General Information
Rhubarb is the edible stalk portion of the Rhubarb plant. Stringy and tough, the stalks range in colors of light pink to deep ruby red. The texture of Rhubarb is often compared to that of celery stalks, while the flavor is much more tart and requires sweetening to be palatable. Rhubarb is traditionally cultivated in two ways, field or hothouse grown. The field-grown Rhubarb has attractive dark red stalks and green leaves while the hothouse-grown Rhubarb produces pink or light red stalks with yellow leaves. Hothouse Rhubarb is milder in flavor and less stringy. The Rhubarb plant consists of a base, called a crown, that rests at soil level and roots down. From the soil line multiple stalks shoot out with brightly colored, edible stems that are tipped off with large, deep green leaves, leaving the plant with a rounded, bush type appearance. The roots and leaves SHOULD NOT BE EATEN as they are poisonous.
History
Although technically a vegetable, in 1947 the United States Customs Court in Buffalo, New York, ruled Rhubarb to be a fruit because it is most commonly used in sweet applications. This cost-effective act allowed imported rhubarb to pay a smaller duty than if it was a vegetable. Rhubarb was first used as a food plant in 1778 in Europe and is recorded to have been first grown in the united States in Maine between 1790-1800.
