It's All Just Rhubarb - Food and Wine SA
FOOD AND WINE SOUTH AUSTRALIA
SearchSA
Local Focus>Global ReachTM


travel south australiaWelcome to the SA Food and Wine Pages -
 


South AUstralia Travel
  
South Australia Travel
saIt's All Just Rhubarb
travel
  read | comments 0 | score travel charttravel chart 50%
Roslyn Ross - Tuesday, February 27, 2007
  
 
 
 

It's an odd thing, rhubarb. For a start, it has a funny name and it's one that has come to mean 'pointless chatter' or 'waffle.' Goodness knows why, because the real meaning of the word is linked to 'barbarian.' Perhaps if we think someone is a barbarian, then what they say sounds like pointless chatter.

Neither is it a 'beauty' in the garden stakes, although there is something striking, even majestic, about its pink stems and huge, poisonous, ruffled leaves. It's the oxalic acid in the leaves which makes them deadly if eaten and which probably gives them their tough, rustling spread.



The bush in the garden > The bush in the garden

Rhubarb is a plant name for the many different species of Rheum growing in the wild in the mountains of the western and north-western provinces of China and in the adjoining Tibetan territory and now in cultivation throughout the world. The name derives from Middle English rubarbe, Middle French reubarbe, from Medieval Latin reubarbarum, alteration of rha barbarum, literally, barbarian rhubarb, 15th century.

Rhubarb originated in Asia more than 2,000 years ago and was initially cultivated for its medicinal qualities. It contains goodly amounts of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron and vitamins. The Chinese were the first to make use of rhubarb back in 2700 BC, when it was highly regarded for its purgative qualities.

During the Song dynasty (960-1127), rhubarb was taken in times of plague and, in 1828, the Daoguang-emperor sent out an edict to the effect that no more tea and rhubarb must now be sold to the "barbarians". The imperial commissioner, Lin Zexu, who was sent to Canton in 1839 to put an end to the opium trade, wrote to Queen Victoria that foreign barbarians surely would die if they could not obtain tea and rhubarb from China and that the Queen - for this reason should stop the wicked British merchants from trading in opium. Victoria seems never to have had the letter translated and, when Lin Zexu later the same year wrote to the British merchants in Canton telling them that a stop to the rhubarb trade would mean the death for the pitiful foreigners, the pitiful foreigners took it badly. Perhaps the Opium Wars should more rightly be called the Rhubarb Wars.

The English were the first to take rhubarb into the kitchen, sometime around the 18th century. Prior to this rhubarb was grown for medicinal and ornamental purposes. A close relative of garden sorrel, it is definitely a vegetable not a fruit and is rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber. A little rhubarb goes a long way, as I am discovering since I planted some last year down near the creek, on the edge of a well-composted garden bed. To say it is flourishing is an understatement with the plant positively preening in an eruption of pink and deep green. It disappears in Winter, but having staked its claim, will re-appear with something of a vengeance in Spring. It likes full sun and a rich diet, which is no doubt why it is a very happy little camper in my garden bed. If you happen to put in green rhubarb, don't expect it to change colour because both the red, well, really deepish pink and green are naturally occurring variations.

When it is time to pick rhubarb, don't cut it, but give it a good pull and a twist and the stem will separate neatly. If it doesn't want to leave home, then don't force it. There will always be plenty more to pick and you don't need much rhubarb to keep you going. It's worth remembering that rhubarb freezes really well.

But for those who like rhubarb, the slender, pink stems or sticks are delicious, whether simply stewed, pickled, candied or turned into pies, jam, bread, wine or cake. > apps84 >