Rhubarb Special Sauce

submitted by Linda Muth

When you think of "special sauce" in Wisconsin, you think about that tasty stuff at the condiment station at Miller Park - you know - the stuff you squeeze onto your brat or Italian sausage.

The suggestion that you might want to replace THAT special sauce with a rhubarb-based product might seem way out in left field, but seriously, once you make this stuff, you will not only squeeze it out over your sausages, but will find yourself licking it up by the spoonful.

This recipe is based off of a similar recipe featured in the summer 2016 issue of "Graze" - the magazine put out by Outpost Foods.  My version is a result of not having the exact ingredients suggested in the Outpost recipe, and because I always like to mix things up a bit.

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups of sliced rhubarb (1/4 to 1/2 inch slices)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (or whatever kind you have)
5 cardamom pods*
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated fresh ginger**
1/2 cup lavender vinegar (or any fragrant floral or fruity vinegar)
1/8 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or toss in part of a chopped up pepper or roasted pepper - not too spicy)
1/2 tsp paprika
3 Tbsp honey

*You could try substituting 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp of ground cardamom
**I keep a chunk of ginger in the freezer, but you could substitute 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Dump everything into a pot.  Simmer and stir frequently for about 40 minutes until the rhubarb is soft.  Find the cardamom pod shells and remove them.  Use an immersion blender and blend until smooth.  Place into prepared canning jars and process the jars using a hot water bath, boiling for 8 minutes.  Carefully remove the jars and place them on a towel and listen for the lids to pop.  Do not disturb them for 12-24 hours.

What to do with Rhubarb

As promised, we are posting recipes which use rhubarb.  We do not have photos, but as soon as we do some baking we will add the pics.  You can also send us photos of your creations!

Fresh Rhubarb Crisp

Topping Ingredients:
1 cup sifted flour  (you can use unbleached, whole wheat and/or organic)
1/2 cup raw rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter






Filling Ingredients:
4 cups fresh rhubarb (previously washed and cut int 1/2 inch pieces)**
3/4 cup regular sugar (you can use any healthy substitute for white sugar)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water**

**You can use 4 cups of cut frozen rhubarb, which will be very juicy.  Do NOT use the 1/2 cup water if you use frozen rhubarb.

1.  Preheat oven to 375º F
2.  Melt butter in a small pan on the stove or in the microwave.
3.  Combine flour, oats and sugar in a medium bowl.
4.  With a fork, stir butter into flour mixture until the mixture is crumbly.
5.  Use the butter wrapper to grease an 8 x 8 x 2 inch backing pan/dish.    You might need to add a little extra butter or vegetable shortening.
6.  Dump all of the filling ingredients into the pan and mix it together with a rubber spatula until it is well-mixed.
7.  Sprinkle the crumbly topping all over the rhubarb mix and use your fingers to gently spread it out evenly.
8.  Bake until the topping is golden brown and the rhubarb is thick and bubbly.  It takes 35 - 50 minutes, depending on your oven and the rhubarb.
9.  Cool.  Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

Tips:  Set the pan on top of a piece of foil if your pan is full.  If it bubbles over it will not mess up your oven.  If the topping seems like it is getting too dark before the rhubarb is cooked and bubbly, you can loosely cover the pan with foil.

Submitted by Miss Linda

Easy Rhubarb Sauce

Ingredients:

Any amount of rhubarb, washed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
A little bit of water
Sugar to taste

Put the rhubarb in a deep sauce pan.  Add water so that there is about an inch of water in the bottom of the pan.  Cook over medium heat, until the rhubarb starts to break apart into strings.  Stir the rhubarb every now and then with a metal spoon.  If the sauce seems to think, add just a little bit of extra water.  Once the rhubarb is soft, turn the heat to very low.  Add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time and stir until your sauce tastes just as sweet as you want it.  After the sugar dissolves, turn off the heat.  The sauce will be VERY hot, so let it cool.  You can eat it warm, or cold.  You can eat it all by itself, or as a topping over ice cream, over fruit or over granola.

Options:
Substitute brown sugar for white sugar.  Add a little cinnamon.

