Bennington Rhubarb Festival – Page 3 – benningtonnhRhubarbblog

Rhubarb Wine

August 1st, 2023

Wine from grapes has been produced and enjoyed for millennia. Wine from other fruits, called ‘country wines‘ have probably been produced for just as long. Rhubarb, although not a ‘fruit,’ makes a very pleasant wine. In the past, country wines were often sweet, but that does not have to be the case. Rhubarb wines can be dry or off-dry as you wish.

At the Bennington Rhubarb Festival in 2019, we introduced a competition for New England Rhubarb Wines — open to professional and amateur wine makers. The contest went on hiatus during the Pandemic and came back this year for the 2nd time. Although there has been a revival of country wine making in Northern New England, very few of the vintners in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont produce a rhubarb wine. The state that makes the most rhubarb wine is North Dakota.

The winning wines from the 2023 New England Rhubarb Wine Competition were from Vermont and New Hampshire.

Try making your own Rhubarb Wine! If you live in New England, enter it in next year’s competition. The recipe that I prefer is from First Steps in Winemaking, by C.J.J. Berry. This looks long and complicated, but most of the effort is in short spurts and the rest of the time the wine is ‘working’ or ‘resting.

Equipment:

cheesecloth or a jelly bag
plastic bucket with 2-gallon volume and a lid
large collander [to fit within the plastic bucket]
large bowl or pot, larger than 1 gallon
hydrometer and cylinder for using it
Camden tablets + Citric Acid, to make sterilyzing solution
2 one-gallon glass jugs [think jug wine]
6 standard 750 ml wine bottles [one for now, 5 for later]
funnel which fits inside a wine bottle
1 jug-stopper air lock
1 wine-stopper air lock
5-6 new wine corks
corking machine or rubber mallet

Ingredients to make 1 US gallon = five 750 ml wine bottles:

2½ pounds rhubarb stalks 2 pounds sugar
1 gallon water
250 ml white grape concentrate
1 tsp yeast nutrient
½ tsp pectic enzyme
2 tsp wine yeast

Day 1	Camden Solution Rhubarb, cut in 1” pieces *Sugar	Put the rhubarb and sugar put in a sterilized plastic bucket with a lid. Let sit around 24 hours, until most of the sugar is dissolved. The rhubarb will give off some liquid.
Day 2	Large bowl/pot of 1-2 gallons in volume Collander 1 gallon water 250 ml [1 cup] white grape concentrate	Mark the side of the large bowl or pot so you know where it holds 1 gallon of volume. Pour fruit/sugar into a collander over the bowl/pot. There will still be some sugar in the bucket, so pour some water into the plastic bucket and swirl around. Pour the sugar water over the rhubarb and sugar in collander. Keep pouring water over the fruit to wash the sugar and rhubarb juice from the fruit. YOU MIGHT NOT USE ALL OF THE GALLON OF WATER, due to melted sugar and rhubarb juices. Now you have left-over rhubarb for cooking – suitable for a pie or coffeecake, but not for jam/jelly since it is an unpalatable color. Stop adding water when there is 1 gallon of water/sugar/juice in the bowl. Pour sugar-water back into the plastic bucket. Add grape concentrate to the water in the bucket.
Day 2	1 tsp yeast nutrient ½ tsp pectic enzyme *2 tsp white wine yeast	AT THIS POINT, USE THE HYDROMETER TO DETERMINE THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY. Write it down. Add nutrient, enzyme, and yeast to plastic bucket. Cover the bucket.
Day 3		Let sit for 8-24 hours, until it starts to bubble. Little bubbles, not a ‘full rolling boil.’
Day 4	Camden Solution 1 gallon glass jug sterilized wine bottle air-lock for each vessel	Pour wine into a sterilized 1 gallon glass jug.Fill up to 1” below the neck, not to top of the bottle.If you have extra wine, pour it into a sterilized wine bottle so that the wine fills at least half of the bottle.Put airlocks on the jug and the bottle. Label the vessels.Put aside in a dark place that is cooler than room temperature but not cold. Let it sit for 3 months.
Three Months	Sterilized jug	There will be some sludgy-looking stuff [dead yeast and fine sediment, called ‘lees’] on the bottom of the bottles. Sterilize another jug and pour the wine carefully into the new jug so that the lees stay in the old jug. Pour the lees down the drain – it is very good for the septic tank! Top off the large jug with wine from the other bottle.
6-12 Months	Flashlight hydrometer *Sugar syrup [simple syrup]	Check to see if the wine has cleared: Shine a flashlight through it. If it looks cloudy, continue to let it sit. When wine is clear, pour it off into a sterilized jug as before. USE HYDROMETER TO TEST SPECIFIC GRAVITY. IT SHOULD FLOAT AT 1.000. IF IT FLOATS LOWER, ADD SOME SIMPLE SYRUP. IF IT FLOATS HIGHER, LET IT SIT LONGER OR ADD A LITTLE WATER.
		Taste a bit of the wine to see if it to your liking. Add simple syrup a bit at a time to improve the taste. DO NOT ADD TOO MUCH OR THE WINE WILL REFERMENT AND YOUR CORKS WILL POP OFF, SPILLING THE WINE.
	Camden Solution 5-6 standard wine bottles funnel small enough to fit in the neck of the bottles 5-6 new wine corks-*wine corking machine or rubber mallet	Wash and sterilize 5-6 standard wine bottles. Sterilize the funnel. Boil some water, take off heat and submerge corks in the water for no more than 10 minutes. Remove from water and keep on a plate covered with a lid. Pour wine into each bottle until 2-3” below top of bottle. Dip each cork in Camden Solution, then using the corker or mallet, put the cork fully into each bottle.
		Label the bottles with the name and date of the wine. Lay bottles on their side in a cool place for one or more years to age and improve before drinking.

