sarbar
05-12-2008, 00:38
Rhubarb is a perfect 'lazy' plant. Once it is established you can pretty much do nothing for it and it will come back every year. Spring is its time to shine - once it gets hot it goes to seed. Our cold spring (has winter ended? hah!) has been producing a great crop. I was out weeding and was thinking of ideas for using up the ample harvest. I hadn't tried rhubarb leather so I thought...why not?
For harvesting the rhubarb, all you need to do is snap the stalks at the base or tug lightly - they will pop right off. For most people they will never see Rhubarb with leaves on - the leaf part is poisonous, so promptly go over to your yard waste bin and snap off the leaf part.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/Food%20photos/rubarb.jpg
I rinsed the Rhubarb well and let drip dry. Weighing it out I had about 2 lbs of trimmed stalks. I cut it up into small chunks (about 6-7 or so cups in volume). I placed the Rhubarb into a non-reactive large saucepan with 2 cups water and 1 cinnamon stick. Covered I brought it to a boil, then turned down to medium low heat and simmered for 15 minutes. At that point I took the lid off and cooked for another 30 or so minutes. This helps cook the water off so you have a thick applesauce like texture. For my personal taste I added in 1 cup white sugar and let simmer a bit more. Depending on how tart you like it, start with 1/2 cup sugar and add to taste. The Rhubarb will have fallen into thin shreds with no lumps.
I lined the dehydrator trays with parchment paper (I used a rectangle shaped L'EQUIP dryer). Each tray was two servings. I poured 1/3 cup sauce onto each section. They were dried at 135* for about 9 hours. In the last couple hours once they were tacky (not wet) I flipped them over to get better exposure to the heat.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/Food%20photos/rhubarb_drying.jpg
Once dry (no wet spots, still soft in texture but dry) I let cool at room temperature. A couple hours later I came back and peeled the parchment paper off.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/Food%20photos/rhubarb_leather.jpg
To make fruit rolls cut a piece of plastic wrap a bit bigger, lay the leather on it then lay the extra plastic over the edge then start rolling up like a cigar. This way the leather is touching plastic wrap and won't stick.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/Food%20photos/Rolledrhubarb.jpg
To preserve the shelf life store them in the refrigerator. Not that they will last long! They are delicious!
~Sarah
For harvesting the rhubarb, all you need to do is snap the stalks at the base or tug lightly - they will pop right off. For most people they will never see Rhubarb with leaves on - the leaf part is poisonous, so promptly go over to your yard waste bin and snap off the leaf part.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/Food%20photos/rubarb.jpg
I rinsed the Rhubarb well and let drip dry. Weighing it out I had about 2 lbs of trimmed stalks. I cut it up into small chunks (about 6-7 or so cups in volume). I placed the Rhubarb into a non-reactive large saucepan with 2 cups water and 1 cinnamon stick. Covered I brought it to a boil, then turned down to medium low heat and simmered for 15 minutes. At that point I took the lid off and cooked for another 30 or so minutes. This helps cook the water off so you have a thick applesauce like texture. For my personal taste I added in 1 cup white sugar and let simmer a bit more. Depending on how tart you like it, start with 1/2 cup sugar and add to taste. The Rhubarb will have fallen into thin shreds with no lumps.
I lined the dehydrator trays with parchment paper (I used a rectangle shaped L'EQUIP dryer). Each tray was two servings. I poured 1/3 cup sauce onto each section. They were dried at 135* for about 9 hours. In the last couple hours once they were tacky (not wet) I flipped them over to get better exposure to the heat.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/Food%20photos/rhubarb_drying.jpg
Once dry (no wet spots, still soft in texture but dry) I let cool at room temperature. A couple hours later I came back and peeled the parchment paper off.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/Food%20photos/rhubarb_leather.jpg
To make fruit rolls cut a piece of plastic wrap a bit bigger, lay the leather on it then lay the extra plastic over the edge then start rolling up like a cigar. This way the leather is touching plastic wrap and won't stick.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/Food%20photos/Rolledrhubarb.jpg
To preserve the shelf life store them in the refrigerator. Not that they will last long! They are delicious!
~Sarah