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.
Now, when the English say ‘pudding,’ they mean any sort of dessert — unless they are discussing Yorkshire Pudding or Blood Pudding. When Americans say ‘pudding,’ we narrow it down to a milk-based dessert to eat with a spoon — such as tapioca or a blanc mange. Here is a real New England recipe from Haydn Pearson, who grew up in Greenfield, NH, just the next town over from Bennington.
First, Rhubarb Pudding as part of a lovely breakfast. Secondly, Rhubarb Pudding as served for dessert. This pudding is a good way to use the ‘mush’/solids from when you prepared Crushed Rhubarb.
Rhubarb Pudding Breakfast: Haydn Pearson has a wonderful dessert called “Blanche’s Super Rhubarb Pudding” in his iconic Country Flavor Cook Book. This is a scaled-down version that is fit for breakfast: slightly tangy, lightly sweet. Plant Based Gluten Free – if using GF flour
6 Tbsp cooked, mashed rhubarb OR mush from Crushed Rhubarb 1 two-oz egg + 1 egg white 1½ Tbsp sugar 2 Tbsp flour OR 2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour 2 Tbsp milk ½ tsp baking powder per person: 1 slice Canadian Bacon [= ½ oz back bacon] several slices of strawberry
Cut up 1 cup rhubarb and stew it in a little water. Drain thoroughly and mash. OR, use the mush from Crushed Rhubarb. Measure the 6 Tbsp you need and save the remainder for another use. [Add to a smoothie; serve with yogurt] Whisk the egg and white, then add all the other ingredients [but not the bacon!] Spoon into a baking dish which has been sprayed with non-stick spray. HINT: I did all this the night before. A real time-saver. Bake at 350 F until the batter is firm to the touch, about 15 minutes. While the pudding bakes, cook the bacon and prepare the optional beverages. Delicious. FYI, here are the food values for the breakfast: 142 calories 3 g fat 2 g fiber 10.6 g protein 24 g carbs 155 mg Calcium
Blanche’s Super Rhubarb Pudding: Blanche was Mrs. Pearson and her husband was delighted with this dessert. You will be too.
Rhubarb Pudding in a single-serving ramekin. What a treat!
Serves 6 in a casserole, 6-8 in ramekins
½ cup sugar 2 Tbsp butter
Cream together.
1 cup milk
Add to creamed mixture.
1 cup flour [white whole wheat is a very good choice] +++2 tsp baking powder +++½ tsp salt
Sift these together, then stir into creamed mixture to make a batter.
1 quart rhubarb, sliced in ½” pieces ++¾ cups sugar ++¼ cup water OR use 3 cups Rhubarb Mush
Cook together over medium heat about 7 minutes. Stir. Pour into a buttered oven-proof dish or into 6 buttered ramekins.
Pour batter over the sauce.
Bake 20 minutes at 350F.
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 1, 2023. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.
There is more to rhubarb than pie. Much as we love it, there is only so much pie a family can eat — even if you serve it for breakfast, too, like a true Yankee. One of our favorite ways to use rhubarb is to cook it into crushed rhubarb, which can then be pureed. It has many uses.
On left, Crushed Rhubarb with its coarser texture. In center, Rhubarb Puree. On right, a glass of OJ-Rhubarb Juice.
Crushed Rhubarb
This is a variant of Stewed Rhubarb which has been enjoyed for centuries as an alternative to Apple Sauce. Since Crushed Rhubarb is prepared with a higher ratio of water, the result is more liquid, lending itself to serving as a beverage.
Makes 6 cups
5 cups/1½# sliced rhubarb 4 cups/1 L. Water
Simmer in a sauce pan 20 minutes or until rhubarb softens and starts to break down.
Stir, crushing rhubarb with back of spoon. Cool.
The Crushed Rhubarb may be canned in a hot water bath.
USES FOR CRUSHED RHUBARB– use the crushed rhubarb and its liquid instead of orange juice in a smoothie, such as one of these:
After cooking crushed rhubarb, cool the mixture, then run it through a blender/VitaMix to puree it. Jars of puree may be canned in a hot water bath for 15 minutes or frozen.
Uses For Rhubarb Puree: 1.] Use in Smoothies, as above 2.] Use to supplement Orange Juice why supplement your orange juice? 1] better nutrition : reduced calories, increased fiber, increased Calcium, reduced sugar 2] makes purchased OJ go further, saving money
OJ+Rhubarb Juiceyields 8 cupsThis was a real hit at the Drink Your Rhubarb table at the Rhubarb Festival! You should try it. 2 cups Rhubarb puree + 6 cups commercial orange juice Stir together and store in refrigerator.
comparison
calories
fat
fiber
protein
carbs
Calcium
Sugar
1 c. rhubarb PUREE
21
0.2 g
2 g
1 g
4.6 g
87 mg
1 g
1 c. orange juice
110
0 g
0 g
0 g
18g
20 mg
24g
1 c. OJ+Rhubarb
87
0 g
0.5g
0.2 g
46g
37 mg
18 g
Rhubarb Juice
After cooking the Crushed Rhubarb, strain the pulp from the liquid. The color of the juice will vary from light pink to greenish-brown depending on the color of the rhubarb stalk. [I usually save the red parts of the stalks for making the Juice] The juice may be canned in a water bath.
Yield from full batch of rhubarb: 3½ cups of juice + 1½ c. rhubarb mush Yield from 2 cups crushed rhubarb: 1½ c juice + ½ cup rhubarb mush
Summer Sipper on the left, R ‘n’ R on the right.
USES FOR RHUBARB JUICE >>>Summer Sipper: Add ½ cup sugar to 4 cups warm, strained juice, cool it, and drink over ice, garnished with a strawberry and a sprig of mint. Very refreshing.
>>>R ‘n’ R Cocktail: ½ cup Rhubarb Juice with sugar + 1 fluid oz rum, served over ice and garnished with a whole strawberry.
This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, which was started in 2013 to benefit the 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, USA.
The next installment of this blog will be posted on July 4, 2023. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.
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