Freezing Rhubarb - Better Raw or Cooked?

Rhubarb, the spring classic in the cold sleep

Interesting facts about the rhubarb

Botanically, the rhubarb belongs to the knotweed family and thrives in almost every garden if it receives sufficient water. Almost everyone has dipped the raw, super acidic stalks in sugar and then eaten them raw. However, the processed vegetables, delicious rhubarb cakes, tasty jams, lukewarm rhubarb compote or rhubarb pancakes with sugar are tastier. Since there are large quantities of rhubarb every spring, it makes sense to stock up on unprocessed supplies.

Keep rhubarb

Rhubarb can be kept raw or cooked. Raw sticks, wrapped in damp kitchen paper, stay fresh in the refrigerator's vegetable drawer for about a week. A finished compote will also keep for four to five days in the refrigerator.

If you plan on long-term storage, consider freezing the rhubarb.

Freeze the rhubarb raw

The frozen rhubarb will stay in the freezer until roughly the next harvest if you pay attention to a few little things during preparation.

First, remove the large leaves from the rhubarb stalks.
Wash the rods thoroughly and cut off the lower, woody end.
Cut the rhubarb into bite-sized pieces.
Fill the pieces in portions into suitable freezer containers.

If the skin of the rhubarb stalks is quite hard and tough, it can be removed with a vegetable peeler before freezing. If you want to remove the rhubarb pieces one by one, freeze the prepared pieces on a tray and first put the frozen pieces in the freezer box.

Freeze the rhubarb when cooked

Cooked rhubarb can be frozen like any other fruit or vegetable. Compote or a ready-made cake are particularly suitable. It is best to let the dishes cool down completely before placing them in the freezer containers. So only a few ice crystals are formed by condensation.

Use frozen rhubarb in the kitchen

Thaw the rhubarb you will find that it gets a little mushy. However, it doesn't do any harm when using it. As usual, you can use it to prepare jam, compotes or cakes.