Category: cooking with rhubarb

Giving Thanks for Rhubarb

November 18th, 2025

At Thanksgiving, I think it is nice to serve foods that were produced locally, that reflect New England traditions, and that preferably originate in our household. In Sarah Josepha Hale‘s novel Northwood, a chapter is given up to describing the family’s Thanksgiving feast. The matriarch takes pride and pleasure in pointing out which foods on the table were made at home.

Rhubarb is one of the most local foods you can serve, especially if you have it in your own garden. Of course by Thanksgiving it will not still be producing stalks, but many rhubarb products can still be on your table.

1] At breakfast, serve a traditional cornbread slathered with Rhubarb Jam. How about a Rhubarb Coffee Cake or Quick Bread?

2] At the dinner table, serve a Rhubarb-Onion Relish along side the usual cranberry sauce.

3] Surprise your guests with a Rhubarb Wine as a dinner beverage. If you didn’t make your own, you might find some producers on line who ship to New Hampshire. Make sure that you get a drier wine for dinner, since sweeter wines are better suited for dessert.

4] Serve Rhubarb Baked Beans as a side dish at dinner or for an easy-to-prepare dinner the night before.

5] For dessert — what else?! — Rhubarb pie, made from frozen Rhubarb or put into the freezer assembled but unbaked last Summer.

6] The next day, Rhubarb Pie for breakfast, and a Rhubarb relish on your turkey sandwich.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your’s!

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, started in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted on December 16, 2025. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.

Rhubarb Fritters

August 12th, 2025

Fritters were a staple of the New England cuisine in the old days. They could be mixed together quickly to serve at breakfast with maple syrup. When served as the first course at dinner (also with maple syrup), they were a good way for the clever cook to kill the appetites of children before the meat course arrived. Rather than adding more water to the stew to make it go further, she would add another fritter to the plate of a hungry adolescent or husband.

Corn fritters are good, as are apple fritters. Here the ingredient to add is Rhubarb, the random bits adding a delicious pop of flavor. The recipe is from Nancy Adams, writing in the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript.

3 dozen small ones — Original Recipe	20 with 1.5 T scoop — Adapted Recipe	Cast iron skillet
1 c flour+++1 c sugar	½ c King Arthur Golden Flour +++1/3 c sugar	Whisk together in a bowl.
1 egg yolk from a US Large ++++++++ ¼ c whole milk++ 1½ tsp butter, melted	1 egg yolk++++++++ + ¼ c skimmed milk++ 1½ tsp butter, melted	In another bowl, whisk these together. Add gradually to dry ingredients, stirring until smooth.
2 c finely chopped rhubarb++++++++ 2 Tbsp sugar	1 c finely chopped rhubarb++++++++ 1 Tbsp sugar	Stir together to coat, stir gently into batter. Done night before
2 egg whites	1 egg white	Whip until stiff, fold into batter.
1 c Canola/ corn oil, 1” deep	Canola/corn oil/PAM — just a little	Heat oil in skillet. Scoop in batter.
		Cook on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
Maple syrup or 10X sugar	Maple syrup or 10X sugar	Serve hot.

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, started in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted on 9 September,2025. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.

Rhubarb Salad Dressing

July 15th, 2025

Summer is in full swing — high temperatures, humidity, busy days with family and friends. Dinners are simplified in the Summer by serving a big, hearty salad, with greens straight from the garden. A Chef’s Salad comes to mind, served with a Rhubarb Dressing.

Rhubarb Salad Dressing, from Nancy Adams, as seen in her column in the Monadnock Ledger. This can be prepared with fresh Rubarb in the Summer, or frozen Rhubarb any time of year. The dressing was well-liked by my tasters.

Enough for 6-8 servings
2 c. Rhubarb, chopped++++3 Tbsp sugar+++++5 Tbsp cider vinegar	Cook these over medium heat until Rhubarb is tender, ~6 minutes.
	Drain, saving juice, using solids for another use. [Muffins/Pudding]
6 Tbsp Rhubarb juice+++2/3 c light olive oil or canola oil+++3 Tbsp minced/grated onion++++1 tsp Worcestershire sauce+++freshly grated black pepper	Pour these into a jar large enough to hold them all. Put a lid on tightly and shake well.
	Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Chef’s Salad: 296 calories… 15.5 g fat… 4.6 g fiber… 16.7 g protein … 5 g carbs… 255 mg Calcium… PB GF – if using GF cracker This salad has been part of our repetoire for many years. Perfect for hot Summer days. The recipe serves one [1], but you can easily scale it up.

++ 1½ cups mesclun/mixed salad greens ++++ ½ c chopped cabbage ++++ 1½ oz 4%-fat ham, cubed ++++ 1½ oz cheese, cubed – Jarlsberg or Mozzarella ++++ 1 oz cherry tomatoes ++++ 2 tsp Rhubarb Salad Dressing ++++ 1 piece whole-grain Wasa bread or other bread of your choosing++

Whisk oil, vinegar, and mustard in a single-serving salad bowl. Toss greens and cabbage in dressing. Strew ham, cheese, and tomatoes over top, and enjoy your salad with a crisp cracker or other bread.

