Three Rhubarb Pie Recipes With Rhubarb Trivia

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

RHUBARB PIE RECIPES

WITH

RHUBARB TRIVIA

While cleaning files I came across the following recipes for rhubarb—which my husband Monte likes but I don’t. Anyway, he’s the one that does the baking—bread and pies. Between the recipes are rhubarb trivia questions. Answers are at the end of the post.

•  When did rhubarb appear in the United States?
• How did it get here?
• Where did it originate?

RHUBARB PIE

Pastry for double crust.

4 cups diced rhubarb

3 tablespoons flour

1  1/4 cups sugar

Dash salt

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter

 

Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry.

Mix flour, sugar and salt.

Add egg to rhubarb and stir it in. Pour into pastry shell and dot with butter.

Moisten edges of top pastry and place it on pie. Press edges together.

Trim off pastry and decorate edge.

Bake in a 425-degree oven for about 40 minutes.

Enjoy.

• The traditional role of rhubarb was medicinal. What was its medicinal role?
• Benjamin Franklin believed dried rhubarb was a cure for what?
• The Amish use rhubarb to cure what?

RHUBARB CUSTARD PIE

Pastry shell

3 eggs

3 tablespoons milk

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

4 cups diced rhubarb

1 teaspoon butter

 

Line 9-inch pie pan with pastry.

Beat eggs, add milk, then stir in sugar, flour, and nutmeg.

Add rhubarb.

Pour mixture into pastry shell and dot with butter.

Moisten edge of pastry and cover with a lattice top.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for about 50 minutes or until well browned.

• Botanically, is rhubarb a fruit or a vegetable?
• It is related to what plant?
• What is its nickname?

 RHUBARB MERINGUE PIE

 4 cups diced rhubarb

1   1/4 cups sugar

4 tablespoons flour

Sprinkle of salt

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

3 egg yolks

Pastry shell

 

Meringue (recipe below—uses the egg whites)

Line 9-inch pie plate with rich pastry. Trim and decorate edge.

Cover rhubarb with boiling water and let stand 1 minute. Drain.

Stir egg yolks slightly and blend with rhubarb.

Mix sugar, salt, orange rind, and flour and stir into rhubarb. Blend evenly. Pour into pastry shell and bake in a 450-degree oven for 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350-degrees and continue to bake about 35 minutes or until filling is thick and clear.

Cool slightly, cover with meringue, and return to the oven to lightly brown.

Never-Fail Meringue

 1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

1/2 cup hot water

3 egg whites

Sprinkle of salt

6 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix cornstarch with cold water. Add hot water and cook until thick and clear, stirring constantly. Cool thoroughly.

Beat egg whites until very stiff. Add vanilla. Reduce beater speed and add sugar gradually.

Add cornstarch mixture and beat at high speed until well blended.

Spread on pie.

Bake in a 350-degree and bake in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.

• Where is the Rhubarb Capital of Minnesota?
• What part of the rhubarb plant is poisonous?
• What can the rhubarb leaves be used for?

RHUBARB CHEESE PIE

3 cups diced rhubarb

3/4 cups sugar

2  1/2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca

1  8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1   9-inch unbaked pastry shell

Topping

1 cup dairy sour cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

Combine first 3 ingredients in a saucepan and allow to stand until moistened. Set over low heat to further extract juice from rhubarb. Cover and cook over moderate heat until rhubarb is tender and tapioca almost clear. Cool thoroughly.

Beat cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a   time, beating only to blend. Stir in salt.

Place rhubarb filling in pastry shell. Top with cheese mixture.

Bake in a 350-degree oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until nearly set. Cool on wire rack. Before serving spread with mixture of sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.

QUIZ ANSWERS:

• On 11 January 1770
• Benjamin Franklin sent a consignment of rhubarb from London to John Bartram in Philadelphia. This was the first rhubarb in the United States.*
• Rhubarb thrives in cold climates and originated in Western China, Tibet, Mongolia, Siberia and neighboring areas.**

 

• The dried rhubarb root was traditionally a popular remedy. Its primary function was to induce vomiting, although rhubarb is also a mild astringent. This medicinal role caused the price of the dried root to rise. In 1542, rhubarb sold for ten times the price of cinnamon in France and in 1657 rhubarb sold for over twice the price of opium in England.**
• Dried rhubarb was Benjamin Franklin’s cure for flatulence.**
• Proven old Amish remedy ends night time leg or foot cramps in one minute.***

 

• Rhubard was legally classified as a fruit in the U.S. in 1947, even though botanically it is a vegetable. But its most often treated as a fruit — though it’s rarely eaten raw.**
• Rhubarb is a relative of buckwheat and has an earthy, sour flavor.*
• Rhubarb’s nickname is the ‘pie plant’ because that is the primary use for this vegetable.**

 

• In 2008 the Minnesota Legislature proclaimed Lanesboro, Minnesota the Rhubarb Capitol of Minnesota.**
• The leaves. They contain oxalic acid.***
• Rhubarb leaves can be used to make an natural insecticide.***

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ADDITIONAL READING:

Three Garlic Recipes

No Knead Bread Recipe

Two Holiday Recipes: Hors d’oeuvres and Umble Pie

SOURCES:

*   http://www.wakkipedia.com/WEIRD-FACTS-ABOUT-RHUBARB/

**   http://www.foodreference.com/html/frhubarb.html

***   http://www.rhubarb-central.com/rhubarb-plant-facts.html

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