Friday, June 3, 2016

Rhubarb Cordial (and fruit leather)

I only post recipes here (or links to them) when I LOVE something and want to catalog it for myself. One of my absolute favorite bloggers, a genuinely beautiful person, and a kind friend, FRUGALLY CHALLENGED posted about rhubarb cordial towards the beginning of may. I had never heard of such a thing, would have never conjured up the idea to make such a thing and I was instantly intrigued. I knew that the very first thing I would make with rhubarb this year was this fascinating sounding beverage.

Do not make this if you don't like rhubarb. But I dare say that if you don't like rhubarb then you've never had it prepared correctly. This cordial or simple syrup as it can be added to lemonade or used as a simple syrup in a summer cocktail is rhubarb at it's very finest. This stuff is AMAZING!!! I mean, I was hoping that it would be good but it is fantastic!!!

Some friends of ours have rhubarb galore so they just gave me a bunch of it. I get so giddy each year when they first offer it to me (I jumped the gun this year and actually asked first).


I simmerd approximately
8 cups of cut up rhubarb
2 cups of sugar
3 cups of water
covered on the stove top for about 25 minutes 

I poured the awesomeness over cheese cloth in a strainer catching all the pink amazing beneath and trapping all the rhubarb pulp in the cheese cloth. Whala! I actually ended up with about two jars full, like this. That's about 40 to 50 ounces.

Yes, I use Prego jars for everything!

I recommend not discarding the beautiful pulp (its actually not beautiful; it looks like poop). I spread all the pulp thin (doing NOTHING to it; it's already sweetened from the simmering process) onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet. It is in the oven at 170 degrees right now. Supposedly after 6 hours it will come out a super tasty fruit leather. I will report back.

In the meantime go and make this! It is seriously so much better than I had even hoped. Yum! Yum! Yum! Oh, and this awesome treat was virtually free for me since my friends supplied the rhubarb. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Thank-you, THANK-YOU, Thank-you to Frugally Challenged for the awesome idea!!!
Posted by at
Labels:

12 comments:

  1. ibesueJune 3, 2016 at 9:25 PM

    I have never had rhubarb - I'm not even sure where to get it - can you get it in the grocery store? Now I expect you to come up with an amazing recipe to use it in :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. rivuletJune 4, 2016 at 9:35 AM

      It looks like celery but red. It's used in desserts but it's really... hmm, I think bitter is the best word. Strawberry rhubarb jam or jelly is amazing. Rhubarb pie is awesome and I've made a rhubarb coffee cake the past few years that I adore! You should be able to get it in the grocery store. Between you and Anne I had to go google it's grow zones. The top several things said you can grow it just about anywhere so it has to be in California. You guys are a growing hot bed (except for the no rain things).

      Delete
    2. Practical ParsimonyJune 4, 2016 at 5:27 PM

      R.hubarb needs a cool climate. I have to pay $5.99/ for it at Publix, the only store in town that carries it.

      Delete
  2. Anne in the kitchenJune 3, 2016 at 10:01 PM

    It is very pretty but I never see it around here anywhere. Maybe it could be grown as a fall crop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. rivuletJune 4, 2016 at 9:37 AM

      You and Sue had me wondering but it says online that it can be grown just about anywhere. That's weird that you haven't seen it by you.

      Delete
  3. Frugally challengedJune 4, 2016 at 3:02 AM

    You're more than welcome - your enthusiasm is wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. rivuletJune 4, 2016 at 9:38 AM

      I really do find delight in the tiniest things. I LOVE making new recipes and had been looking forward to this one since you posted a month ago. It turned out so yummy, I mean really really different. Like I haven't ever had anything like it but so yummy.

      Delete
  4. SAMJune 4, 2016 at 3:47 AM

    I'm glad it turned out so delicious. Kepp sharing other things you use it for. Hope abe likes the fruit snacks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. rivuletJune 4, 2016 at 9:40 AM

      Uh, the really over cooked fruit snacks. Haha! I was going to set an alarm and pull them out of the oven during the middle of the night (bad timing). I knew I was going to forget about the fruit leather and I totally did. I got up, checked blogger, read your comment and ran to the oven. It tastes really good actually and its edible but it probably should have come out of the oven four hours earlier. Who knows how long I would have left it in there if it weren't for you comment :) Thanks! Haha

      Delete
    2. SAMJune 4, 2016 at 12:23 PM

      Glad to be of help. I love the no waste effort though. We could all change the world if we just eliminated waste. Ok, maybe not everything, but a good dent in problems.

      Delete
  5. PieliekamaisJune 4, 2016 at 8:07 AM

    I have a bag of rhubarb (rotting? hahahhh) in my fridge right now. I was actually thinking about making something like this, but I thought it was so much more complicated. We'll see if the rhubarb is still usable. The cordial looks great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. rivuletJune 4, 2016 at 9:41 AM

      It was SOOOO easy! This would be great to add to a lot of things. I'm going to see how it works with a yogurt treat today. I hope yours is still good. I think you'll really like this.

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)