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, started in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted on 12 August,2025. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.

Rhubarb Baked Beans

May 6th, 2025

Around here at this time of year, people are opening their vacation cabins and getting ready for Summer. That, of course, means cook-outs and backyard parties, when a popular dish to contribute is a pot of baked beans. Did you know that you can add rhubarb?

Midwest Living offers this unusual recipe, saying, “No one at the barbecue or potluck will believe it when you confess the secret ingredient in these sweet-and-savory baked beans. In addition to rhubarb, powdered ginger and bacon add big-time flavor.” I can’t wait to try this for the Memorial Day cook-out.

Sv 8	Preheat oven to 350°F.
4 slices thick-sliced bacon, chopped	In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove with slotted spoon.
1½ cups chopped rhubarb +++++ 1 cup chopped sweet onion	In reserved drippings, cook these ~2 mins or until tender.
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger ++ ½ tsp salt	Stir in salt and ginger; cook 1 minute.
two 15-oz cans navy beans ++++ 8 oz canned tomato sauce ++++++ ½ cup unpacked brown sugar ++++ 2 tsp yellow mustard +++++ cooked bacon	Rinse and drain the beans. Stir in all these ingredients. Pour into a 1½-quart baking dish. Cover and bake 25 mins.
	Uncover; bake 20 mins, until surface loses wet appearance.

I think I will contribute a few servings of these beans to the Rhubarb Bake Sale at the Rhubarb Festival…

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, started in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted on June 3, 2025. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.

Pie Day

January 20th, 2025

Did you know that January 23 is National Pie Day? ‘Invented’ in the 1970s, it is intended to honor a love of dessert pies. Why not use some of the rhubarb that is in the freezer to make a special pie?

When my husband had his first teaching job, in Hudson, NH, his colleague Norma was a really good baker. She shared a few of her recipes with me, and here is her really good pie.

Line a 9″ pie plate with the pie dough of choice. Cut enough 1″ pieces of rhubarb to fill the pie crust to the top. Beat together 2 eggs, 2 cups sugar, and 4 Tablespoons flour, and pour over rhubarb. Bake 1 hour at 350F. Let cool a bit before serving.

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, started in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted on February 20, 2025. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.
End of Season

November 25th, 2024

Upon return from a trip in October, I could see that it was the end of the season for the Rhubarb Patch. The zucchini and tomato plants had already succumbed to a frost, yet the Rhubarb, though weakened, was still holding on.

The Rhubarb Patch, October 22.

So I did a triage session: by gently pinching each stalk, I could tell if it was firm or spongey. The spongey ones I left right there. Then I pulled each of the firm stalks and cut off their leaves and root ends. The leaves were left in the garden, to break down and return the nutrients to the soil.

The firm stalks were taken to the kitchen and cut into 1-inch pieces. Some I used to make a last batch of Rhubarb Puree to put in the pantry. Then I measured out 4 heaping cups of pieces and put them in a zipper bag in the freezer. That’s all you need to do to save rhubarb for later baking! Each bag would be enough for a full-sized rhubarb pie, or smaller amounts can be used for muffins deep into the winter.

Bags of rhubarb in the freezer.

In November, many gallons of manure will be put on the Rhubarb Patch, to nourish it for the next growing season. Goodnight, Rhubarb. Have a good sleep.

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, started in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted on December 23, 2024. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.

Rhubarb-Roasted Salmon

August 27th, 2024

Tart fruits have long been paired with fatty or oily fish for a real taste sensation. Have you tried using Rhubarb instead of lemon? This recipe is from Melissa Clark at the New York Times who says, “In this speedy, rosy weeknight dinner, a tart ginger-rhubarb sauce lends brightness to rich, buttery roasted salmon fillets… The sauce should strike a balance between tangy and sweet. For the pinkest, prettiest sauce, seek out the reddest rhubarb stalks you can find.”

