Rhubarb
 

Across the road, in the park, there was lots of rhubarb. I'd been watching it grow with a view to moving it from a public park to a private pie. Today I find that it's all been bashed flat. Not harvested, not gnawed, just flattened. No surrounding foliage has been damaged. This is a Sunday so I think it's the work of vigilantes rather than employees of a government agency.

I don't know any cradles to ask but those of you who do, are they scared of rhubarb? Do they have a cultural imperative to crush it, some sort of religious or primitive belief motivation? Is this perhaps the elusive feature that separates them from Americans?

Re: Rhubarb
 

Weird.

According to the Rhubarb Compendium...

The Qianlong emperor of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) forbids export of tea and rhubarb to the Russians after a border conflict in the north part of China.
In 1790 the same emperor declares that the Western countries will have to do without rhubarb.
In 1828 the Daoguang-emperor sends out an edict to the effect that no more tea and rhubarb must now be sold to the "barbarians."


Maybe there's a local holding a grudge?

Re: Rhubarb
 

Oh, so rhubarb's an Asian creation. Perhaps I'm missing a message as subtle as a burning cross on the lawn.

Re: Rhubarb
 

No pie for you, barbarian. :lol:

Re: Rhubarb
 

I am scared of rhubarb. It reminds me of the triffids. It grows in special dark huts in yorkshire very quickly and its creepy.

Re: Rhubarb
 

You'd love it if a real man went and tamed it and nailed it down and delivered it in pieces for you to bake in a pie with apples. Especially if he stuck around and advised on the baking process between gulps of his beer.

Re: Rhubarb
 

Is my pie ready yet?

Re: Rhubarb
 

I was at a meeting at work recently where someone provided a rather fine rhubarb crumble. It was well received by all, though I don't have the stats on how many of us were immigrants, spoke English nor lived near to the university. Should this be helpful I will inquire further. However, the crumble did not seem to make anyone feel claustrophobic.

Re: Rhubarb
 

No. I'm sorry, my materials were flattened. They need perking up. Perhaps if you went over and stroked the stems?

Re: Rhubarb
 

A sorry excuse and, quite frankly, just not good enough. Back to the kitchen!

Re: Rhubarb
 

We've got lots of rhubarb - seems to grow well out here. My wife makes a great rhubarb and apple (or strawberry) pie.

Re: Rhubarb
 

Rhubarb and strawberry pie is widely sold here but finding a pie involving rhubarb that's not sweetened to ruin is a challenge. Hence my eagerness to bring I2C the materials to make one.

Re: Rhubarb
 

You could try cinnamon ;)

Actually over the last few years I finally trained my wife to eschew cinnamon in the baking of pies.

But rhubarb grows like a weed here.

Re: Rhubarb
 

Rhubarb grows like a weed almost anywhere.

Re: Rhubarb
 

Seconded...we had to move ours it was taking over the raspberry patch. :ohmy: