Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 >Anyway, I'm looking at it, and needing to start harvesting/preserving. >I've checked my " standard resources " , and won't be adding sugar during the >preserving (unless it's actually required for some reason for rhubarb?) - I >prefer to add any sweetener when I'm actually using it. > > , what will you do with it when you do use it? >But here's the question - can or freeze? Any major differences between >the two in terms of end product? I'm just going to do it straight, >rather than jam/jelly or some such, I think. And somehow the idea of >dried rhubarb just doesn't appeal to me - hehe - as opposed to dried >strawberries. Yum! I'm eying all those strawberry flowers now ... >covetously. > >Any and all votes on processing method of rhubarb greatly appreciated. >Thankee! > > > >MFJ > If you plan on cooking it for pie (blueberry rhubarb pie, yummy bluebarb) I would freeze it. If you can it, it's going to mush out, lose nutrients and then to cook it again would be criminal. Can rhubarb be eaten raw? Could you ferment it and either eat it raw or then use it to cook? That might be the best method of preservation, but I wouldn't know. Make pie today and preservation just won't be a problem. Deanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 >But here's the question - can or freeze? Any major differences between >the two in terms of end product? I'm just going to do it straight, >rather than jam/jelly or some such, I think. And somehow the idea of >dried rhubarb just doesn't appeal to me - hehe - as opposed to dried >strawberries. Yum! I'm eying all those strawberry flowers now ... >covetously. I do both: freeze and can. Freezing is easier: Just cut them into chunks and freeze. Though they take less room, and aren't as apt to freezer burn, if you boil them a bit into mush. Canning is more work, but worth it if the freezer is full. I do add sugar at that point, because it protects against spoilage (botulism) if my canning process wasn't very good. I'm not a pressure-cooker type canner, and it needs those very high temps to kill botulism unless you use sugar. However, with all the acid in rhubarb I'm not sure botulism would grow in any case. Ask the Ball people .... Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 At 12:07 PM 4/20/05 -0500, you wrote: >>Anyway, I'm looking at it, and needing to start harvesting/preserving. >>I've checked my " standard resources " , and won't be adding sugar during the >>preserving (unless it's actually required for some reason for rhubarb?) - I >>prefer to add any sweetener when I'm actually using it. >> >> >, what will you do with it when you do use it? Heck, I dunno, I don't eat that many sweets, but I was figuring I could preserve it for sauces and stuff later (if pork is so good with fruit-based sauces, why not rhubarb too, eh?) >If you plan on cooking it for pie (blueberry rhubarb pie, yummy >bluebarb) I would freeze it. If you can it, it's going to mush out, >lose nutrients and then to cook it again would be criminal. Can rhubarb >be eaten raw? Could you ferment it and either eat it raw or then use it >to cook? That might be the best method of preservation, but I wouldn't >know. Make pie today and preservation just won't be a problem. LOL - sorry, don't feel like sweet stuff today (at least not the rhubarb pie kind). :-p That's one of the reasons I asked the question, though - is the mush factor appreciably different between the can and freeze? It would be interesting to see - certainly I'd can some for whatever kind of pie I made later - heck, mush factor doesn't really matter in that, it's all mushy by the time it's baked anyway. But if there's an appreciable difference *before* use in the final recipe, that will affect how much I do of each. Although, hmmmm, I hadn't thought of the fermentation thing. People do sort of " fruit pickles " things, don't they? Thanks for the idea, need to look that up and see what I can find. Or maybe I'll have to break down and do some sort of " preserve " and can it. So to speak. Anybody have other ideas on the fermentation thang? MFJ Ideas are funny that way ... you go and let one loose, and suddenly it's crashing about the place, bashing up against other peoples' heads. Somebody oughtta control that. Pesky things, ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 Hello ! F. Jewett <mfjewett@...> wrote: > For those of you with experience ... for the first time, I've > actually got > some good plants going (after occasional failures over the years) - > apparently I finally picked a good spot for 'em! > But here's the question - can or freeze? We've got a wonderful plant that has had 4 offspring that are still thriving - jolly good thing as only rhubarb, chard and brocolli seem to thrive in our veg garden! (or I should say, under the care of the chief gardener) I've never canned (in fact I didn't know you could do it yourself!) but freezing is easy - we just wash it & trim it and stick it in the freezer. The only thing I find is that we don't get round to using it before the next years' crop is ready (as has happened now! Still have a bundle or two in the (small) freezer that's been