4 servings original recipe	2 servings my adaptation	Heat oven to 400F . Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
3 scallions, thinly sliced	2 scallions, thinly sliced	Take out 2 T, use remainder in next step
Sliced scallions ++++ 2 T granulated sugar ++++1 T rice wine vinegar +++++ ½ tsp grated fresh ginger ++++ pinch salt	Sliced scallions+++++ 1 T granulated sugar 1½ tsp rice wine vinegar ++++++ ½ tsp grated fresh ginger ++pinch salt	In a medium saucepan, combine these. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then simmer until sugar has dissolved.
6 oz /1⅓ cups rhubarb, trimmed, sliced 1” thick	3 oz /2/3 cups rhubarb, trimmed, sliced 1” thick	Add rhubarb. Cover pan, and cook, stirring at whiles, until rhubarb is just tender, ~5 mins.
		Take pan off heat and, use a spoon or fork to mash rhubarb ino a chunky purée.
Sugar/vinegar/ginger/salt	Sugar/vinegar/ginger/salt	Taste, adjust flavors for a balance between sweet, tangy and salty. Divide in 2 equal portions.
four 4-5 oz skin-on salmon fillets ++++salt and pepper++++ 3 T unsalted butter, cubed ++½ of rhubarb sauce	two 4 oz skin-on salmon fillets ++++salt and pepper ++++ 1 tsp unsalted butter, cubed ++½ of rhubarb sauce	Put fish skin-side-down on baking sheet. Season lightly. Spread most of the rhubarb mixture on fish. Top evenly with butter. Roast 8-13 mins, or until just cooked.
The 2 T sliced scallions +++ Red-pepper flakes +++++ rhubarb sauce	The 2 T sliced scallions+++ Red-pepper flakes+++++ rhubarb sauce	Garnish fillets, serve with remaining rhubarb sauce.
	1/3 c peas per serving	Plate with peas.
529 calories… 35 g fat. 1 g fiber… 41 g protein 10 g carb… 65 mg Calcium… 631 mg Sodium	295 calories… 11 g fat. 4 g fiber….. 32.5 g protein… 10 g carbs… 65 mg Calcium… 315 mg Sodium

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, started in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted on September 24, 2024. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.

Rhubarb Jam

July 30th, 2024

Since sugar became a common kitchen staple the late 19th century, one of the usual ways to save summer fruits for the winter was to add sugar. Some fruits, like peaches, can be canned as halves or slices, but rhubarb turns to mush when cooked, so pieces do not can well. Happily, there is Rhubarb Jam: tart and sweet, it is delicious on toast or English Muffins. In the dead of winter, this jam will remind you of June. At this year’s Rhubarb Festival there was a contest for the best Rhubarb Jam — spread the goodness!

Such a meal: bacon, yogurt with berries, and English muffin with butter and Rhubarb Jam.

Rhubarb Jam, recipe from Wild Preserves by Joe Freitus

5 cups jam	need 1-cup canning jars + lids
2 pounds rhubarb stalks – the redder, the better ¾ cup water	Chop into 1/2-inch pieces, put in saucepan with water. Bring to boil, then simmer until tender
	Run through a food mill, measure 3 cups sauce.
3 cups sauce 4 c white sugar	Put sauce in a large saucepan with sugar, mix well, bring to a boil.
6 oz liquid fruit pectin	Stir in pectin, keep mixture boiling 1 minute. Take off heat.
	Skim off any foam, pour into hot, sterilized jelly jars and seal with canning lids.

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, started in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted on August 27, 2024. If you click the Subscribe button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Mousse

July 2nd, 2024

In the novel In Old Bellaire, set in the actual town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in the 1860s, a dinner party is held. Mary Johnson Dillon, the author, has the young ladies of the family hosting local friends and dashing officers from the near-by army post. The menu is described in detail and it includes one tantalizing item: “Grape Mousse” for dessert. My mother set out to track down this unheard-of delicacy and she found it: the ‘mousse’ was a frozen combination of grape jelly and whipped cream. In the summer, my mother would serve this to guests as an easy-to-prepare, make-ahead, delightful dessert.

One day recently, I thought to revive the old recipe, but having no grape jelly, I substituted Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam and it was a great success.

A Milano cookie was inserted before freezing for an added treat.

The recipe is simplicity itself:

Sv 4-6	ramekins or wine coupes
1 cup whipping cream	With electric beaters, whip until almost forming peaks.
4-6 oz strawberry-rhubarb jam	Add jam and continue to beat until incorporated.
	Distribute among ramekins or wine coupes. Freeze 2 hrs.

Try this old-time dessert this summer — you are sure to like it.

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, started in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted on July 30, 2024. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.

Rhubarb Onion Relish

March 12th, 2024

Rhubarb is not only for dessert! Its tartness pairs well with all sorts of foods, from beef to turkey to pork to meat. And then there is fish: in France and England, it is typical to pair tart fruits with ‘fatty’ fish such as mackerel and salmon. The first time I sold this relish at the Rhubarb Festival’s “Rhubarb Store”, the attendants bought a jar and ate it on hot dogs from a vendor. They proclaimed it to be ‘the BEST!” and they bought some more.

Halibut topped with Rhubarb-Onion Relish is served with asparagus and farro.

This delicious condiment appears in Marion Cunningham’s, The Supper Book. The author recommends serving the relish cold on hot meat.

Rhubarb-Onion Relish makes 3 cups

2 c rhubarb, chopped 2 c. onions, chopped 1 c. vinegar 1 ½ tsp salt 2 c. light-brown sugar ½ tsp ground cloves ½ tsp ground allspice ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Combine everything in a heavy pot. Heat to a boil, turn down to a simmer. Cook 45 minutes until thicker. Put into jars and cool before twisting on the lids. Fresh, it will keep in the ‘frige for a week.

For longer storage, spoon hot relish into canning jars [I like to use the 1/2-cup size for relishes] with 2-part lids and process in a hot water bath 15 minutes.

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival. The Festival was begun in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted on April 9, 2024. If you click the Subscribe button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.