Learning how to eat rhubarb is one of the greatest culinary pleasures of springtime and should top every home cook’s must-do list. Sure, other seasonal vegetables, like leeks, fava beans, and asparagus, are well worth celebrating, but when it comes to versatility, this vegetable’s celery-like, blush-colored stalks truly walk the walk. We caught up with a farmer and a cooking teacher to find out how to enjoy rhubarb, from classic combinations to unique preparations.

What Is Rhubarb?

Native to Siberia, China, and Mongolia, rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) is a member of the buckwheat family. A perennial that thrives in cooler climes, rhubarb hits peak season in mid-April. Though it’s a vegetable, rhubarb is most often treated like a fruit in culinary preparations. 

Rich in fiber, calcium, and vitamins K and C, the root has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for millennia. However, it wasn’t until the late 18th century that Europeans embraced the fleshy red stalks, the edible part of the plant, as a food source. The leaves, which contain oxalic acid, are poisonous—store-bought rhubarb is usually stalks-only, but be sure to avoid the leaves if you come across them.

How to Eat Rhubarb

Sour and acidic, rhubarb stalks can be eaten raw—with a few accommodations—puréed or cooked, in countless ways.

Use It Raw

“Raw, the tartness of rhubarb is much more intense, so it definitely needs something sweet to mitigate that,” explains Victoria Jabot, a grower and owner of Ley Creek Farm, a regenerative, no-till farm in Oswego County, NY. 

It’s best to eat raw rhubarb in small bites, either in thin slices or minced, adds Ronna Welsh, author of The Nimble Cook and chef/owner of Purple Kale Kitchenworks, a cooking school in Brooklyn, NY. “This has to do with texture as much as taste,” she explains. “Rhubarb resembles celery but is much denser and more fibrous.”

Here’s how Welsh suggests eating it raw:

1. Peel the rhubarb stalks.
2. Toss with sugar (and a little salt).
3. Let sit for a few minutes, allowing the stalks to soften and sweeten.

Pair It With Partners

For many fans, there’s no better way to eat rhubarb than with strawberries, a dynamic duo in cobblers, crisps, pies, buckles, muffins, and even applesauce. “In the garden, they are ready at the same time (late spring and early summer), and they’re both perennial—it makes sense that it’s a timeless combination,” Jabot says.

In harmony: Strawberries are fruity and sweet, and rhubarb is tart, so their flavors are naturally compatible. “It’s that addictive ‘agrodolce’ sweet and sour combination,” Jabot says, referring to the Italian sweet-tart condiment. Sample the winning team in our Rhubarb-Strawberry Tart and our Rhubarb-Strawberry Lattice Pie.

Other pairings: Strawberries and rhubarb may be as classic as PB & J, but other combos also hit the mark. “Rhubarb can pair well with other naturally sweet ingredients, such as tomatoes and pineapples, but since even sweet ingredients can lean tart, especially if they’re out of season, you need to work to balance flavors,” Welsh says.

Mix Rhubarb Drinks

Puréed or juiced, rhubarb adds rosy color to smoothies and cocktails and can also perk up lemonade. “You can use rhubarb as you might otherwise use cranberries or pomegranate,” Welsh notes. Consider making the swap with our Pomegranate Cosmopolitan.

Simple syrup: Rhubarb simple syrup is another delicious addition to any bar cart. Jabot makes it by stewing the chopped stalks and straining out the solids. “I use the tart remaining syrup as a substitute for lemon juice to make a rhubarb version of the classic sidecar cocktail,” she says. Break out the shaker and make the cognac-laced drink using our Rhubarb Syrup. 

Cook and Bake With It

Rhubarb is remarkable in cobblers, pies, and crisps—but that’s just scratching the surface.

Roasted: Spread on a baking sheet and drizzled with honey or sugar, rhubarb chunks caramelize in the oven, Jabot says, adding complexity to compotes, like our Roasted Rhubarb and Sour Cherry Compote (perfect over our Ricotta Cheesecake), salads, say, our Strawberry-Spinach Salad, and once again, libations, including our Roasted Rhubarb and Cherry Gimlet.

Stewed: “One of the easiest ways to enjoy rhubarb is stewed,” Jabot says. She makes hers with chopped rhubarb, water, juice, or prosecco, and sugar to taste.”You can either leave it chunky or food mill it for a smoother end result.” Make our Stewed Rhubarb and follow Jabot’s lead by serving it warm with a scoop of ice cream. 

Preserves: Jabot makes the most of the season by stirring up a huge batch of rhubarb preserves. “It’s very similar to stewed except that it’s thickened with low-sugar pectin.” 

Dried: A bumper crop of rhubarb can also be turned into fruit leather. Try stewing it, running it through a food mill, and drying it overnight in the dehydrator.

Cakes: As with cocktails, you can also trade rhubarb for pomegranate and cranberries in simple cake recipes, Welsh says. Or simply give our Lemon-Rhubarb Olive Oil Bundt Cake a whirl.

Condiments: “Being so sour, recipes that call for vinegar are another natural place to use rhubarb in a savory way,” Jabot says. During rhubarb season, she adds it to bulk batches of condiments, including mostarda, a mustard-enhanced Italian syrup, chutney, hot sauce, and barbecue sauce, for freezing.

Meats: “Well-marbled fatty pork pairs well with these sweet-and-sour condiments,” she says. Our Pork Chops With Rhubarb-Cherry Sauce and Baked, Thick-Cut Bacon With Rhubarb Chutney beautifully illustrate her point.

Pickled: Our Pickled Rhubarb also leans savory. Try it in our Green Salad With Roasted Beets and Pickled Rhubarb, as a cheese plate accompaniment, or in a relish for grilled steak.