I do know if you force a crown one year, you cannot force the same crown for at least three years. Early forced rhubarb is better as a dessert rather than a wine, as sweetness can be added with sugar or sweet cicely, which is great in wines.

As for your OH hating rhubarb - I too used to hate it, yes me, lover and devoted follower rhubarb and schnapps - until I grew my own, the stuff tastes different depending on when you pick it, how you treat it and what you put it with, from crumbles to wine, from schnapps to bug killer it is an ancient and delicious plant much maligned and misunderstood - just love the stuff....grows faster than I can process it...

[Nicos]

used to swallow the stuff as a kid !!! Now got 8 x 1litre le parfait jars on the go!!!

Relations looking forward to swapping damson gin for rhubarb schnapps!!

Think that the sugar leval has now reducd enougth to add sugar to recipies.

Got so much rhubarb...1 stalk today weighed 750g!!!!


HELP!!!!!...what to do with the rest!!!!?????

[andrewo]

Ice-cream, wine, a chutney for meat, orange and rhubarb cordial, just to name a few.

[Shortie]

My other plans other than schnapps are wine, crumbles and freezing stalks for later in the year whn it's not available in the garden.

There are also some nice chutney recipes out on the net but we don't eat chutney normally (what do you do eith it??) so it seemed pointless to make it.

Oh, and there's always jam

[andrewo]

Chutney is great with meat and in curries. I use my chutney with beef, chicken and venison. Great with sausage butties too and gets better as it gets older.

[Shortie]

The butties.... I'm sold. Especially liked the raisen ones so I think I've been persuaded to try it out... It's one of those things, never eat chutney so never knew whjat to do with it if I made it... Cheers!

[andrewo]

Chutney is just great, never tried it myself until a few years back and I too like raisens in it, my OH made some chutney years ago and at first it tasted terrible but we cracked some open six months later and it was wonderful and we found some more recently and it was so sweet.

[lyndap]

My grandaughters hooked on rhubarb and apple puree.She wouldn't eat her yogurt yesterday cos had run out of the puree to mix it with!Can you freeze rhubarb then? I thought it would go all mushy. Will def have to get a couple more rhubarb plants on the go next year, with all these ideas everyone keeps posting.

[Shortie]

lyndap, you could probably freeze the puree.... but yes you can freeze it. I've never done it myself but somewhere else on the forum it was mentioned... I think you can freeze it in sticks. But then if you're only going to puree/crumble it anyway then it probably won't matter to much if it's mushy?