Rhubarb season has begun. If you\u2019re like me, you don\u2019t necessarily choose rhubarb with all the other choices available. On the farm, we had a small patch of rhubarb when I was growing up, and my mother would occasionally dispatch one of us kids out to harvest a few spears. An occasional strawberry-rhubarb pie was most common, but for us, like most American families, this tart stalk was not a frequent ingredient. In fact, Americans can\u2019t even agree on what rhubarb is.<\/p>\n

How do you define rhubarb?<\/h4>\n

From a botanical perspective, rhubarb is a vegetable. But in America, it\u2019s legally a fruit. In 1947, a New York court ruled that it was a fruit, a declaration that saved businesses that imported rhubarb from spending more money on taxes. Only in America.<\/p>\n

The plant was native to Asia where the Chinese valued the roots as a medicine. The name came from the ancient Greeks who named it rha barbaron, a combination of words meaning \u201cnot from these parts.\u201d Barbaron, from the same word that gave us barbarian, and Rha, from the ancient Greek name of the Volga River, led scholars to suspect that the Greeks imported it using that particular Russian waterway.<\/p>\n

Of course, Americans also have another use for rhubarb: as a term for a quarrel or a dust-up. It was popularized by Brooklyn Dodgers sportscaster Red Barber. But it might have originated with another New York sportswriter from Brooklyn, where mothers would give their kids rhubarb sandwiches that were weaponized in local food fights. There\u2019s also a theatrical rhubarb: In the late 1800s, British actors, when crowd scenes required a murmur, would mumble \u201crhubarb\u201d to each other.\u00a0 Of course, none of this helped the perception of the unfortunate plant, which is too bad.<\/p>\n

Beyond dessert<\/h4>\n

I figure that rhubarb must be more than a pie ingredient or baseball slang. While we might not be so familiar with other uses, the vegetable, if I may call it that, can be roasted, sauteed, stewed, or pureed, and has some great uses as an ingredient in main dishes. It pairs especially well with pork because the acidity of the rhubarb cuts the richness of the meat, as in this Pork Loin with Rhubarb and Balsamic Vinegar<\/a>. Or you could just roast the pork loin for sandwiches and top it with a rhubarb chutney<\/a>. Same result. It even pairs with scallops<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To learn where rhubarb became a foodstuff, places like the Middle East offer lessons. It is valued for its ability to cleanse the blood and purify the system. Take this simple Kurdish rhubarb braise<\/a>, which makes use of aromatic herbs, split peas, tomato, and saffron. Or this simple Persian stew<\/a> with lamb, rhubarb, parsley, and mint. And here\u2019s an Indian approach<\/a> with green mung beans (dahl), chopped tomatoes, rhubarb, and ginger.<\/p>\n

So, take advantage of the possibilities for this ancient vegetable. Last night, Mrs. Farmboy made rhubarb crisp<\/a>\u00a0for dessert (photo above). But what about you? Do you have a recipe for rhubarb?<\/p>\n

To comment, please click on \u201cRead in Browser\u201d or on the headline to view the blog on the website. You can log in and comment at the end of the blog to share your thoughts and start a discussion.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to share the blog, click on the Facebook icon or one of the others. Thanks!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rhubarb season has begun. If you\u2019re like me, you don\u2019t necessarily choose rhubarb with all the other choices available. On the farm, we had a small patch of rhubarb when I was growing up, and my mother would occasionally dispatch one of us kids out to harvest a few spears. An occasional strawberry-rhubarb pie was most common, but for us, like most American families, this tart stalk was not a frequent ingredient. In fact, Americans can\u2019t even agree on what rhubarb is. How do you define rhubarb? From a botanical perspective, rhubarb is a vegetable. But in America, it\u2019s legally a fruit. In 1947, a New York court ruled that it was a fruit, a declaration that saved businesses that imported rhubarb from spending more money on taxes. Only in America. The plant was native to Asia where the Chinese valued the roots as a medicine. The name came from the ancient Greeks who named it rha barbaron, a combination of words meaning \u201cnot from these parts.\u201d Barbaron, from the same word that gave us barbarian, and Rha, from the ancient Greek name of the Volga River, led scholars to suspect that the Greeks imported it using that particular Russian waterway. Of course, Americans also have another use for rhubarb: as a term for a quarrel or a dust-up. It was popularized by Brooklyn Dodgers sportscaster Red Barber. But it might have originated with another New York sportswriter from Brooklyn, where mothers would give their kids rhubarb sandwiches that were weaponized in local food fights. There\u2019s also a theatrical rhubarb: In the late 1800s, British actors, when crowd scenes required a murmur, would mumble \u201crhubarb\u201d to each other.\u00a0 Of course, none of this helped the perception of the unfortunate plant, which is too bad. Beyond dessert I figure that rhubarb must be more than a pie ingredient or baseball slang. While we might not be so familiar with other uses, the vegetable, if I may call it that, can be roasted, sauteed, stewed, or pureed, and has some great uses as an ingredient in main dishes. It pairs especially well with pork because the acidity of the rhubarb cuts the richness of the meat, as in this Pork Loin with Rhubarb and Balsamic Vinegar. Or you could just roast the pork loin for sandwiches and top it with a rhubarb chutney. Same result. It even pairs with scallops. To learn where rhubarb became a foodstuff, places like the Middle East offer lessons. It is valued for its ability to cleanse the blood and purify the system. Take this simple Kurdish rhubarb braise, which makes use of aromatic herbs, split peas, tomato, and saffron. Or this simple Persian stew with lamb, rhubarb, parsley, and mint. And here\u2019s an Indian approach with green mung beans (dahl), chopped tomatoes, rhubarb, and ginger. So, take advantage of the possibilities for this ancient vegetable. Last night, Mrs. Farmboy made rhubarb crisp\u00a0for dessert (photo above). But what about you? Do you have a recipe for rhubarb? To comment, please click on \u201cRead in Browser\u201d or on the headline to view the blog on the website. You can log in and comment at the end of the blog to share your thoughts and start a discussion. If you\u2019d like to share the blog, click on the Facebook icon or one of the others. Thanks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[691,555,689,271,9,688,690,84],"class_list":["post-2462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-braise","tag-fruit","tag-lamb","tag-pork","tag-recipes","tag-rhubarb","tag-scallops","tag-stew"],"yoast_head":"\n