Rhubarb is beautiful.

Rhubarb is colourful.  There are numerous varieties of rhubarb ranging in colour from celery green to strawberry red.  But take note, colour is not an indication of sweetness.  Trust me, when I tasted these three varieties, they all tasted equally tart to me!

Rhubarb is tart.  It does require some form of sweetener, which may leave you wondering, why bother?  If you have to load it up with sugar, isn’t it better not to eat it at all?

If you’re a purist and you don’t consume jam, syrup, muffins, crisps, bars, or fruit beverages then yes, you probably would find rhubarb of limited use.  However, while our family is trying to cut back on sugar, we still eat those foods, and when we do, I want our choices to be good ones.  As much as possible, we prefer food that’s home grown, local and homemade so that we control the ingredients.  Why not take advantage of the fact that rhubarb is local, cheap, and a source of fibre, vitamin C, Vitamin K and calcium.

Which would you prefer for your family?

• toast with store bought fruit jam or homemade rhubarb jam
• pancakes with syrup or stewed rhubarb
• muffins with store bought frozen cranberries or local rhubarb
• koolaid or rhubarb slush

And, of course all things in moderation.  I’m more likely to give my kids water or milk with their meal than rhubarb slush, but on those special occasions I would much rather serve a glass of rhubarb slush than koolaid or pop.

Why not give rhubarb another chance?  Try some of Fruit Share’s favourite rhubarb recipes.