One of my favorite ways to preserve rhubarb is by making a BBQ sauce! I found this recipe a couple of years ago when my focus was learning and trying to broaden my recipes on condiments and side dishes.
Since moving here the rhubarb patch has exploded. It is so happy and so plentiful. The only thing I am doing different is heavily wood chipping them. As the chips break down though they are creating a rich soil full of nutrients.
Did you know that when you harvest rhubarb you want to pull in from the bottom and NOT cut it off. Sometimes if you look you will have pulled up a little nub that will produce anotger plant. Be on the look out for this if buying at a local place. Take it home, put it in a pot and see if you can create your own patch!
Don’t forget DONT let your rhubarb go to seed! If you keep taking the seed pod off it will keep producing quality stalks.
If you are like me you have grand intentions in freezing rhubarb for winter use. Problem is, it gets lost and never used only to be thrown out in the spring. This year I have started to dehydrate. I am happy with how it rehydrates! This will work out great for fresh rhubarb treats in the winter. I deem this success! I first peeled the strings off and cut it into chunks slightly bigger than I would for baking use, Dehydrated at 135 degrees for about 15 hours. This time will be different depending on dehydrator used. You want it to be dry enough to “snap” when you break it. Make sure and condition it for a week to make sure its throughly dried and then seal and store. This will be shelf stable if sealed for years.
Some things don’t rehydrate back to “normal”, I am happy with how this rehydrated. It plumped up like a cooked rhubarn, but is not the same size as original. I figure about 1/3 the rehydration content. I will take this into consideration when rehydrating for recipes.
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