How To Cook Rhubarb, And The Best Rhubarb Recipes

Rhubarb is a brilliant ingredient to cook with - tart and sweet, it works incredibly in cakes, desserts, preserves, and even on savoury dishes.

When is rhubarb season in the UK?

Rhubarb season begins around April and tends to finish in July, meaning you get plenty of time to use it. In fact, rhubarb season can begin as early as January thanks to 'forced' rhubarb, the name given to the process of growing rhubarb in dark sheds to prevent light from reaching the plant.

How do you cook rhubarb?

There are plenty of ways to cook rhubarb, but the most common are poaching and stewing, as well as roasting or even pickling. Slow-cooking rhubarb is particularly great, making it soft and juicy. If you're eating forced rhubarb, it's naturally, beautifully sweet. Otherwise, rhubarb is known to be quite tart, that's why it often needs a sweet companion like sugar or honey.

Is rhubarb a fruit?

Technically, rhubarb is a vegetable... yep! But it's understandable it's seen as fruit, especially as it's most commonly cooked with sweet treats and desserts.

How to freeze rhubarb:

To freeze rhubarb, discard leaves and trim the rhubarb stalks, before cutting into 2.5cm pieces. If you don't care about them sticking together just bung them straight into a freezer-proof bag and store them for up to three months. If you want them as separate pieces. Freeze them on a baking tray first, before transferring them to a bag.

How to grow rhubarb:

Rhubarb likes free-draining, super fertile soil (think lots of manure!). They also need plenty of space to grow, and regular watering during dry periods.

Rhubarb crumble is one of the BEST dessert recipes ever, and this easy crumble recipe is a guaranteed winner. While most crumble recipes are quite similar and straightforward (stewing the fruit and getting that nice crispy topping), there are a few tricks to create the perfect one.

Get the Rhubarb Crumble recipe.

Rhubarb gin is one of the nicest flavours of gin – it completely upgrades your G&T, especially when you make your gin when rhubarb is in peak season.

Get the Rhubarb Gin recipe.

Rhubarb season comes and goes in the blink of the eye. In theory, it's in season from April to June, but depending on where you are, it can be much shorter. Moral of the story: When you see rhubarb, BUY IT. Then immediately make this jam.

Get the Rhubarb Jam recipe.

This is our go-to recipe during spring. Though we love strawberry rhubarb pie (and our recipe is perfect), this pie lets the tart rhubarb take the centre stage. Making homemade pie crust isn't totally necessary, but we highly recommend it.

Get the Rhubarb Pie recipe.

Fruit chutney is a popular accompaniment to serve with cheese plates, but in this creative twist, the cheese is transformed into crispy crackers and topped with a sweet, spiced rhubarb-and-cherry chutney.

Get the Pecorino Crisps With Rhubarb Cherry Chutney recipe.

These bite-size fruit bars are sweet and tangy, and the perfect size for serving at festive spring gatherings.

Get the Raspberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars recipe.

Many home cooks are leery of rhubarb. But there's no need to be—especially with this recipe, because all you have to do is cut it into pieces and simmer away with strawberries, sugar, apple juice, orange zest and a little vanilla extract at the end.

Get the Rhubarb Compote recipe.

This luscious vanilla cake, layered with fresh compote and frosted with sweet, cream cheese icing, is sure to become a family favourite.

Get the Strawberry Rhubarb Layer Cake recipe.

Using store-bought madeira cake makes this an easy dessert to prepare for guests.

Get the Strawberry Rhubarb Trifle recipe.