Rhubarb, is this a northern thing? Or do you guys that are down south

[nesser1981]

eat it?

I've heard of Rhubarb, and I've seen it at the grocery store, sometimes, but I have to be honest, I'd never eaten it. Sunday my SIL made a Apple Rhubarb Crisp and I just thought it was ok.

But I keep trying to remember being a kid and ever hearing anyone at home eating it. Even my mom said she'd never had it, and she grew up in Georgia before moving to Florida. I did read that it doesn't grow in hot, humid climates.

So, am I the only southern that has never eaten this?

Seems really popular here in Michigan.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Nope me neither

[nesser1981]

Originally Posted by nikkiARNGwife

Nope me neither

Ok, glad its not just me. They all looked at me like I was crazy when I said I'd never had it!

[Libby Pritchett]

I've had strawberry rhubarb pie before. I don't love it. For me, it's just meh.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Is it like a fruit? or a vegetable?

[nesser1981]

Originally Posted by nikkiARNGwife

Is it like a fruit? or a vegetable?

Looks like red celery.

[jessica31876]

we had rhubarb in our garden growing up and my mom would make a pie with strawberries (that we also grew) and tappioca. It is good.

[jessica31876]

I do not think you can eat it raw either. But I dont remember for sure if it was the rhubarb my parents would tell us not to eat.

ETA:I looked it up and it is the leaves which are toxic.

[junebug]

i've had it. it's not my fave. i think it grows up here (indiana) but i could be wrong. and it indeed looks like red celery lol

[nanienamou]

It grows like weed around here. When we were young, DH and I have memories of eating a stalk of rhubard dipped in sugar. So good. My grand-father used to make a kind of jam with it that was delicious and I love the strawberryhubarb combo.

[breakingbrie]

My mama loves this stuff. To be honest, I've never tried it - it just doesn't 'sound' good to me, lol. But, she's always trying to get me to try strawberry rhubarb pie, and I won't do it.

[MamaBee]

I love rhubarb!!! It's very sour so you do need to cook it with lots of sugar. My grandpa loved rhubarb and strawberry sauce, he called it spring tonic. It makes a great jam with strawberries... yum!!

[mariewilcox]

It's very common up here in Maine and lots of people love it - too sour for me. My mother always made strawberry rhubarb pie and some type of rhubarb spread like jam for toast. My daughter loves it raw with a bit of salt in it

[KateD]

My grandpa grew rhubarb in his garden and my grandma would make rhubarb pies. No strawberries, just rhubarb (and sugar). Soooo yummy! I'm a sucker for anything rhubarb.

[marlathrall]

I've never had it.

[jacinda]

I'm about as far south as you can get, and we loooove rhubarb here. I like it cooked (never tried it raw - can't imagine that would taste very good) and sweetened with sugar during the cooking process. It's fabulous warmed up with icecream, or custard. Yum!

[rach3975]

I grew up in Connecticut. I saw rhubarb pie on restaurant menus once in a while, but it wasn't a common food. I think I may have had it once, but it didn't make much of an impression one way or the other.

[Jennilyn]

It grows wild in our backyard. My mom makes a great rhubarb custard pie...the sweet of the custard pairs well with the sour of the rhubarb. You can eat it raw, but you don't eat the leaves, just the "celery" part.

[lovely1m]

Yum, rubarb is good! I like it with apples.

[BrattyMeg]

We have it here but I'm sure it's shipped in. It's usually found in like desserty type pies and such when I've seen it on menus.

[digideb]

I haven't had it. I don't even know what it is, really.

[abm234]

I love rhubarb. It makes me think of my childhood. When I was little it grew like a weed in our back alley. How strange is that to eat a weed? Mom didn't cook/bake much but she always made rhubarb jelly. Rhubarb crisp is yummy!

[abm234]

I had no idea that rhubarb was a local/regional thing. That is one of the things I love about SSD. It opens my sheltered little eyes and mind to the rest of the world!

[Melissa Bennett]

Love rhubarb! My mom made lots of different recipes with it. I grew up on the west coast. I have seen it in the grocery stores here in South Carolina, but I am sure it is shipped here.

[k23m]

We've got it up here too (in Canada, eh?) We eat it all kinds of ways too. Raw dipped in sugar (esp the tender baby pieces), in pies, jams, on ice cream...yummy.

[Freckles]

We have a lot of rhubarb in our garden. As kids, we used to eat it raw, freshly picked out of the garden. But it is indeed very sour. I make rhubarb pie a lot, sometimes combined with apples but I never tried it with strawberries! That sounds delicious! I'm going to try that as soon as our strawberries are ready.

[HeatherKS]

My dad likes strawberryhubarb pie but I can't say that I've ever tried it. This thread makes me want to give it a shot though!

[tanyiadeskins]

we get it here but its not like a common specialty or anything and I have eaten once and hate it lol

[scrapperjade]

My mom had a big rhubarb plant in our garden growing up & make Strawberry Rhubarb fruit leather with it, or rhubarb crisp for desserts.

I had a large plant in my yard when DH and I moved into our house, but we uprooted it because neither of us care for rhubarb all that much. It takes WAY too much sugar to make it sweet enough to eat.

[LoriJ]

I just finished making 3 batches of rhubarb jam tonight! The kids and I love it on toast for breakfast or even better a warm rhubarb sauce on french vanilla ice cream... omg that is yummy!

[ryliesmom]

I've never had it. You can occasionally find it in grocery stores here, but I don't know anyone that eats it.

[schock77]

My father grew up in Northern Iowa and his favorite dessert was rhubarb pie. We live in Texas and I'd have never really seen it around.

[Keely~B]

I like rhubarb. Rhubarb pie is good, I prefer it without the strawberry combo though I like that too. My grandpa used to drink rhubarb wine. It's really good as a sauce or syrup. I saw it way more often in Montana but I see it here in Texas every now and then. We can get it frozen too.

[Tracyfish]

I know what it is, but I've never tried it. My mom though grew up eating rhubarb pie and she's a native Floridian.

[HeatherB]

We're a zone 3 climate (brrr!) and rhubarb is easy to grow here. Like many people said, it is nice with strawberry. It is *very* tart, and does require a lot of sugar to make it palatable. I chop it up like celery (1/2 inch pieces), put in pot with small amount of water and simmer until it is very soft. It is wonderful over over sweet desserts like custard, ice-cream, cheesecake.

[HeatherB]

Oh, and I believe the redder it is, the sweeter the plant. Some rhubarb plants sold in greenhouses product mostly green stalks and I don't care for those. Whenever I've moved, I've just taken a piece carved from my Mom's garden.

[Milmomma]

Never had it, never want to try it. It is just not my cup of tea.

[sarahbhb]

I grew up in Arkansas and never had rhubarb (that I remember at least) until I met DH. He is from Canada and grew up eating rhubarb...his favorite dessert is vanilla ice cream with stewed rhubarb but he's also a big apple rhubarb pie fan. I'm not crazy about it but we have it occasionally cuz he loves it so much.

[4noisyboys]

I grew up in California and we always had it growing in our garden, and my mom made strawberry rhubarb pies all the time, and we also just cooked it down with sugar and had it over ice cream.

My dh grew up in Alaska and also remembers having it as a kid. I think it grows wild up there! LOL Everyone we knew had some growing in their yards.

My youngest is the only one of my boys that likes it.