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Home-grown rhubarb crumble (but not my home)

13 comments


My mate Ron brought me 2 kilos of rhubarb, cut from his garden that morning –looks rather a lot!

Washed it, cut it into roughly 1-inch chunks; still looks a lot:

Never cooked rhubarb from scratch, so went online to find out how. Several recipes, but the one I went for said that water wasn’t necessary: add 1-1½ cups of sugar to the cut rhubarb and let it stand for two hours, the natural juice would absorb the sugar, so no water would be needed.

I used only 1 cup as it said that only sweet-tooths should use the full measure: covered it with a clean teatowel and let it stand for two hours, stirring it every now and then to mix the chunks and spread the sugar around:

Close-up for future reminder!

I don’t have “heavy-bottomed pans” as called for in the recipe, or even large pans, but it just about went into the two largest I had, though both were brim-full: put them on low gas, stirring now and then, as directed. Didn’t seem to be doing much for a long time, wondered if I was doing it right. Then it suddenly started bubbling. Gave it the specified time stirring frequently, then set the pans to cool:

This is with no added water: all the liquid is from the rhubarb itself.

They’d both settled down to about half the former contents. Let them cool, then sorted out crumble mix ingredients: then found I had a Sainsbury Crumble Mix pack, so used that.

Half the rhubarb was enough for four crumbles (Ron’s eating the fourth!):

Still had this much left over:

The recipe said that it’s freezable, but my freezer packed up a couple of months ago and I’ve still not got round to getting a new one, so it had to be fridged, which meant it wouldn’t keep so long – which in turn meant a fairly constant rhubarb diet!

Took about a week, but finally finished it all off: bought some plain yoghurt and made my own rhubarb yoghurt.

Verdict: the rhubarb was still rather tart, maybe I could have added more sugar – it might be the difference between US and UK cup sizes. But not unbearably sharp, just a tiny bit more than I was expecting. I’ll try adding a bit more next time – and there will be a next time!

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Comments

 

Good job you like Rhubarb,Fran :o) I've always cooked mine straight away,after washing and trimming,and adding the sugar,as it dissolves anyway,on a low heat,with regular stirring..It's cooked in no time..maybe you could try it next time,and save yourself some time? I love Rhubarb,so you have set me off wanting a Crumble..or just Rhubarb and Custard..yummy :o)

29 Apr, 2015

 

thanks for the tip, Bloomer - there will be a next time and I'll try your suggestion - lol first time out, and cooking for someoen else as well, thought I'd better stick exactly to the recipe!

Loathe custard, but love crumble. Managed to get through the other kilo of it a bit a day. maybe the sharp taste was because it was fresh, not tinned,with added sweetness beyond my control.

29 Apr, 2015

 

You did a good job for a first attempt, Fran! Since I've been down on the allotments with my friend Gerry I've brought home lots of Rhubarb - in fact there is still Rhubarb in the freezer from last year! Alongside stewed apple!

I've made Rhubarb crumble many times during these last 4 or 5 years! Also Gooseberry crumble, Blackcurrant & Apple crumble as well as Rhubarb & Apple crumble!

I've also made lots of Apple cakes with more or less success!

Just this week I've brought home several handfuls of Rhubarb freshly picked.

30 Apr, 2015

 

Delia puts it in the oven with 2oz sugar per lb rhubarb, it stops it going to mush
not my favorite fruit it sets my teeth on edge. ....
i think it takes me back to being a child sitting in the garden with a stick of rhubarb in one hand and a poke of sugar in the other ?

1 May, 2015

 

thanks Blacony. I've now got my own rhubarb plant so it's only a matter of time before I'm able to pick-my-own. All I need now is an apple tree to make my own apple crumble as well

lol Pam - I don't remember ever having done that, but I can picture it only too clearly

2 May, 2015

 

I shall probably make a Rhubarb crumble tomorrow. My daughter-in-law, (she's Spanish) looked online for recipes & discovered some things about Rhubarb I never knew!

I cut up all the sticks my son & I have brought home from the allotment during the last week. His wife said she found some interesting & easy recipes online & would like to give them a try. I thought she might have tried out one or two while my wife & I were out visiting our daughter & grandchildren for a few hours but she didn't. As our son & wife are going to another town tomorrow over 1/2 hr drive from us I will make a start!

6 May, 2015

 

I was looking for an easy recipe – amazing how complicated some so called “easy” recipes are! I suppose that’s “posh easy”.

Hope it went well, let’s have pics of the result, please!

7 May, 2015

 

I never did get the chance to do any cooking yesterday after all! It turned out to be a pretty hectic day in the end & there was no time for cooking! I don't know when we will get around to cooking the Rhubarb as at this pace it will all have dried out! I didn't want to freeze it after cutting it all up but now its been in the fridge for a couple of days & is looking a little "dehydrated"! LOL!

8 May, 2015

 

aw, sorry to hear. is there an online hint for reviving wilted rhubarb? someone, somewhere, must have thought of it! can it be frozen in sticks?

8 May, 2015

 

Hi, Fran, even though I never did get around to making the Rhubarb crumble my son & daughter-in-law did make one ! :-)) It's the first time ever they have done this & it doesn't look too bad. I've not tried it yet but later today I shall. The only thing I think they did wrong was to put it in a tray that was too big & has therefore spread out too thinly & the crumble topping hardly covers the fruit beneath. I didn't realise while they were making it that I should have warned them to use a cake tray that would have been better. Well there's always next time - if they want to try it again! LOL!

As for "reviving" wilted rhubarb I think soaking it in a bowl of water for a couple of hours should do the trick - it's something I've never done though. Mine has always been, more or less, fresh, recently picked from the allotment.

As to your question about whether you can freeze rhubarb, yes, you can. Though I think you will find it advisable to cut it up into small portions, no more than a couple of inches long, max. They pack it into a container & put it in the freezer. It will keep perfectly for quite some time! Ideal to have rhubarb crumble out of season! LOL! It's something I've done for several years now - in fact there are still a couple of plastic containers with Rhubarb in the freezer from last year! (NOT from this time of year I hasten to add, but from much later in the year, in the autumn.)

A few sticks of Rhubarb can be pulled all year while the plants are still growing - it's not just a springtime dessert!

10 May, 2015

 

One of my favourite school dinners was apple crumble - half an inch of apple, two inches of crumble, you needed a couple of glasses of water to get that down!

Finding the right size dish is always a prob; that's why I made small ones rather than one big, thin one. also, I think it can discolour some tins if it's kept in it for a while, though that mgiht be the old pre-non-stick coating days.

I don't have a freezer at the moment, wasn't sure how long it'd keep in the fridge, whether it'd be better as fulls ticks, cut, or cooked.

He brought me over another bunch of sticks, so there'll be more crumbling later. This time I'll cook it with water, then I can add the juice to plain yoghurt - tried that with the fruit, but maybe I should have mashed it first to smooth it out a bit

Mine's coming on, I'll have to move the heather that I put round it, two have been completely covered already. Something here likes rhubarb, to judge by the holes in the leaves! as long as it's onoy the leaves they much, ok by me.

15 May, 2015

 

Be very careful with the amount off water you use ass Rhubarb already contains a lot.

19 May, 2015

 

thanks, Balcony. I only copied the no-water, soak-in-sugar recipe that I found, but there will be plenty of others, even in my recipe books, now that I've found them!

19 May, 2015

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