taking up valuable space for the last 6 months. Helen -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.9.18 - Release Date: 19/04/2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 At 06:44 PM 4/20/05 +0100, you wrote: >I've never canned (in fact I didn't know you could do it yourself!) but >freezing is easy - we just wash it & trim it and stick it in the >freezer. The only thing I find is that we don't get round to using it >before the next years' crop is ready (as has happened now! Still have >a bundle or two in the (small) freezer that's been taking up valuable >space for the last 6 months. > >Helen Yah, I have that problem too. Most of the stuff I grow is MUCH better frozen (esp corn and peas), so there's only a certain amount of freezer space I want to dedicate to stuff that can be canned with not much of a difference. Like, the only time I use cooked tomatoes is in lasagna sauce, and there's no difference whether I can them or freeze them, so ... I do water canning, no pressure cooker here. Of course, I've also apparently got a nice little mini-CSA going here, so it may happen that I don't end up with rhubarb out the wazoo, if enough people like it. It appears to be an acquired taste. MFJ Ideas are funny that way ... you go and let one loose, and suddenly it's crashing about the place, bashing up against other peoples' heads. Somebody oughtta control that. Pesky things, ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 At 10:19 AM 4/20/05 -0700, you wrote: >I do both: freeze and can. Freezing is easier: Just cut them into chunks and freeze. >Though they take less room, and aren't as apt to freezer burn, if you boil them a bit >into mush. Yah, freezing is easier on just about everything. > >Canning is more work, but worth it if the freezer is full. I do add sugar at >that point, because it protects against spoilage (botulism) if my canning >process wasn't very good. I'm not a pressure-cooker type canner, and it needs >those very high temps to kill botulism unless you use sugar. However, with >all the acid in rhubarb I'm not sure botulism would grow in any case. Ask >the Ball people .... I don't do pressure either. Thanks for the tip on the sugar, though - I was remembering all your other posts about kimchi and sech, and salt being the thing to retard icky bacteria growth ... but somewhere in the back of my mind was the nagging feeling that sugar did the same thing, for *some* things. MFJ Ideas are funny that way ... you go and let one loose, and suddenly it's crashing about the place, bashing up against other peoples' heads. Somebody oughtta control that. Pesky things, ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 >Although, hmmmm, I hadn't thought of the fermentation thing. People do >sort of " fruit pickles " things, don't they? Thanks for the idea, need >to look that up and see what I can find. Or maybe I'll have to break >down and do some sort of " preserve " and can it. So to speak. > >Anybody have other ideas on the fermentation thang? We used to make rhubarb wine, which was amazingly good! It's a lot of work though. Get a good wine book and follow the directions ... you could try it with kefir beer though. As for mush: it always mushes! You can eat it raw like celery, I guess, tho I was always told it was toxic that way. I tried it last year and didn't die. > Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 At 11:09 AM 4/20/05 -0700, you wrote: > You can eat it raw like celery, I guess, >tho I was always told it was toxic that way. I tried it last year and >didn't die. You didn't? Are you sure? I can see it now ... Night of the Living Glutenator. MFJ Ideas are funny that way ... you go and let one loose, and suddenly it's crashing about the place, bashing up against other peoples' heads. Somebody oughtta control that. Pesky things, ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 > > From: " F. Jewett " <mfjewett@...> >Subject: Rhubarb! > >But here's the question - can or freeze? Any major differences between >the two in terms of end product? I'm just going to do it straight, >rather than jam/jelly or some such, I think. And somehow the idea of >dried rhubarb just doesn't appeal to me - hehe - as opposed to dried >strawberries. Yum! I'm eying all those strawberry flowers now ... >covetously. > >Any and all votes on processing method of rhubarb greatly appreciated. I just cut it up, bag it, and freeze it. I suppose you're supposed to blanch it, but I don't. Measure out the cut pieces for your recipe, stick the rest of the bag in the freezer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 > > From: Deanna <hl@...