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Rhubarb, the amazing vegetable-fruit; plus rhubarb compote recipe

By Katherine Brodie on Tue, May 17, 2011 at 6:00 pm

Try this recipe for sweet rhubarb compote:

Rhubarb Compote

2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1” pieces
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring the pan to a boil, stirring regularly to dissolve the sugars.

Once it has reached a boil, turn the heat down a bit and let it cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to check the tenderness of the rhubarb. You’ll know it’s done when the fruit is broken down and soft. Check the flavor to be sure it’s sweet enough for your taste, rhubarb’s awesomeness includes tartness that is appreciated differently by everyone. If it’s too tart, add a little bit of sugar at a time until it tastes good to you.

When it’s to your flavor preference, transfer the compote to an appropriately sized bowl and let it cool uncovered in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Keep chilled and serve cold.

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Mo & Ray Strode, CC-BY

Rhubarb, the amazing vegetable-fruit; plus rhubarb compote recipe

Mo & Ray Strode, CC-BY

One of my all-time favorite springtime foods is rhubarb. I hated rhubarb pie when I was growing up and it wasn’t until I started buying random ingredients from the grocery store to take them home and see what I could with them that I started to appreciate the plant.

While rhubarb is botanically a vegetable, the United States Customs Courts ruled it to be a fruit in 1947. They decided that since it was most commonly used as a fruit, it should legally be a fruit. Take that, other fruits! Rhubarb is so awesome, a judge ruled that it was too sweet to be just a vegetable.