Forced Rhubarb
If your experience of rhubarb is school dinners and mushy, green stringy stems then think again
Forced rhubarb with its tender, bright pink stems is a revelation. Pair it with Star Anise and you'll have a tart full of joy.
We live in the perfect place to grow forced rhubarb – before you can force rhubarb it needs a period of cold (aptly named cold units) which varies depending on the cultivar – our Northern location means we get these in spades.
A 9 square mile area of West Yorkshire has now become known as The Rhubarb Triangle – the three corners of the triangle roughly equate to Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield. The soil gets cooler quicker here than anywhere else in the country sending the rhubarb into dormancy early – indeed about a month earlier than in Scotland. Rhubarb is grown in special sheds in a process known as “Forcing”.
The process of forcing of rhubarb was discovered in Chelsea in 1817, when some roots were covered with manure over winter and it was noticed new tender shoots appearing which were tastier than anything grown before. This lead to the Whitcliffe family of Leeds starting the first mass market commercially growing of rhubarb in 1877, erecting special sheds to grow rhubarb out of season. Special rhubarb trains delivered forced rhubarb to London.
West Yorkshire has ideal nitrogen rich soils – if your soil is poor and low nutrient your rhubarb will produce flowers rather than stems. In the past all the wool shoddy (clippings) were used to cover the rhubarb crowns since they are full of nitrogen when they break down.
Forcing Rhubarb:Forcing Rhubarb:
My terracotta rhubarb forcing pot (an upturned dustbin will do just as well) has been in place since New Year in preparation for making Rhubarb Schnapps. This wonderful concoction was first tasted courtesy of a good friend after a very wet (underwear wringing wet!) summer bike ride. It could be made at any time of the year but in order to attain the delightful pink hue it needs to be made with forced rhubarb. After your rhubarb has been forced for a couple of months, take a peek beneath the pot and hopefully you should have many long, pink light-starved stems. Don’t force the same rhubarb plant each year since the plant needs 2-3 years to recover.
Rhubarb Schnapps
• Cut 1kg of forced rhubarb stems into 2cm lengths.
• Place in a large sterilised bottle/preserving jar with 300g of granulated sugar.
• Top up with 1 litre of vodka.
• Seal and then shake to dissolve the sugar.
•Keep in a dark place and contain your impatience for at least 2 months, whilst periodically shaking the bottle.
• Strain into a clean jar and enjoy the delightful pink liqueur neat or mixed with fizzy water or tonic.
