WHAT IS RHUBARB?

Cast an eye over any traditional allotment and you will see numerous outcrops of healthy, vigorous rhubarb plants. So well does it grow in this country that you can be forgiven for thinking that it is cultivated from native stock, but you would be wrong as it origins lie far on the other side of the world in Asia.

Rhubarb is a truly ancient food that was introduced into Europe via trade routes from China. Botanically-known as Rheum rhabarbarum, its name comes from a combination of the Greek word Rha for the Volga River, and the Latin word barbarum, the region of the Rha River inhabited by non-Romans (barbarians). The earliest records for this plant date back to China in 2700 BC when Rhubarb was cultivated for medicinal use, however it was the more popular, edible species Rheum rhaponticum that came to be introduced to Europe by the Italian botanist, Prosper Alpinus in 1608. Strangely, it wasn't until 1778 that rhubarb was officially recorded as a food plant. Just make sure you only eat the cooked, succulent stems - the leaves contain toxins!

The imperial commissioner, Lin Zexu, was sent to Canton in 1839 to put an end to the opium trade. He wrote a letter to Queen Victoria pointing to the 'fact' that the foreign barbarians would surely die if they could not obtain tea and rhubarb from China. For this reason, the Queen should stop the 'wicked' British merchants from trading in opium otherwise sanctions would be introduced. Unfortunately, it appears that Queen Victoria never had the letter translated to her and so when Lin Zexu wrote to the British merchants in Canton telling them to bring the opium trade to an end or it would ultimately mean the death of the 'pitiful' foreigners, the British responded with canon boats - signalling the beginning of the first Opium War.

Rhubarb pots

With imported Rhubarb now in short supply, the Victorian gardeners began selectively propagating those varieties available which gave fleshy edible stems.

Although still sharp to taste, they found that they could be improved significantly by growing them in darkness - this was discovered by chance when a Chelsea gardener left a chimney pot over one of his plants.

This forced growing of the Rhubarb caused the sugar to acid ratio to change dramatically, producing a sweeter 'fruit', but only from late winter and through to the early spring. This forced rhubarb was infinitely more delicate than the outdoor garden variety and became something of a delicacy. Even today, the best quality stems – known as Grade One and Crimson Crown grade (a premium grade bestowed only on the finest stalks) - are still coveted by top chefs.

From this came the well known Yorkshire forcing industry which exploited the early onset of winter and good growing conditions found in the Wakefield area. In fact this whole area soon became known as the the 'Wakefield Triangle' with Leeds and Bradford forming the other two corners.

Rhubarb fields

In its heyday, there were nearly 200 growers producing rhubarb with many tonnes of produce carried on the 'rhubarb express' train to cities in the south.

Today there are barely 12 growers left as the industry was dealt a severe blow by the cheap availability of imported exotic fruit, a popular market that has continued since the 1980’s. Nowadays, together with rising fuel and labour costs, rhubarb eventually become too expensive for many growers to produce.

On a more positive note, Yorkshire rhubarb growers have been campaigning for clearer labelling of their rhubarb and has made an application for a protected name status, similar to that of ‘champagne’ and ‘parma’ ham. Although this has been approved by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in July 2007, the application is still waiting for a decision by the European Commission.

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