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 29 August 2023. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.

Crushed Rhubarb: its many uses

June 6th, 2023

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.

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:

>>Berry-Yogurt Smoothie >>Blueberry Smoothie >>Fruit Smoothie

Rhubarb Puree

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 Juice yields 8 cups This 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	24 g
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.

USES FOR RHUBARB MUSH >>Rhubarb Pudding >>Rhubarb Creme Brulee >>smoothies

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.

Rhubarb Pie

May 9th, 2023

Two of the hottest topics at the Bennington, New Hampshire Rhubarb Festival are: where can I buy a pie? and who won the Rhubarb Pie baking contest? Rhubarb pie has been baked in England and the USA since the 1700s.

If you want to enter the Pie Baking Contest at the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, you should know how to make a pie. Here is a tutorial. But be aware: although the recipe is really quite simple, there are controversies at each stage of preparation.

In 2018, the Town Select Board turned out to judge the rhubarb pies. They were very serious about the job.

Crust: Lard or butter? Oil or shortening? Which fat to choose to make a flakey crust is a perennial debate. There is no hard and fast rule on this. Find a good recipe for a butter crust or a lard crust or a combination of the two. NOTE: for the Rhubarb Festival Pie Contest, you must prepare the crust with some sort of King Arthur Flour, and prove it by showing the bag that contained the flour.

Sugar: How much? To consult some well-known New England experts, Fannie Farmer’s Cookbook uses less sugar than Hayden Pearson in his Country Flavor’s Cookbook. My mother used so much sugar in her pie, that there was a layer of it on the bottom crust. Too much sugar negates the delightful tartness of rhubarb.

Thickener: Flour? Tapioca? Corn starch? Many, many opinions on this topic! Rhubarb is so juicy that it requires something to sop up the liquid. Read the link provided, and make up your own mind.

Egg: yes or no? Fannie Farmer says ‘yes.’ Hayden Pearson says ‘never.’ One egg helps to firm up the innards of the pie. Two eggs make it a custard.

Topping: Lattice or top crust or crumble? Full top crust is familiar. Lattice makes it look special. Crumble top is easy, though some say that is reserved for an apple pie.

Here is my recipe, for what it is worth…

Serves 6-8	9” pie plate
dough for 1-2 pie crusts	Prepare dough. Roll out half and line pie plate.
4½ cups rhubarb	Cut in ½” slices and put in a large bowl.
1 cup sugar— 2 Tbsp King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour –1 two-oz egg	Add these all to rhubarb and stir well to incorporate all ingredients and to coat the rhubarb evenly. Scrape into lined pie plate.
Topping 1: Pie dough for 1 crust	Wet the edges of the bottom crust with water. Roll out into a large circle and lay it over the pie. Trim edges, then crimp the crusts together decoratively.
Topping 2: Pie dough for 1 crust	Roll out into a large rectangle and cut long strips, each ½’ wide. Lay strips over the pie and weave them over-and-under to form a lattice top.
Topping 3: ½ c rolled oats— ¼ c flour— ½ c brown sugar — ¼ tsp cinnamon —5 Tbsp butter	Put these in a food processor and pulse until they form crumbs. Scatter a healthy amount atop the pie. You may have some left over for another pie.
	Heat oven to 400F. Bake pie 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 350F and bake 30 minutes until bubbling in the center. Cover with foil if browning too rapidly.

