Are you in the rhubarb lovers’ club?

June 20, 2025 by
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I will never forget the time a 20-something coworker wrinkled her nose in disgust when I brought a rhubarb pie to the office. “Only old people like rhubarb,” she said. Being only in my early 40s at the time, I bristled at the notion. It turns out that she might not be totally wrong, as rhubarb sales have been stagnant before an uptick that spiked tremendously this year. There’s an interesting article about the many rhubarb varieties tucked away in a seed bank in Offrange, a website dedicated to the “untold stories just beyond the fence line of American agriculture.”

There are few rhubarb farms in the US outside of the Pacific Northwest, probably because it grows so readily in backyard gardens. My six plants produce more than enough for me and my neighbors, so there is no need to buy rhubarb at the store. Odds are high that you could find at least one rhubarb plant in every city block in the upper Midwest. Rhubarb is used mainly in pies, cobblers and crisps in the US and UK, but it is used in savory dishes in other areas.

Rhubarb originated in cold areas of China, Mongolia, and Siberia, where it was used medicinally for centuries before traveling along the Silk Road to Europe. In the UK, forced rhubarb is a delicacy that is enjoyed during the cold, dark days of winter where the vivid pink stalks really stand out. Forced rhubarb is sweeter than regular rhubarb, which may account for its popularity.

Chefs are coming around to rhubarb’s use in savory applications, using it in sauces and relishes, pickling it, and finding other ways to enjoy the pucker it can add to foods. I have been firmly on Team Rhubarb since I was young, contrary to my coworker’s notion that it is only popular with old people. I hope that rhubarb’s recent surge in popularity holds – I need to find more takers for my abundant plants!

Category: Antipasto

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8 Comments

  • GenieB  on  June 20, 2025

    While I qualify as an old person, I definitely am a rhubarb fan. Fortunately I live in the Pacific Northwest so find rhubarb at the Farmers Market. I have no yard to grow now, but fondly remember the rhubarb from the garden in the Midwest where I grew up.

  • CordovaBayCook  on  June 20, 2025

    I love rhubarb in both sweet and savoury applications. I recently made some rhubarb muffins that were well-received, and in past I’ve made rhubarb chutney that was delicious. Chef Heid Fink has several rhubarb recipes on her website, including a rhubarb sorbet that looks awesome! And yes, I am an older person.

  • Rinshin  on  June 20, 2025

    I have this uneasy distrust of rhubarb having not been exposed to it in my younger years. Vegetables in desserts hmm? but I love pumpkin and sweet potatoes in desserts so I should one day gve it a try. Maybe how it resembles celery is another minus for me.

  • goodfruit  on  June 20, 2025

    I love Rhubarb and have a cookbook called The Joy of Rhubarb as well. Nearby in Canby, Oregon, they grow big fields of it where I have been known to pick up a box of 20 lbs at a time.
    Out of curiosity, I asked where all of that rhubarb goes, and the surprising answer was, Japan!
    Easiest way to process it is with a mandolin over a bowl in the sink. Super fast and simple, then bag it in 3 or 4 cups, label, and freeze.

  • Ganga108  on  June 20, 2025

    Yes, I am in the rhubarb lovers club, and for the past couple of years have been exploring savoury applications due to restricting sugar. It is great roasted, pickled and fermented, even dehydrated rhubarb paste for sprinkling. I particularly like Rhubarb umaboshi https://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/3362575/umeboshi-rhubarb

  • DeborahG  on  June 23, 2025

    Rhubarb martini, rhubarb shrub, rhubarb parfait or ice cream, rhubarb fool and there’s a great recipe (one of my all-time favourites) in Kate Zuckerman’s book for a rhubarb ‘soup’ which she serves with a honey and yoghurt pannacotta. The sweeter forced stuff is such a welcome (and delicious) sight in wintry months, but the summer stalks add brightness and sharpness, cutting through cream and yoghurt. (Probably why I prefer these dishes to the more traditional crumbles and pies), which I find too heavy and sweet at this time of year).

  • sanfrannative  on  June 23, 2025

    Middle aged here…I do love rhubarb. My mother used to make pie and cobbler from it on the reg!

  • breakthroughc  on  June 23, 2025

    I like in the PNW and have rhubarb plants. I make berry and rhubarb bars, rhubarb jam and I can stewed rhubarb and eat it on my yogurt all winter.

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