The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-06
IN PIE-PLANT SEASON.

The particular branch-or, more cor
rectly speaking-root of the rhubarb
Rheum) family Familiarity known by the
above appellation-also as garden rhu-
barb, monks rhubarb. etc.-belongs to the
vegetable group, but for all domestic pur-
poses is used as a fruit only.
1t is a vegetable growing rapidly and
appearing very early in the spring and
yielding an agreeable sub-acid juice that
is grateful to most tastes, many consid-
ering its flavor quite equal to the cook
ing apple and gooseberry. Coming into
market when the apple is becoming
scarce, and before the gooseberry appears.
it is doubly welcome as an available ma
terial for pie-making, sauce and many
simple, tasty desserts.
The well known medicinal quality of
the plant lies in the root, not the edible
stalk. The English varieties of common
garden varieties cannot compare with the
Turkey rhubarb as medicine, a fact that
ADDS to the usefulness of the rheum rhap-
onticum as a table delicacy. AS its prop
critics are mildly corrective and it's acids,
poetic, malic and citric, in the young,
tender Ieaf-stalks are blood purifying TO
a moderate degree it makes another val
liable addition to our natural spring ton
les. The excessive use of the older leaf
stalks tends to thin the blood and pro-
duce eruption on the skin. The juice of
garden rhubarb yields a considerable
quantity of saccharine matter and makes
an excellent honSS-made wine.
When the leaf-stalk grows very large
and old the acid becomes very sharp and
the stalk stringy, the ceilulose tough and
woody. 1t should not be eaten too freely,
it is likely TO cause serious irritation.
At this tage. if used at all. it is better
made into jellies and wines.
Pie-PIant Sauce.
In cooking the young, tender Ieaf-stalks
do not strip off the skin, as this gives
flavor to the sauce. If you wish to re-
move some of the tartness pour boiling
water over it and let it stand for five
minutes. Cook in a double boiler until
tender and sweeten to taste. Just before
removing from the fire, add a few chips
of the yellow rind of lemon and a table
spoonful of butter.
Stewed Rhubarb.
Wash the leaf-stalks well in cold water;
do not skin them if young and tender,
otherwise peel off the outer skin. Cut
into small pieces and put into a porce
lain-lined or earthen dish. Cover with
half the weight of the rhubarb in granu-
lated sugar and place where it will cook
slowly until tender Old not stir. When
the juice begins to come out cover the
dish and let steam. No water will be re-
quired when cooked in this manner.
Rhubarb DumpIings.
Cut into small pieces one and one-half
pounds of rhubarb, scald for five minutes
in boiling water. drain, add heaping |
CUP of sugar and a half cup of hot water
and cook seven minutes. Make light
rich biscuit crust with flour, butter, salt
and baking powder and water to make
a dough that will roll out easily. Cut
into four-inch squares; put two table
spoonfuls of the rhubarb in each one,
pinch the edges together; brush with
milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in |
a hot oven and serve with a sweet sauce. |
Rhubarb or Pie-Plant CobbIer.
Select rhubarb that is perfectly fresh, |
tender and crisp. Cut into small pieces |
and chop fine Make a dough with two |
cups of sifted -four. two teaspoonfuls of |
baking powder, half a teaspoonful of |
salt. two large tablespoonfuls of butter, |
an egg beaten light and from three
sourths to a cupful of milk. Line the sides
Of a baking dish with this crust; fill the |
dish with one quart of the chopped rhu-
barb. sweeten with three cups of sugar,
cover the dish with the remainder of the
crust and bake for half an hour.