Not as often seen outside of the UK, rhubarb sauce is actually an incredible mix of sweetness and tartness. Simple to make, and surprisingly healthy too, enjoy this rhubarb sauce on ice cream or even cake!
For some other great ways to use rhubarbs, why not make this Simple Rhubarb Crisp? Or this recipe for Coconut Rhubarb Crunch instead?
Rhubarb Sauce
Rhubarb sauce, and rhubarbs in general, are not as often enjoyed outside of the UK.
Made from the tough, fibrous rhubarb plant, this sauce is nothing more than boiling rhubarb with some sugar and vanilla extract until it basically turns into a jam.
When stored in the fridge and allowed to set up a little bit, this sauce makes for an incredible topping on ice cream, especially if you pair it with some contrasting flavors!
Rhubarb Sauce Ingredients
Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.
• Rhubarb
• White sugar
• Salt
• Water
• Vanilla extract
How To Make Rhubarb Sauce
• Chop the rhubarb into 1-inch pieces
• In a large saucepan, add the rhubarb, sugar, salt, vanilla, and water, and then bring it to a boil
• Reduce the heat and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes
• Pour into jars with lids and refrigerate
• This sauce is great on vanilla ice cream or a simple white cake
Is Rhubarb Safe To Eat?
One of the most pervasive rumors about rhubarbs is that they are somehow inherently dangerous to eat.
There is this all-pervading idea that rhubarbs can actually poison you if you eat a large enough amount of them.
However, the truth is that rhubarbs are perfectly safe to eat, even in pretty high quantities.
The origin of this myth comes from the fact that other parts of the rhubarb plant, primarily the leaves and stalks, contain a large amount of oxalic acid, a pretty dangerous substance that can actually kill you if you eat even only a few leaves.
The actual rhubarb that we eat, however, doesn’t really contain much oxalic acid at all. While there is some inside of the edible part, you would really need to consume more rhubarb than you could probably physically eat in a single sitting to be able to suffer any kind of ill effects.
Rhubarb is completely safe to eat and is indeed surprisingly healthy, seeing as it basically contains no fat and also has a variety of helpful and nutritious micronutrients!
How To Use This Rhubarb Sauce
Most people likely haven’t ever actually had any rhubarb, let alone any rhubarb sauce, so they might be a bit confused as to how they should actually use this sauce once they have made it.
Rhubarb sauce is one of those really unique sauces that have a distinctive flavor and straddles the line between tart and sweet.
It can’t really be compared to the acidity and bite of a lemon, but it does hit those same tart notes, almost as if you removed the sugar and “lemonyness” of a lemon, and you just had the tart.
However, once boiled with sugar and vanilla, rhubarbs break down into a sticky, jam-like sauce, especially once they have been allowed to settle in the fridge for a little while.
You should use this rhubarb sauce like you would use any sweet sauce, almost like it was a caramel sauce or icing glaze.
Drizzle it over some ice cream, or pour it over a cake that needs a little bit more depth of flavor. You could also use it as a spread to put on toast, a scone, or any kind of baked good that just needs that additional hint of sweetness.
Looking for more delicious Icing, Glaze, or Sauce recipes? Try these out:
• How to Make Brown Sugar Sauce
Happy Cooking
Love,
Karlynn
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Rhubarb Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 cups chopped rhubarb
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Chop the rhubarb into 1 inch pieces.
- In a large saucepan add the rhubarb, sugar, salt, vanilla and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until the rhubarb is soft.
- Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Pour into jars with lids and refrigerate.
- This sauce is great on vanilla ice cream or a white cake.
Mary ann yohanan says
Should You peel the stalks?
Kathy Huizenga says
My finished rhubarb sauce is green. I’m guessing that’s because your rhubarb maybe had more red in it than mine. But it taste delicious. Can’t wait to try it on ice cream!
Rose Bowler says
Almost identical to how my mother used to can quarts of rubarb fruit little more sugar little more water canned in a water bath. Served in winter after supper in fruit nappies. A good treat on a cold stormy winter night on the farm.
Kathy says
When I was a small child my mom would make this and give it to me when I was sick. I still (at 70) love rhubarb especially mixed with strawberries baked as a crisp.