Rhubarb is a special ingredient found to enrich the strawberry jams of the north of Europe but it is also a fleshy and special fruit of the earth that was used by ancient Asian populations as a medicine .
What is used in rhubarb cooking? The fleshy petioles of the leaves, the fresh stems and the leaves themselves - of these the use is not recommended because they contain oxalic acid - as an ingredient in recipes for sweet or savory cakes and jams.
While the root, sliced and generally dried, is used as a herbal product for teas and decoctions.
It is also used in the pharmaceutical sector and in alcoholic distillates.
Jam, schiacciata and salad : here are 3 rhubarb-based recipes.
Strawberry and rhubarb jam
Ingredients :
> 1 kg of fresh strawberries
> 1 organic lemon (juice and zest)
> 200 g of fresh rhubarb stalks
> 400 g of sugar.
Preparation :
Wash and clean the strawberries well and cut them in four, wash and clean the rhubarb stalks well, removing the filaments as you do for celery; grate the lemon rind and squeeze it, cut the rhubarb stalks into small pieces.
Put the strawberries in a large non-stick pan with the lemon (grated and juice) and cook slowly for 15 minutes in a semi-closed lid;
then add the sugar, the pieces of rhubarb and cook for about an hour, very slowly.
Get some jars to keep the compote, with new caps.
Fill them with the hot jam, close them well and turn them upside down to create the vacuum.