From: Clifford Cain - uk yahoo <cc_syorks@yahoo.co.uk>
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [NAFEX] Re - Rhubarb
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:50:47 +0000
As the current thread is under way - just thought I would interject with
a little background on Rhubarb growing here in the UK and how our
warming climate is impacting upon its commercial production.
I am in the county (equivalent of State in USA) of Yorkshire where the
Rhubarb Triangle can be found. This is an area between the cities of
Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield where rhubarb was widely grown
commercially, producing forced rhubarb since Victorian times when the
medicinal benefits of Rhubarb became prominent. Forced rhubarb lacks the
acidity of green rhubarb, green referring to being grown outside rather
than the colour of the stalk in this instance. A collection of over120
cultivars was established at Harlow Carr Gardens and formed the national
collection. Since the RHS took over the gardens they moved the
collection south to Wisley which is a shame because the reason Yorkshire
grows so much rhubarb is due to the winter cold. The crowns would be
grown in the fields and fertilised with shoddy, waste from the wool
mills , a traditional industry now as good as extinct in the area, which
would provide nitrogen. Coal mining was another traditional industry
from which slag was used as a fertiliser. The soils of the area are
clay based and receive around 300mm winter rain.
Three year old crowns would be dug from the field in winter, late
November to early December, as they should have been subjected to frost.
The growers are finding that now they are having to chill the crowns
after lifting because our winters are not as cold as they used to be and
we are not seeing extended cold spells until January. The crowns are
then washed to removed soil, so as not to damage the emerging stalks and
placed carefully into light excluding forcing sheds which are low sheds
that are gently heated (50°F rising to 60°F, but no higher as this
detrimentally affects the colour and firmness of the stalks). The
warmth brings on the crop, the retained water from the washing
sufficient to keep the crowns healthy, though if they show signs of
drying they will require watering, which is heated to the same
temperature as the forcing shed, so as not to check the growth. Once
the forced crowns have been harvested they are disposed of, having no
further energy in them, it is more commercially viable to vegetatively
propagate by division of plants. Apparently Rhubarb does not come true
from seed, which is why they are vegetatively propagated. Having said
that there are a couple of varieties that are more stable from seed,
particularly Victoria. Rhubarb can also be propagated via root cuttings.
Rhubarb occupies the land for 3 years and as such needs a long, 7 year
crop rotation
Rhubarb varieties are grouped according to the earliness of outdoor
harvest. So group 1s are very early (April 18-24), group 2s Early
(April 25-30) and group 3s Late (May).
Here in the UK Forced Rhubarb is now a premium priced product, and the
majority of that sold still comes from Yorkshire although the Dutch are
copying the Forced methods. Green Rhubarb, that grown outdoors, makes
less of a sale.
As for the different types you can simplistically divide into red and
green stalked kinds (on the plant before cooking) but closer inspection
shows that some stalks are concave, flat, thin, thick, ribbed or smooth.
and permutations of the above. Combined with leaf characteristics of
more or less downy or without hairs - results in 14 groups of rhubarb.
Rhubarb is currently at the centre of trials on cancer treatments -
utilising the root as per old Chinese medicine. The irony is that
rhubarb used to be grown for the medicinal qualities of the root rather
than for the edible qualities of the leaf stalks.
To celebrate the historical links with Rhubarb, Wakefield holds an
annual Rhubarb Festival at the end of February / early March which
includes tours of the Forcing sheds. Local restaurants offer Rhubarb
themed food. From a foodies point of view we see Rhubarb as a sweet -
forced rhubarb cut into chunks, placed in a non aluminium pan, add the
juice of an orange, cover and bring to the boil, remove from heat and
allow to stand. The stalks will be tender. Last February I went on a
tour of the sheds which was enlightening. You could hear the leaves pop
as the broke through their casing. The sheds are mystical due to these
popping sounds and the fact that the rhubarb is harvested by candle
light, so as not to adversely affect the colour of the stems. After the
tour I went to the pub across the road and had pigeon breast cooked in
Rhubarb, followed by rhubarb crumble and custard. Delicious.
On a personal level, I have 17 cultivars growing in large pots. I have
to say that when eating green rhubarb, prior to obtaining my collection
I would not have acknowledged the variation of types and flavour. Now
having my own mini collection there are definite distinct flavour
characters between them.
Regards
Clifford Cain
Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK
[NAFEX] Re - Rhubarb,
Clifford Cain - uk yahoo, 12/14/2009