Is Rhubarb Poisonous

Is Rhubarb Poisonous – Fresh avocado (Rheum rhaponticum) has a bright red stem that is completely edible – avoid eating the leaves. Photo of Lisa Stokes / Getty

Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? Most people do not seem to know, but one thing they do know is that they have never tasted it. You will be forgiven for thinking we mean tomatoes, but we actually have another red plant in mind: rhubarb.

Is Rhubarb Poisonous

Rhubarb is a plant known for its light green leaves (added on those leaves later) and tart – and bright red – celery-like stems in shape and texture. Although native to Asia, rhubarb is cultivated throughout Europe and North America, most notably in the Rhubarb Triangle, between Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell in the United Kingdom.

How To Grow Rhubarb

In the United States, the Pacific Northwest is probably the most common region for growing rhubarb because of the plants growing in this climate. Tim Richter is a fourth-generation mixed grower in Puyallup, Washington and owns EG Richter Family Farm.

Richter’s grandfather traveled west from Minnesota during the Golden Rush but missed the opportunity and started a family farm growing rhubarb and other crops in the late 1800s. The farm has been passed down from generation to generation and now Richter’s son also helps manage the farm.

“There is no better place in the world to grow rhubarb than the Puyallup Valley. They like humid and light climates, and that’s what you have in Washington, especially in west Washington,” says Richter. . “If you get too much sunlight and it gets too hot, the plant may grow, but what is likely to happen is … “It loses color. The stems start to turn very green.”

Not all rhubarb flavors or looks the same. Two different varieties of rhubarb compete in the market: field rhubarb and forced (also known as greenhouse) rhubarb.

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As the name suggests, field barberry comes straight from the field. Because the rhubarb is exposed to light outside, Richter says it may have a greener shade and a slightly wrinkled texture when the stem is exposed.

Hothouse, on the other hand, requires a careful and vigorous growing process, which means that the rhubarb is left out of the light in the greenhouse to give off its natural reddish hue. The only time rhubarb is exposed to indoor lighting is during harvest. Richter explains the hard work involved in growing rhubarb in a greenhouse:

You plant this plant in the field for two years until the [roots] turn into balls of suitable size. A ball weighs about one hundred kilograms. We then remove them from the ground in December when the plants are dormant. And then we bring them into these buildings. Place them in these corridors. Close the door and turn on the heat with a little water, it will spray up on the tree to find the light. And then we come up with and pull it off.

Richter explains that greenhouse rhubarb leaves often turn “bright yellow” and stems turn “bright red” due to lack of light. These unusual colors and gentle growth process mean that they command higher prices compared to greenhouse rhubarb.

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“You put two trees next to each other, one as a greenhouse, one as a field. You may have tasted this difference. “I do not want to say that one is better than the other. It’s different.”

Outside the United States, Yorkshire growers in the United Kingdom are receiving worldwide acclaim for their forced greenhouse or rhubarb. They are especially known for the traditional practice of picking rhubarb by light to keep the stems tender.

According to Richter, American-grown tamarind has declined in popularity in recent decades since its heyday in the 1960s and ’70s. With so many international products from around the world, it can be difficult for a lovely red plant to compete in the global market. In addition, most recipes call for cooking rhubarb, which can make it less attractive than ready-made products.

“While my grandfather and I were doing this, not all shipping products were from South America and all over the world. Rhubarb was the first group in the market, so to speak. “It’s a big deal.” Richter.

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Richter says farmers in the United States are growing fewer pumpkins while supply is low to meet consumer demand.

But there are still many rhubarb lovers out there, as evidenced by the abundance of rhubarb-centric festivals in the UK, from Wakefield to Pennsylvania, the Netherlands to Lanesboro (also known as Minnesota’s Rhubarb Capital). .

And if you want to find rhubarb, Richter says, many major US grocery stores like Kroger and Safeway are easy to get to.

Since it is often used in sweet dishes, it is not surprising that cooks may think of rhubarb as a fruit. And in 1947, the U.S. Customs Court in Buffalo, New York, even considered rhubarb a fruit because it was used primarily by chefs in that way. By classifying rhubarb as a legal fruit, the court created it so that rhubarb could be taxed with lower import duties – even though rhubarb is not a real fruit.

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What are you waiting for? Yes, despite the legal classification, rhubarb is actually a botanical vegetable. The rhubarb stem can be defined as a petiole that attaches the leaves to the stem. In botanical terms, the edible rhizome is officially defined as rhubarb as a vegetable.

But if you want to keep calling it fruit, Richter certainly does not blame you. “For those who cook it, I would say pumpkin is a fruit.”

Usually only rhubarb stems are eaten, which Richter says are safe to eat both raw and uncooked. The stem is non-toxic and you will usually not get sick from eating it, although you may want to sweeten it or cook it before eating to make it more delicious.

However, rhubarb leaves are a different thing and should not be eaten unless you are looking for food poisoning. Rhubarb leaves contain a deadly toxin known as oxalic acid. While other plants contain small amounts of oxalic acid, rhubarb leaves are high, making them even more toxic to humans.

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Well, you probably won’t take a severe dose of oxalic acid while eating rhubarb leaves, but the risk is definitely there. You may experience nausea or vomiting even when taking low doses of oxalic acid.

So to be safe, you do not have to eat lemongrass leaves. But rhubarb is very good to eat.

There are endless ways to prepare rhubarb. The most common are dumplings. Rhubarb is closely associated with bakery, which, according to Richter, it has received the common nickname: the pie factory. Every rhubarb cookbook with its salty value has strawberry rhubarb slices that combine the sweet taste of strawberry with the slightly tart taste of rhubarb. It is also common to combine apples with rhubarb.

But what if you are looking for another creative way to use your favorite vegetables? Richter recommends using rhubarb chips like apple chips. Or you could try one of Richter’s favorite ways of preparing rhubarb, in which the rhubarb is boiled in a pan, sprinkled with sugar to taste and cooled before spooning into the vanilla ice cream.

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Other popular sweet rhubarb recipes include rhubarb shoes, rhubarb bread, rhubarb cakes and rhubarb cookies. For a delicious dish, you can try baking Brie with chubney rhubarb, chicken rhubarb, rhubarb fish and rhubarb soup. And if you want to try your patties, you can also make a nice rhubarb mead.

But if you do not feel like cooking, according to Richter, who loved this delicacy as a child, you can always grab a raw rhubarb and dip it in sugar for a snack.

While we can debate whether rhubarb is a fruit or vegetable today, the ancient Chinese considered rhubarb as a practical cleansing solution. Marco Polo is said to have crossed the rhubarb while traveling in China in 1271. The Romans also commonly used rhubarb as a laxative.

Trade brought rhubarb to Europe and the plant was sought after as a medicinal plant in England. In 1771 Benjamin Franklin introduced the Chinese rhubarb to his friend John Bartram, who was working botanically to the British monarch in the American colonies. It was not until the early 19th century that rhubarb was transformed from a mainly medicinal plant into a dessert used in dumplings in North America and the United Kingdom.

Why You Should Never Eat Rhubarb Leaves

The medicinal properties of Rhubarb have long been known in the United States, and Richter says that rhubarb has a reputation for digestive support, although it is not clear how much science supports those claims.

Today, scientists are studying pumpkin for its many health benefits, including treating fever, kidney failure, wound healing and cancer, as well as its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.

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