Rhubarb: More Than Just Pies

Barbara Robertson is the author of Wilfrid Laurier: The Great
Conciliator and the co-author of The Well-Filled Cupboard.

Rhubarb has a long history in Canada. It made an appearance in an 1827
Nursery Catalogue from Dundas Street near York. A little later its
virtues were promoted by Catharine Parr Traill: “[Rhubarb] should
always find a place in your garden.” The fresh taste rhubarb produced
in the spring was valued after a long dull winter of increasingly
flavorless food. Rhubarb has a special appeal in Western Canada, with
its tough prairie winters, so it’s appropriate that a cookbook devoted
entirely to rhubarb comes from Alberta.

As the title suggests, the recipes range widely from soups through
drinks to puddings, cakes, squares, desserts, condiments, and, of
course, pies. There are nearly 150 recipes, with many variations on the
main themes. The recipes are clearly written and feasible, although the
fresh flavor of the rhubarb is sometimes threatened by the addition of
too many spices (especially cinnamon). It would be nice to avoid, as
well, the artificial flavors of strawberry and raspberry jelly mixes
that are sometimes called for. But individual cooks will be able to
make adjustments, and the book does present a fine array of
possibilities.

Vitt and Hickman provide a great deal of information on the cultivation
of rhubarb, even to the extent of describing how to “force” the
plant to secure an early crop. This information, which tends to be
scattered throughout the text, would be more accessible had it been
consolidated. Still, Rhubarb is an encouraging book, and should promote
the cultivation and consumption of this admirable plant.