The Backyard

The Backyard

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Preserving Rhubarb


Thanks to the Survival Cooking blog, and of course the on-line class I'm taking on "Food Storage" (which actually is about stocking up for Peak Oil, but I took it to learn new tips on storing things I never stored before like sweet potatoes, and NOT freezing things), I tried drying rhubarb this year rather than freezing it and had great success. I dried a dozen huge stalks by cutting into 1/4-3/8 inch slices and stuck them in the dehydrator overnight at 115 degrees. By morning, they were crispy and ready for storing. I'll definitely have to do more though because 12 stalks once dry doesn't amount to much -- 1/2 a quart jar and most recipes call for 2 cups of dried rhubarb. That's a lot of rhubarb, but I have a lot in the garden waiting to be dried. I had my dehydrator over 10 years now and barely used it. I even have a book on drying all kinds of foods (including jerkys for hubby) and reconstituting them to use in recipes. And I'm just now getting around to actually using it. Geez... what was I waiting for?! The downside of the dehydrator is it's electric. The dedicated food storage junkies who double as food preparedness gurus when peak oil hits, would only use solar dehydrators or mother nature herself. Electric uses carbon, so in reality I'm leaving a footprint. ARGH! Maybe I can make up for it somewhere else?

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