Submitted by Miss Linda

Rhubarb Basics

Harvest from one of our plants

Did you know that rhubarb is a vegetable and that it originally grew in China?  It was brought to

 Europe by Marco Polo, where it was grown as a medicinal plant.  Eventually it came to North America with European immigrants.  It needs freezing cold winters to help the root to produce new spring growth, and it does not like hot summer temperatures.  Therefore, it grows really well in Wisconsin!

The rhubarb that grows in All Peoples Global Garden comes from a mother root that is more than 100 years old.  Pieces of the root were handed down through five generations of a church family.  Every time the family has moved, pieces of the root have been dug up and planted in new locations.  Pieces of the root were planted at All Peoples in 2014.  All Peoples rhubarb has bright red stems with a little hint of green in them, but there are other types of rhubarb that vary from green to pink and different colors of red.

Rhubarb flower stalk headed for the compost pile

In the spring, new stems shoot up from the root.  During the first year, it is best not to pick any stems.  During the second year, it is best to pick about half of the stems.  From then on, it is OK to harvest most of the stems.  To harvest rhubarb, you grasp one stem firmly near the base and pull.  Pull one stem at a time, taking the fattest and longest ones first.  Rhubarb can be harvested over several weeks in the spring, and sometimes throughout the summer or after a second sprouting at the end of summer.   If you harvest rhubarb in the cooler part of the day, it stays crisper.   Leave some of the stems that get scarred from the soil or heavy rain so that their leaves can give energy to the roots for future growth.  If a flower stalk forms, pick it so that the plant continues to give most of its energy to producing good stems and not seeds (unless you want to harvest seeds for future planting).

There is a plant called common burdock that likes to grow near the rhubarb.  It looks a lot like rhubarb, but has hairy, hollow stems and produces tall stalks that eventually produce burrs.  The root (and other parts of the burdock plant) are used by some people to make medicine.  It is never good to eat any plant that you do not know is good as a food, because medicinal plants can harm your body and many plants contain poisons.

Rhubarb stems are food.  Rhubarb leaves are poisonous.  Do not eat them.  Cut the leaf from each stem right after harvesting.  Cut the little end off the stem base too.  The leaves and the ends can be tossed into your compost pile.

Remove the stem from the leaf

Remove the end of the stem

Do not eat the leaves and do not let your pets eat them

Stems ready for use

Wash each stem thoroughly.  Place the stems on a towel to dry.  

Rhubarb can be used in recipes right away (or within a day or two if you keep the whole stems wrapped in a damp towel and plastic wrap in the fridge).  It is easy and convenient to freeze the rhubarb.  By freezing rhubarb in measured quantities, you can save up enough for a favorite recipe.  Freeze rhubarb as soon as possible after picking to produce the best results.  

  Cut the washed rhubarb stems into 1/2 inch pieces.  If the stems are a little wet, that is OK.  Use it right away or put the cut rhubarb into freezer bags or containers.  Recycled yogurt or cottage cheese tubs work well because they hold about 4 cups of cut rhubarb (and many recipes call for 4 cups of cut rhubarb!)  Be sure to label the container or bag with "rhubarb" and the date.  Frozen rhubarb keeps for 1 year in the freezer. 

 Frozen rhubarb is a little more watery than fresh, so you may need to eliminate or reduce the amount of water in recipes for baked items if you use frozen rhubarb.


Rhubarb is a healthy vegetable which contains fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium and calcium.  It is fairly acidic or "sour" so many recipes call for the addition of sugar or honey.  You can add other fruits such as peaches, strawberries or blueberries when making a sauce, pie or cake with rhubarb, and then you will not need as much sugar.


Did you know that you can eat rhubarb raw?  It is a great addition to a salad!  Try mixing salad greens, chopped celery, chopped rhubarb, goat cheese or feta cheese and sunflower nuts or walnuts with a simple honey-mustard vinaigrette for an adventurous salad.

Do you have some favorite rhubarb recipes to share?  Simply email them to office@allpeoplesgathering.org or put them right into the comment section.  We will post a Rhubarb Recipe Blog featuring the best recipes!

Rhubarb Basics submitted by Linda Muth