Info, tips, recipes: everything you need to know about rhubarb

Rhubarb belongs to spring like asparagus and strawberries – and is often combined with it.

But there are many questions and uncertainties about the stick vegetables (no fruit!), which we have now got to the bottom of. Of course, we also tell you delicious rhubarb recipes.

Anyone who has their own garden knows that the first rhubarb stalks sprout as early as April with the first warm rays of sunshine. From the beginning of May, rhubarb from regional outdoor cultivation should be available everywhere in Germany. Traditionally, the stem vegetables are only harvested until St. John’s Day (June 24), as the oxalic acid content in the stalks is too high in summer and a large portion of rhubarb can be harmful to health. The sooner rhubarb is harvested and processed, the less oxalic acid it contains.

Preparing Rhubarb: How Unhealthy Is Oxalic Acid?

Rhubarb is very rarely attacked by pests, which is why it is one of the few types of fruit and vegetables from conventional cultivation that are rarely or only slightly contaminated with pesticides.

Nevertheless, you should always opt for food from controlled organic cultivation. You can find out more about the advantages here: When organic really is organic

Rhubarb not only contains a lot of minerals such as iron, potassium and phosphorus as well as a lot of vitamin C and a lot of fiber, but also a lot of acid. The main focus is on the oxalic acid. This is also found in other types of vegetables, such as spinach, chard or parsley. Green rhubarb contains more of it than red-fleshed varieties. Oxalic acid is harmful to health in large quantities, which is why you should only eat rhubarb occasionally because:

Oxalic acid removes calcium from the body
It reduces the absorption of iron
It promotes the formation of kidney stones
For these reasons, there are a few things to keep in mind when processing rhubarb:

Rhubarb should always be consumed in combination with calcium-rich foods, such as dairy products or nuts
It should better not end up on the plate of people with kidney stones
Better not to consume in combination with iron supplements or in case of iron deficiency.
Children should not eat rhubarb in large quantities.

Before preparation: do I have to peel the rhubarb?

The leaves of rhubarb contain a particularly large amount of oxalic acid, which is why they do not belong in green smoothies. Although newer breeds have a thinner skin on the stalks than the old rhubarb from grandma’s garden, there is still a lot of oxalic acid in the thin skin. Therefore, always peel rhubarb before processing it to reduce the oxalic acid content.

Throwing away the cooking water or steaming the rhubarb also helps to remove as much oxalic acid as possible before consumption.

So that the oxalic acid does not combine with the body’s calcium and thus withdraw it from the body, you should always combine rhubarb with calcium-rich foods. If you’re vegan, make sure the plant-based drinks used in rhubarb dishes are fortified with calcium.

The furry feeling on the teeth after eating rhubarb also comes from the oxalic acid, which dissolves the tooth enamel. In order not to damage your teeth, you should not brush your teeth immediately after eating rhubarb, but wait about an hour until your saliva has remineralized the tooth enamel. Alternatively, milk or a remineralizing mouthwash can also help.

If you follow these tips and hints, you can enjoy rhubarb with a clear conscience!

Can you eat rhubarb raw?

Most well-known rhubarb recipes are based on boiled or baked rhubarb. Again and again one reads that rhubarb should not be eaten raw. This stems from the advice to cook the vegetables before eating to reduce the oxalic acid content by discarding the cooking water. However, raw rhubarb is generally not poisonous.

Although oxalic acid is released from the rhubarb during cooking, steaming or blanching and thus removed, this also applies to vitamins and minerals, and the vitamin C contained in it is destroyed by heat. So when you cook rhubarb raw, it contains more vitamins and minerals.

How do you preserve rhubarb?

If rhubarb is ready to be harvested, more will usually grow back within a short period of time than you can or want to eat. Fresh rhubarb will keep in the fridge for up to a week if wrapped in a damp cloth. If you want to save the spring delights for the winter, you can do so in a number of ways:

You can freeze rhubarb well. Before that you should peel it and cut it into pieces. However, when thawed, rhubarb becomes quite soft, it is then no longer really enjoyable to eat raw, but is good for baking, rhubarb compote, smoothies or desserts.

Anyone who has mastered the technique of “canning” can preserve rhubarb in jars. Here, too, the rhubarb should be peeled and cut into pieces before preserving. If you open a jar in the winter, discard the boiling water, as some of the oxalic acid is in it.

