Rhubarb Meringue Bars -- {My Grandma's Recipes} (2024)

FAQs

What pairs well with rhubarb? ›

Rhubarb is a truly special ingredient. With its vivid pink colour and distinctively tangy taste, it can be stewed, poached, roasted and puréed in a range of dishes as well as drinks. Use it in a comforting crumble, a classic syllabub, a fruity chutney or a zingy kebab sauce – the possibilities are endless.

Cardamom, orange and cinnamon all lift the flavour while keeping it a classic.

Stick to the stems if you're eating rhubarb raw—the leaves are poisonous. I repeat: Rhubarb leaves are poisonous. The leaves contain oxalic acid, which can be fatal to both people and pets if consumed in large amounts. (But don't stress, we're talking several pounds' worth of leaves).

Method. Put the rhubarb into a saucepan with the orange zest, juice, sugar and 2 tbsp water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 8 mins until the rhubarb is cooked but still holds its shape.

Rhubarb and chicory can be forced in late winter by covering with a forcing jar or bucket, or by placing potted plants in the dark, to produce earlier, paler, sweeter growth. Hyacinths and other spring bulbs are often forced, so they flower earlier indoors.

Depending on your location, rhubarb is typically available from early spring (the end of March or early April) to late spring or early summer (around May or June). Since fresh rhubarb is almost always available in April, it's a common choice for Passover and Easter desserts, as well as other spring celebrations.

Do You Need to Cook Rhubarb Before Baking? The short answer is no, you don't need to cook rhubarb before baking a rhubarb pie.

Why is rhubarb mixed with strawberry? ›

Rhubarb, when mixed with strawberries, gives you that sourness to balance the sweetness and the complexity.

You can freeze rhubarb raw, blanched or fully cooked. Regardless of which stage you choose to freeze at, the rhubarb will break down more as it defrosts, so it's best used in dishes where you don't need neat sticks of it.

A cup is a measure of volume while pounds is a measure of weight so a direct calculation is difficult. If we only take liquid weight into account, one cup is eight ounces and two pounds would be 32 ounces so two pounds of rhubarb would equate to 4 cups.

The bottom line

Since it may be high in oxalate, you should avoid eating too much of it and try to select stalks from low-oxalate varieties. If you are prone to kidney stones, it might be best to avoid rhubarb altogether. On the bright side, rhubarb is a good source of antioxidants, vitamin K, and fiber.

Rhubarb Companion Plants

Here are just a few examples of good companion plants for rhubarb: 1. Brassicas like broccoli, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, and cauliflower benefit from rhubarb's ability to deter whiteflies with its scent.

How to Serve Rhubarb Pie. Serve the rhubarb pie cool or warm. It's delicious as-is, but the sweet and tart pie would be perfectly complemented by a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of homemade whipped cream.

It's like a sugar bomb. Rhubarb, when mixed with strawberries, gives you that sourness to balance the sweetness and the complexity.

Rhubarb, which is sometimes – and adorably – called “pie plant,” just about defines tartness. Its flavor is acidic, bright, sharp and sour, which is why it's almost always cooked with sugar and so companionably paired with strawberries.