I’ve been cheating on my favorite spring fruit, rhubarb, with all these strawberry posts. Sure, it is easy to love sweet, juicy, photogenic strawberries. No one looks at a quart of strawberries at the farmers’ market and thinks: “But what will I do with them?” You know exactly what to do with them: eat them out of hand. Slice them on your cereal. Sprinkle them on a spinach salad. Anyone can use strawberries.
But it takes a true cook to appreciate tart rhubarb which is not even a fruit, for Pete’s sake. And with its long, stringy stalks, this old-fashioned crop resembles nothing so much as, well, celery. Rhubarb needs to be transformed — roasted, stewed or baked — before you can eat it. But those of us who love rhubarb do not mind the extra work.
So far this spring, I have made rhubarb jam, a rhubarb galette and rhubarb mini Bundt cakes. Today, as I stared down two more bunches of farmers’ market rhubarb, I contemplated a rhubarb chutney and a rhubarb pie filling, but in the end, decided on something more straightforward: a rhubarb syrup. Rhubarb chutney, you are a project for another day.
Like the strawberry syrup I posted a few days ago, this rhubarb syrup is a handy thing to have in one’s kitchen. You can use in to make fabulous cocktails or pour it over baked goods. But my first instinct will always to be mix a few tablespoons of this syrup with sparking water for a sweet-tart, deliciously pink rhubarb Italian soda. Nothing could be more refreshing on a hot summer afternoon.
This recipe makes approximately two pints of syrup which is not an excessive amount to store in one’s fridge. Or, you can keep one pint for yourself and give one as a hostess gift. But, in case you would like to can this syrup and save it for another time when rhubarb is not so plentiful — a lovely thought — I have included preserving instructions.
I bought more rhubarb at the farmers’ market this weekend, so perhaps rhubarb chutney is up next.
- 6 cups sliced rhubarb - about two farmers market bunches
- 4 cups water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp green cardamom pods
- 3 cups of sugar (approx.)
- Place rhubarb and water in a large, deep saucepan.
- Combine spices in a spice bag and add the pot.
- Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for twenty minutes.
- Line a fine-mess strainer with damp cheesecloth and place over a deep bowl. Pour the rhubarb into the strainer letting the juice drain.
- Allow rhubarb to drain for at least thirty minutes. Press on the fruit to extract as much juice as possible. Discard rhubarb.
- If canning the jars, prepare a boiling water bath canner and two pint jars.
- Measure juice. You should have between three and four cups.
- Return juice to the saucepan and add an equal amount of sugar.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and boil for five minutes. Skim off any foam that accumulates.
- Ladle the syrup into warm jars leaving ½ inch headspace. (If not canning, simply refrigerate the jars at this point.)
- Bubble the jars and wipe the rims.
- Place lids on jars and tighten rings just until you feel resistance.
- Return jars to the boiling water. Process ten minutes in a boiling water bath.
- Allow to cool in the water five minutes before removing to the counter.
- Check seals and store in a cool, dark place for up to one year.
- Refrigerate any unprocessed jars.
What does “bubble the jars” mean?
Rose, in canning, “bubble the jars” means to run a thin plastic utensil around the inside of the filled jars to release any air bubbles. Sorry if I was using canning jargon!