Make mine rhularl: Sally Cameron finds the treasure in this tart plant's centre

摘要

Whoever she was who first thought to cut and boil the stems of rhubarb to make a brew was a brave person. She would have had to endure a belly-ache had she shredded the leaves for a salad. The stalks are, of course, the only part of the plant, that can be eaten. They are long and fibrous and turn a lovely shade of pink - or cherry red in older plants. When cut up and boiled or roasted, a natural sweetness comes out, but it is more the tart taste that is rhubarb. The pinker stems are best from this "pie plant" and provide the dusky, sultry colour of many puddings, sauces and jams. Legend has it that rhubarb (Rheum rhaftartiarim) originated in the mountains of the Himalayas and Tibet. Indigenous to most of Asia, it grows freely in the wastelands of the Gobi Deseft. It was consumed medicinally long before it was eaten for pleasure.