Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a vegetable that is sour to the taste but with a bit of sugar becomes a great treat. Below are some recipes and some tidbits about canning rhubarb. One of my husband's favorite pies is Strawberry Rhubarb. You don't find it in warmer states like Florida. It prefers climates that don't go over 75 in summer or above 40 in winter.

RHUBARB TART.
To one quart of stewed Rhubarb add three-fourth pounds of granulated sugar, five eggs, five ounces of pulverized crackers, after the Rhubarb is stewed put through a seive. The other ingredients should be mixed well. Use only a bottom crust and bake three-quarters of an hour.

RHUBARB PIE.
Peel and stew Rhubarb. Add juice of half a lemon, well beaten yokes of two eggs, and sweeten with a half cup full of granulated sugar. Line pie tins with a good crust, and fill the tins with Rhubarb; bake until the crust is a light brown, beat the whites of the eggs to a froth adding three tablespoonsful of powdered sugar. Flavor with nutmeg or vanilla and spread over the top of the pies, place in the oven and leave till a delicious brown.

PIE PLANT PIE.
Wash and peel. Place in a chopping bowl and chop up fine, turn off the juice. Line your tins with pie crust, fill up the pan with chopped plant, and one tea cup full of sugar, three tablespoonsful of cream cr a piece of butter size of a hickory nut, cut in small pieces and place around on the plate, cover with pie crust and bake in hot oven.

RHUBARB JELLY.
Wash Rhubarb. Cut in small pieces stew to a soft pulp, squeeze out the juice. To a pound of juice add a pound of granulated sugar, place again on the stove and stew until thick enough for jelly, put in tumblers, cover top of jelly with a round piece of tissue paper saturated with whisky or white of an egg, cover top of tumblers with paper tying tightly.

RHUBARB JELLY.
Wash the stalks and let them dry, do not pare them. Cut the stalks up in pieces of one or one-half inches long. Place them in a porcelain lined kettle. To every eight pounds of Rhubarb add one and onehalf pints of water. Boil until the small pieces are soft. Place in a jelly bag, do not squeeze the juice out, but place over something and let it drip. Add to every pint of this juice three-quarter pound of sugar, boil and fix same as other jelly.

PIE PLANT SAUCE.
A palatable sauce may be made by cutting up the the stalks into inch pieces, put in a porcelain lined kettle. To a quart of the plant add one tea cup full of sugar, stew slowly and stir at intervals to keep from burning; stew to a soft pulp and let cool.

RHUBARB JAM.
Always wash the stalks, do not pare them, cut into pieces an inch or so long. Weigh the Rhubarb. To every pound of Rhubarb, add one pound of granulated sugar; place in a porcelain lined kettle; let it come slowly to a boil, then stir continually for half an hour; place in jars or cans and seal tight.

And here are a couple tidbits about canning the vegetable for winter use.

CANNING RHUBARB.
Wash Rhubarb. Cut in small pieces. To every pound of Rhubarb add one-half pound of granulated sugar, bring slowly to a boil, stir at intervals to keep from burning. When thoroughly cooked through pour in cans hot and seal tightly.

CANNING RHUBARB.
To put up Rhubarb for winter use wash the stalks, cut in small pieces, peel, and place in cold water in jars and seal tightly.

Source: Rhubarb Or Pie Plant Culture ©1894