Rhubarb
Rhubarb’s tart, rosy stalks bring a bright, puckery punch to pies, jams, and savory dishes alike.
In a nutshell
Rhubarb is a cool-weather vegetable almost always treated like a fruit in the kitchen. Its celery-like stalks are intensely sour and nearly inedible raw, but a little heat and sugar transform them into a silky, jewel-toned filling or sauce. Only the stalks are eaten — the leaves are toxic and must always be discarded.
Nutrition
≈ 3 Calories and 0g fat per tablespoon.
Rhubarb is remarkably low in calories and virtually fat-free, making it one of the lightest bases you can build a dessert around before sugar is added. It delivers a modest hit of dietary fiber that supports digestive health, and it’s a decent source of vitamin K, which plays a role in bone metabolism and blood clotting. Rhubarb also contains vitamin C and small amounts of calcium and potassium. Worth noting: it is high in oxalic acid, which can bind to calcium and reduce its absorption, so people prone to kidney stones are generally advised to enjoy it in moderation. Nutrition per 100g via Spoonacular.
Culinary uses & pairings
Rhubarb’s starring role is in pies and crisps, where it’s almost always paired with strawberries or other sweet fruit to balance its sharp acidity. It breaks down quickly with heat, so it also shines in jams, compotes, and preserves — cook it with just sugar and a splash of water and it collapses into a gorgeous pink sauce in under ten minutes. Cakes, muffins, and upside-down cakes welcome chopped rhubarb for a tart counterpoint to rich batters.
Beyond dessert, rhubarb works surprisingly well in savory cooking. Its acidity makes it a natural stand-in for tamarind or vinegar in chutneys alongside pork, duck, or lamb. It can be simmered into a gastrique or barbecue-style sauce, folded into a salsa, or quick-pickled for a tangy garnish on grain bowls and charcuterie boards. A small amount stirred into a braising liquid adds brightness without tasting obviously like pie filling.
Pairs well with
Substitutions
Buying & storage
Look for firm, crisp stalks with a bright, glossy surface — fresh rhubarb should snap cleanly when bent, not bend limply. Deep red stalks are prized for their color, but greener stalks taste just as good and are often more locally abundant; color is a variety trait, not a ripeness indicator. Avoid stalks that are thick and woody toward the base, split, or soft anywhere along their length. At the farmers market, peak season runs from April through June, though hothouse rhubarb appears in stores as early as January. Always confirm the leaves have been removed before you take it home, and never buy any bunch where the leaves are still attached and look wilted or suspicious.
Varieties
- Victoria: The most widely grown garden variety in the US; stalks are greenish-pink with a reliably tart flavor and sturdy texture good for all uses.
- Canada Red: Deeply red inside and out with a slightly sweeter flavor than most varieties; a favorite for pies and jams where vibrant color matters.
- Valentine: Bright red, tender stalks with excellent flavor; bred specifically for home gardens and matures a bit earlier than other varieties.
- Hothouse (forced) rhubarb: Grown in warm, dark sheds in winter; stalks are pale pink to magenta, very tender, and milder in flavor — a traditional English delicacy now gaining fans in the US.
Recipes using rhubarb
3 recipes across our recipe sites use rhubarb. A few favorites:
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History & origin
Rhubarb originated in central Asia, where its dried roots were used medicinally in China for over 2,000 years as a purgative long before anyone thought to eat the stalks. It traveled the Silk Road to Persia and eventually reached Europe by the 17th century, still prized mainly as a costly herbal remedy. Once sugar became more affordable in Britain and New England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, cooks discovered the stalks’ culinary potential and ‘pie plant’ — as rhubarb was widely called — became a springtime staple. It naturalized easily in North American gardens and was especially popular on the frontier, where it was one of the first edible plants to emerge after a long winter.
How it’s made
Rhubarb is a hardy perennial vegetable that dies back to the ground each winter and re-sprouts from its crown every spring. Farmers and gardeners plant crowns (root divisions) rather than seeds, and a well-tended plant can produce for a decade or more. Stalks are harvested by pulling and twisting rather than cutting, which encourages new growth. Forced hothouse rhubarb is a specialized practice in which dormant crowns are moved into heated, completely dark sheds after a cold period; deprived of light, the plants stretch toward any available source, producing extraordinarily tender, pale pink stalks with a sweeter, more delicate flavor. Leaves are always removed immediately after harvest since they contain high concentrations of oxalic acid and are not safe to eat.
Good to know
- Rhubarb is botanically a vegetable, but a 1947 US Customs Court ruling classified it as a fruit for trade purposes because that’s how it was primarily used — and the name stuck in popular culture.
- The leaves contain dangerously high levels of oxalic acid and can cause serious illness if eaten in quantity; they should be discarded carefully and kept away from animals.
- Yorkshire’s ‘Rhubarb Triangle’ — a small area of northern England between Wakefield, Morley, and Rothwell — is famous worldwide for forced hothouse rhubarb harvested by candlelight each winter.
- One established rhubarb crown can produce harvestable stalks for 10 to 15 years with good care, making it one of the most rewarding long-term plants a home gardener can grow.
- Rhubarb’s vivid red-pink color comes from anthocyanins, the same pigment family found in red cabbage, blueberries, and red wine.
