Rhubarb, ripens in the spring, and makes for a great spring treat. Here is a recipe you can mix with other fruits.
The 'pieplant' provides food in early spring before other foods are available. Pieplant is the old fashion name for rhubarb, the plant that makes good pies, jams, wine, and a tasty enhancement when mixed with other fruits.
Rhubarb grows long succulent tender stalks, which are usually red. Cool temperatures in the spring intensify the redness of the stalks. It is adapted to the cooler climates as it wilts and dies in the warm zones.
The large leaves are heart-shaped and crinkly. Yellow-green flowers spring up in the center of the plant. Usually, the flower stems are cut back as they sap strength from the stalks. When the flowers are allowed to grow, they are deep-fried into a mouth-watering side dish.
Rhubarb leaves are toxic. They contain large amounts of oxalic acid. (Oxalic acid is used in industry to clean metals)
Never cut rhubarb as this causes rot; instead, pull the entire stalk from the base of the plant. Due to the tartness of rhubarb, many cooks blend it with elderberries, strawberries, cherries, and even apples.
A native plant of Mongolia, the inhabitants cherish and cultivate it for the medicinal value of its roots. They brew the roots into a tea to cure almost everything that ailed the sick person. Eventually, they learned to flatten dough and lay chopped stalks of rhubarb on top of the thick dough and cook it. Thus, 'pie plant' became the code word for this early spring plant.
In the 19th Century, rhubarb plants were brought to the United States and grown in the colder climates. Chefs began turning out sauces and jam mixed with an available fruit and honey. This gave birth to the popularity of rhubarb. Today, people in the warm parts of the country treasure rhubarb as a special treat.