The vegetables are perfect for storing in the form of rhubarb jam, jelly or compote. A trick to using less sugar for sweetening is to prepare rhubarb (and other sour fruits) with a little baking soda. Baking soda neutralizes the fruit acids and reduces the amount of sugar needed.

Rhubarb recipes: savory and sweet

Traditionally, the sour sticks are processed into compote, rhubarb jam or cake – almost always in combination with calcium-rich dairy products such as quark on the rhubarb cake, the milk in the semolina pudding or in the vanilla sauce. If the rhubarb recipe does not include a dairy product, you should ensure your own calcium intake, for example by drinking a glass of milk or a milk alternative fortified with calcium, eating nuts with it or serving an appropriate dessert.

In Europe, rhubarb is almost always processed like fruit into desserts. In its homeland, the Himalayas, it is used as a vegetable and often combined with meat or fish in hearty dishes. We have recipe suggestions for you that are vegan or vegetarian.

Recipe: Vegetable stew with rhubarb and mint yoghurt

The rhubarb stew can be prepared vegan or vegetarian. For two people you need:

150 grams of red onions
2 cloves of garlic
250g rhubarb
300 g tomato pieces
100 grams of carrots
200 grams of potatoes
1 pinch baking soda
2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
250 ml vegetable broth
500 g yoghurt (animal or plant-based)
Fresh mint
Pepper, salt, turmeric, mild curry powder
frying oil

Here’s how it works: Cut the onions in half rings. Dice the potatoes and carrots into cubes about 2 by 2 centimeters. Peel the rhubarb and cut it into pieces about 2 cm in size.

Fry the onions in some oil along with the crushed garlic. Then pour in the vegetable broth and add the tomato pieces, rhubarb, diced carrots and diced potatoes.

Season with a heaping teaspoon of turmeric and just as much mild curry powder. Simmer gently for about an hour. The rhubarb disintegrates completely and forms the basis of the stew. When everything has boiled down, add a pinch of baking soda. The stew foams while neutralizing some of the acidity. Only then add the honey and season with pepper, salt and possibly a little more turmeric.

For the mint yoghurt, finely chop the fresh mint leaves and mix them into the (vegetable) natural yoghurt. Season with a little salt and serve the mint yoghurt as a sauce for the creamy stew.

Tip: If you like (and have), replace the curry powder with saffron or spice up the stew with some chili. When the first celery is ripe in June, it goes very well with it. If more people need to be fed, you can combine the dish with rice.

Recipe for rhubarb semolina cream

Anyone who finds rhubarb compote with semolina porridge boring will be happy about this recipe, which makes a lot more out of almost the same ingredients. For four sweet tooths you need:

300 grams of rhubarb
50 grams of sugar
250ml of water
50 grams of semolina
1 cup cream or vegetable alternative
1 bag of vanilla sugar
1 pinch baking soda
And this is how it works: Peel the rhubarb and cut into small pieces and let it simmer in water until it falls apart. Then stir in the baking soda and, after foaming, season with sugar and vanilla sugar. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the semolina.

Leave to cool completely in the fridge. Whip the cream until stiff (tip: some types of soy cream work well for this) and beat the rhubarb semolina until creamy. Fold in the cream and serve the dessert cold.

Tip: If you cook some strawberries as well, the foam will turn a nice pink colour. The recipe also works well with apples instead of rhubarb in winter.

Rhubarb Recipe: Spring Smoothie

Do you know rhubarb cake with almonds and marzipan? Not really healthy – but as a smoothie without sugar and butter at least as tasty and healthier. We recommend using organic ingredients. For a large piece of liquid “rhubarb cake with marzipan” in a jar you need:

250 grams of strawberries
200 grams of rhubarb
1 tablespoon ground almonds or 1 teaspoon almond butter
some water
bitter almond oil
This smoothie is not suitable for preparation with a blender; the fibers of the rhubarb would quickly clog the knife. Therefore, use a powerful blender (available** online from Otto, Saturn, Mediamarkt, Amazon, etc.) or a smoothie maker with sharp knives.

How to do it: Wash the rhubarb and cut into slices. Wash and roughly chop the strawberries. Blend into a smoothie with a little water and almond butter (or grated almonds). Flavor with bitter almond oil.

Tip: If the rhubarb smoothie is too sour for you, you can remove some of the acid with a pinch of baking soda. Foaming then occurs, showing that baking soda is neutralizing excess acid.