There are two categories in the Pie Contest at the Bennington Rhubarb Festival.

Section	Description	Prizes
1.King Arthur Baking Contest	Pie: > 100% rhubarb – no other fruits added >7-9” in diameter, >1 or 2 crust > in disposable pan > must show the opened bag of King Arthur Flour used to make the pie or show the UPC cut from the bag. > open to amateur bakers of all ages.	1^st $75 gift card for King Arthur catalogue + Ribbon 2^nd $50 catalogue gift card + Ribbon 3^rd $25 catalogue gift card + Ribbon
2. Professional Baking Contest	>100% Rhubarb Pie any size >1 or 2 crust in disposable pan > open to bakers from restaurants and bakeries	1^st Prize Rolling Pin

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 6. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.

Rhubarb: what is it?

April 11th, 2023

Every year at the Rhubarb Festival, we are asked, “Just what is Rhubarb?” So if that is where you are starting, you have come to the right place.

Rhubarb is a very hardy perennial plant, so tenacious that it will survive from growth zone 8 to zone 3. It is part of the Buckwheat Family [Polygonaceae] of plants, the cousin of sheep sorrel and curly dock [Rumex crispus]. Garden rhubarb in the United States is Rheum rhabarbarum, one of dozens of varieties within that Genus. The roots are long, woody, and look somewhat like huge carrots. They are referred to as ‘crowns.’ Around here, the Rhubarb starts to come up in April: a red, bud-like knob of curled leaf, crowning through the soil. Then come the stalks, pushing the leaves higher into the air. The stalks can be three feet tall, colored red or green. The leaf is heart-shaped and very wide. At this point, the stems can be harvested for eating. [What can one cook with rhubarb? Several future blogs will address that, recipes included.] Please note: although those leaves look good enough to eat, they contain high amounts of the toxin Oxalic Acid. DO NOT EAT THE LEAVES.

From the first pink buds pushing up, to the full leaf unfurling, it is a treat to watch the changes as the Rhubarb grows. *photos from University of Wisconsin-Madison.*

By June, the flower stalks rise high above the leaves, carrying bunches of tiny, frothy flowers looking like cumulus clouds. Gardeners in the know are aware that these stalks must be cut down. If a Rhubarb plant blooms, then the stalks become too tough and woody to eat. This has lead to the erroneous notion that Rhubarb is available only in the Spring. No so. If you cut down the flower stalks, you can harvest the stems until September.

At the Bennington New Hampshire Rhubarb Festival, there are contests for ‘Longest Stalk’ and ‘Widest Leaf,’ as well as ‘Rhubarb Photography’ and ‘Rhubarb Flower Arrangement.’

Rhubarb stalks come in many colors, which has no affect on the flavor or tartness.

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

The Bennington Rhubarb Festival

March 14th, 2023

In 2013, neighbors Janice and Molly decided to start a rhubarb celebration. Why? you might ask. They were looking for a fund-raising activity to benefit the town library’s building fund, and they thought that it was high time that there was a town fest of some sort. Rhubarb is the ‘first fruit of the season’ and by early June, the plant is up and thriving in gardens all over the region. No other town in the area had a Rhubarb Festival, so it had to be Rhubarb! After much planning, they held a bake sale on the Library Lawn in early June. The next year, a baking contest, a face-painter, craft sellers, a children’s Fun Run, and a basket raffle joined the bake sale. By 2020, the Town’s Recreation Committee was involved in the planning, but there was no Festival that year at all due to the Pandemic.

Resuming in 2021, the Festival had moved from the Library Lawn to a town ball-field to give us more room. Events began on Friday evening with live music, food trucks, and contest entries being delivered. Many more crafters, a petting-zoo, the Rhubarb Store, a Hollerin’ Contest, and Drink Your Rhubarb made the Festival larger and even more fun. The King Arthur Flour company sponsored the Pie Baking Contest — Rhubarb of course — and money was raised for the Library Building Fund from the sale of baked goods and books.

The Festival is still going strong and is always held on the first weekend of June, on Saturday, beginning at 10 am. This year will be our 10th anniversary. Plan to join us at Sawyer Park, Bennington, NH. If you would like to help out, please send your contact info to Rhubarb Committee, c/o G.E.P. Dodge Library . If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

The next installment will be posted on April 11. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.