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Rhubarb can be preserved very easily, for example by freezing or boiling. We have collected our tips for you.
Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) tastes delicious in many variations and can also be preserved with a few tips. The freshly harvested rhubarb stalks can be kept for up to a week, but peeling becomes more and more difficult with age. Wrapped in damp kitchen towels and placed in the fridge, the rhubarb stalks will keep for up to two weeks. Nevertheless, it is advisable to only harvest as much as you currently need. This protects the strength of your rhubarb plant.
Pro tip: Be sure to remove the rhubarb leaves, which are poisonous anyway. If the leaves are not removed, the rhubarb stalks lose water unnecessarily and quickly become limp.
Preserving Rhubarb
If you lose your appetite for fresh rhubarb during the rhubarb season, there are ways to preserve it. We have put together everything you need to know about freezing and preserving rhubarb so that you can enjoy your tasty rhubarb harvest for as long as possible. At the end of the article we also share some tips about the oxalic acid contained in rhubarb.
Freeze Rhubarb
Rhubarb can be frozen in just a few steps. Wash the stalks well with water and peel the rhubarb. It is then advisable to cut the sticks into smaller pieces and place them in a suitable container for the freezer. So you can still enjoy your rhubarb harvest at any time. The frozen pieces are particularly suitable for later processing into compotes or cakes. However, if frozen rhubarb is to be used in a cake, it is important that the rhubarb is completely thawed and drained first.
Freezing Rhubarb Summary:
- Wash the rhubarb thoroughly
- Peel the rhubarb and cut into pieces
- Suitable container for the freezerselect
Preserving rhubarb
If you cannot process your rhubarb in time or want to preserve it for later enjoyment, you can boil it down. Rhubarb compote or jam is particularly excellent in combination with strawberries or raspberries.
Before preserving, wash and peel the rhubarb and cut into slices about a centimeter wide. Before actually cooking, the rhubarb should be blanched. Depending on the piece size, put it in boiling water for a maximum of 30 seconds to reduce the oxalic acid content. You should not use this water for the subsequent preserving. Basically, rhubarb can be boiled in two ways: just in water or as a sweet alternative with sugar and without water. For the first variant, you need three to four parts of rhubarb in relation to one part of water. If you prefer the sweeter alternative, you should sprinkle the rhubarb with some sugar and let it steep for half an hour. This will allow juice to escape and serve as the cooking liquid.
With both variants, you can refine the rhubarb with ginger, lemon juice, vanilla or cinnamon, depending on your taste. Now the rhubarb is only cooked to the desired consistency, whereby ten minutes can often be enough. After cooking, it is filled into sterilized jars while still hot and these are tightly closed. Place the jars on their lids until completely cool. The boiled rhubarb will keep for several months in a dark place. When you open the jars, make sure you hear the typical cracking noise.
Summary of cooking rhubarb:
- Wash the rhubarb and cut into centimetre-wide slices
- Blanch the rhubarb pieces in boiling water for a maximum of 30 seconds
- You can either boil the rhubarb in water or in sugar
- If you just want to boil it in water, you need three to four parts of rhubarb to one part of water
- To cook rhubarb in sugar, sprinkle the blanched pieces with a little sugar and leave for half an hour to allow the liquid to escape
- Cook the rhubarb to the desired consistency and pour into sterilized jars and place on the lid to cool
- The boiled rhubarb can easily be stored in a jar in a dark place for severalmonths
Important: When processing rhubarb, it is important to ensure that rhubarb is not placed in aluminum containers or cooked and is not covered with aluminum foil. The acid contained in the rhubarb attacks the aluminum and releases dangerous substances!
Enjoy rhubarb
Rhubarb sticks contain a lot of vitamin C and taste great in desserts, cakes, juices and jam. Rhubarb leaves, on the other hand, are poisonous and must not be eaten.
The typical plaque that one feels after eating rhubarb is evidence of the oxalic acid contained in rhubarb. This acid, which is also found in spinach and chard, impairs iron absorption in the body. People suffering from iron deficiency should not consume food containing rhubarb with or immediately after other meals. People suffering from gout, rheumatism, arthritis or kidneys should generally be cautious about eating foods containing oxalic acid. The oxalic acid in rhubarb is half the battle if you consider a few tips:
- People with kidney or bladder stones should generally avoid rhubarb
- Oxalic acid is increasingly found in the leaves and outer layers of rhubarb; Leaves must therefore be removed generously; the stalks of the rhubarb should always be peeled
- Rhubarb varieties such as Elmsblitz or Elmsjuwel produce only little oxalic acid, which is why they are very popular in private gardens
- Rhubarb goes well with dairy products and can be eaten; the calcium contained binds with the oxalic acid to form calcium oxalate and is later excreted by the body
You can find more about rhubarb varieties with less oxalic acid in our special article.