Is it a Fruit or Vegetable? The mysterious Rhubarb....

May 18

May 18 Is it a Fruit or Vegetable? The mysterious Rhubarb....

I had bought fresh rhubarb at the farmer’s market last week and promised to share some recipes (other than the classic, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie) so here they are. Rhubarb is funny. It’s technically a vegetable but apparently in 1947 it was officially declared a fruit by the NY Court on the basis that it is most often cooked like a fruit in the United States. Some may say it was done as a way to save businesses who imported it a way to save money on taxes. You have to admit, it is a rather strange vegetable / fruit. You cannot ever ever eat the leaves as they are poisonous and it is so tart that it needs a lot of sugar to taste good….I think a lot of the novelty is that it has such a short season and is kind of fun to throw into things.

I decided to keep it simple - I made a sweet jam / chutney with half of my bunch and then pickled the rest ala David Chang. I think I had it at one of his restaurants ages ago (remember when you could actually go to Momofuku??).

Last word on this funny vegetable / fruit….

Jack Nicolson in Batman (1989):

“Never rub another man’s rhubarb”

I don’t know why I find this so funny but I just had to share.

Enjoy!

Rhubarb Jam or Chutney

Ingredients

3 cups of chopped Rhubarb

1/2 cup of Dark Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon of Water (you may need a little bit more)

1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, simmer for about 15 minutes. Let cool.

Use on ice cream, toast, with cheese or as shown below, on greek yogurt - basically anywhere you would use a jam or sweet chutney!

Rhubarb Pickles

(from David Chang’s Momofuku Cookbook - Vinegar Pickles, Master Recipe)

Ingredients

About 2 cups of chopped Rhubarb

1 cup of water, piping hot from the tap

1/2 cup of Rice Wine Vinegar

6 Tablespoons Sugar

1 1/2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt

Directions

Combine the water, vinegar, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. I usually boil some water and add cool water to arrive at a very warm temperature, easy for the sugar and salt to dissolve in.

Put Rhubarb into a mason jar.

Pour brine over the Rhubarb and refrigerate.

You can eat immediately, but the pickles will taste better after they've had time to sit - 1 to 2 days at a minimum, a week for optimum flavor. I toss the rhubarb pickles on top of salads. Adds great flavor and crunch! It’s a nice gift as well…it’s so pretty in the jar!

You can use this brine for any number of vegetables…here are some examples and methods from the original cookbook.

Apples: peeled, cored & sliced 1/4" thick. Ready to eat after an hour and should be eaten the day they are made

Melon: flesh of 1 cantaloupe or baby watermelon, cut into single bite pieces. Cool the brine before pouring over fruit. Ready in 1 hour - eat within 24.

Carrots: 2 lbs baby carrots (as in infant or dwarfed, not the bagged grocery variety)

Cauliflower: Florets from 1 head separated into bite size pieces

Cherries: Pit & halve 2 pints cherries. Reserve the pits. Crack the pits and wrap in cheesecloth. Omit the salt from the brine: combine the water, vinegar, sugar & pits and boil before pouring over cherries.

Chiles: 4 cup Thai bird's eye chiles. Slice them after they've been pickled.

Napa cabbage: Remove the green outer leaves & discard. Use the next couple of layers- 16 to 20 leaves - for this pickle. Make a triangular incision into each of the cabbage leaves to cut out the large, though white rib & discard it. Combine the water, vinegar, sugar and salt in a pickling container, stir until the sugar dissolves & gently pack the leaves into the container. Cover & refrigerate.