> Subject: Re: Rhubarb! > Can rhubarb be eaten raw? Oh, sure. When I was a little nipper, I used to raid my grandma's patch and eat whole stalks raw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 At 08:00 PM 4/20/05 -0400, you wrote: >I just cut it up, bag it, and freeze it. I suppose you're supposed to >blanch it, but I don't. Measure out the cut pieces for your recipe, >stick the rest of the bag in the freezer. > Okay then, how long do you keep it that way without degradation? Six months? Two? Twelve? MFJ Ideas are funny that way ... you go and let one loose, and suddenly it's crashing about the place, bashing up against other peoples' heads. Somebody oughtta control that. Pesky things, ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 > You can eat it raw like celery, I guess, tho I was always told it was toxic that > way. I tried it last year and didn't die. > When we were kids we would dip rhubarb stems in sugar and chew the sugar coated end, yum! The leaves are toxic due to their oxalic acid content. You can make an insecticidal spray by boiling rhubarb leaves that is said to work well against aphids. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 Hey Bruce , have you heard of a homegrown spray for grasshoppers--- They killed my rhubarb by eating the leaves two successive seasons.And our kids used to eat the rhubarb raw too,w/o sugar btw. Dennis In , " Bruce Stordock " <stordock@t...> wrote: > > You can eat it raw like celery, I guess, tho I was always told it was toxic that > > way. I tried it last year and didn't die. > > > > When we were kids we would dip rhubarb stems in sugar and chew the sugar coated end, > yum! > > The leaves are toxic due to their oxalic acid content. You can make an insecticidal > spray by boiling rhubarb leaves that is said to work well against aphids. > > > Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 At 06:23 PM 4/20/05 -0600, you wrote: >The leaves are toxic due to their oxalic acid content. You can make an insecticidal >spray by boiling rhubarb leaves that is said to work well against aphids. > > >Bruce People think I'm nuts when they come to me at this time of year looking for something (invariably toxic) to kill the aphids, and I tell them just to wait a couple more weeks - the ladybugs will catch up. And that if the ladybugs don't catch up, their garden has a serious problem and perhaps they should stop using that toxic stuff. MFJ Ideas are funny that way ... you go and let one loose, and suddenly it's crashing about the place, bashing up against other peoples' heads. Somebody oughtta control that. Pesky things, ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 At 01:00 AM 4/21/05 -0000, you wrote: > > >Hey Bruce , have you heard of a homegrown spray for grasshoppers--- >They killed my rhubarb by eating the leaves two successive >seasons.And our kids used to eat the rhubarb raw too,w/o sugar btw. >Dennis I'm not Bruce, but I play him online. Or not. Grab some grasshoppers. Juice them. Spray the juice on the plants. Apparently the live grasshoppers don't like that. Courtesy of one of my bibles ... " Tiny Game Hunting " . MFJ Ideas are funny that way ... you go and let one loose, and suddenly it's crashing about the place, bashing up against other peoples' heads. Somebody oughtta control that. Pesky things, ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 That's more interesting than eating them. What juicer do you recommend? Dennis > > > > > >Hey Bruce , have you heard of a homegrown spray for grasshoppers-- - > >They killed my rhubarb by eating the leaves two successive > >seasons.And our kids used to eat the rhubarb raw too,w/o sugar btw. > >Dennis > > > I'm not Bruce, but I play him online. Or not. > > Grab some grasshoppers. Juice them. Spray the juice on the plants. > Apparently the live grasshoppers don't like that. > > Courtesy of one of my bibles ... " Tiny Game Hunting " . > > > > MFJ > Ideas are funny that way ... you go and let one loose, and suddenly it's > crashing about the place, bashing up against other peoples' heads. > Somebody oughtta control that. Pesky things, ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 > Hey Bruce , have you heard of a homegrown spray for grasshoppers--- > They killed my rhubarb by eating the leaves two successive > seasons. Bummer man...you have to hate when the bugs are eating up your insecticidal plants. :| A bit of googling turns up that they are repelled by cilantro and apparently also by bug juice made from blenderized grasshoppers. Bug juice is supposed to be good to get rid of any kind of pest insect on the theory that some of the bugs you catch will be sick and using the spray will spread the disease around. Doing things to attract insectivorous birds to your garden is a good idea to. Set up a bird bath and a place for them to roost and nest. Other hints: Canola oil has been found to be a grasshopper attractant, it could be used to make baits more attractive to grasshoppers, combined with organic insecticides to make them more effective and floated as an oil on top of water traps. Insecticidal potassium soap sprays work best on small grasshoppers. Make up a garlic or chilli spray as a repellent. There is an organic bait that contains a single celled protozoan called Nosema locustae that kills grasshoppers. It is sold as " Nolo Bait " and " Sema Spore Bait " . There is a refined kaolin clay based product called Surround that is supposed to make plants unappetizing when its dusted on the plants. http://www.texasgrown.com/pages/articles/control_grasshoppers.htm regards, Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 > > Hey Bruce , have you heard of a homegrown spray for grasshoppers--- > > They killed my rhubarb by eating the leaves two successive > > seasons. > > Bummer man...you have to hate when the bugs are eating up your insecticidal plants. > :| > > <><<<><>Guess I may as well go eat salmopn and black walnuts as grind grasshoppers. I may try the fungus on them. Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 >Hey Bruce , have you heard of a homegrown spray for grasshoppers--- >They killed my rhubarb by eating the leaves two successive >seasons.And our kids used to eat the rhubarb raw too,w/o sugar btw. >Dennis Rhubarb leaves don't kill slugs either! Jerry Baker has plant tonics for most bugs ... I think one based on chewing tobacco works for grasshoppers. Chickens work for grasshoppers too. This year I'm going to try using " killer ducks " for the slugs. Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2005 Report Share Posted April 20, 2005 Heidi, The hard part of using killer ducks is training them!Dennis > > > >Hey Bruce , have you heard of a homegrown spray for grasshoppers--- > >They killed my rhubarb by eating the leaves two successive > >seasons.And our kids used to eat the rhubarb raw too,w/o sugar btw. > >Dennis > > Rhubarb leaves don't kill slugs either! > > Jerry Baker has plant tonics for most bugs ... I think one based on chewing > tobacco works for grasshoppers. Chickens work for grasshoppers too. > This year I'm going to try using " killer ducks " for the slugs. > > > > Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 At 02:12 AM 4/21/05 -0000, you wrote: > > >That's more interesting than eating them. What juicer do you >recommend? Dennis Any one you have handy. You mind want to keep it dedicated to grasshoppers. Unless you're a relative of Mr. . MFJ Ideas are funny that way ... you go and let one loose, and suddenly it's crashing about the place, bashing up against other peoples' heads. Somebody oughtta control that. Pesky things, ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 dkemnitz2000 <dkemnitz2000@...> wrote: > Hey Bruce , have you heard of a homegrown spray for grasshoppers--- > They killed my rhubarb by eating the leaves two successive > seasons. Blimey, I thought it was indestructible. >And our kids used to eat the rhubarb raw too,w/o sugar btw. Hmm, I'd also thought it was toxic raw but having googled it, there are even recipes using raw rhubarb, and large numbers of people dipping it in sugar and generally still being able to create web pages. Must try. Helen > Dennis -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.10.1 - Release Date: 20/04/2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Nolo Bait is best used while grasshoopers are still young. Its less effective on adult grasshoppers according to some sources. Grasshoppers lay eggs in bare patches of soil, so in theory eliminating any bare patches last year would help control them this year. Anecdotal results suggest grasshoppers are repelled by plants coated with a dusting of kaolin clay. I don't know much more about this. Feeding the birds in the problem area sounds like a great idea. Provide nesting areas and birdhouses for a variety of bird species because hungry babies equal fewer grasshoppers. Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 > > From: " F. Jewett " <mfjewett@...> >Subject: Re: re: Rhubarb! > >At 08:00 PM 4/20/05 -0400, you wrote: >>I just cut it up, bag it, and freeze it. I suppose you're supposed to >>blanch it, but I don't. Measure out the cut pieces for your recipe, >>stick the rest of the bag in the freezer. >> > >Okay then, how long do you keep it that way without degradation? Six >months? Two? Twelve? Nutritionally? couldn't tell you. Aesthetically? It depends on how tightly it's wrapped. I've been happy to use it after a year, but then I'm more tolerant of freezer-burn than most folks I know. so am probably the wrong one to ask. -- Quick, USUM (ret.) www.en.com/users/jaquick " Nothing makes me want to hurl a chair through the window and punch someone's lights out like being told I need anger management lessons. " -- Mark Steyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2005 Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 > For those of you with experience ... for the first time, I've actually got > some good plants going (after occasional failures over the years) - > apparently I finally picked a good spot for 'em! > > Anyway, I'm looking at it, and needing to start harvesting/preserving. > > MFJ I made a really good salad and veggie last night from an SF Chronicle recipe - Salad was watercress, thinly sliced radishes and thinly sliced raw rhubarb with a simple oil and vinegar dressing - yum! Veggie was 8 peeled and quartered baby turnips and 2 bunches of trimmed radishes and a bunch of chopped thyme sauted in olive oil (bet bacon fat would be better) until starting to brown, then add 1 inch pieces of rhubarb (2 stalks), 1 Tbsp vinegar and some water or broth and simmer another 3 minutes, salt and pepper to taste. - really yummy. My guest who doesn't like turnips (although she loves rhubarb) really liked it. We had this with a roast chicken, sugar snap peas, and lentils. Connie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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