PRESERVED RHUBARB

This deliciously simple rhubarb recipe is from Diane Roupe's new book Blue Ribbon Country Canning. Diane is a preserving legend, having won numerous blue and red ribbons and the Iowa State Fair - the real deal in American canning country!

Last year, I was lucky enough to shoot all the photographs for Diane's book. Working on Blue Ribbon Country Canning was an amazing creative endeavor, and so different from my own book project - I loved the challenge of honoring another author's vision through photography. After 12 months, it feels fantastic to finally touch the pages and see all the work that went into the book become a reality.

When shooting Diane's book, I fell in love with her rhubarb and knew I had to share this recipe with all of you. Diane's rhubarb maintains a wonderful tart bite while being just sweetened enough by a bit of sugar. Imagine nestling little bits of puckery ruby-hued rhubarb onto a bowl of vanilla ice cream... yum!


INGREDIENTS adapted from Diane Roupe's Blue Ribbon Country Canning from Egg + Dart Press
{printable recipe}

• 2 1/4 pounds rhubarb
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

Trim ends from rhubarb and slice stalks into 2 inch x 1/4 inch batons. Place cut rhubarb in a large stainless stockpot or dutch oven. Toss rhubarb with sugar. Cover and let rhubarb macerate for 4 hours to release its liquid. ( I occasionally stirred the rhubarb during this maceration phase.)

After 4 hours, place pot holding the rhubarb (and all of its released liquid) onto the stove top. Turn the flame to medium-high. Stir regularly while bringing the pot to a boil. Once boiling, count to 10 and remove the pan from the heat. (If you cook the rhubarb any longer, the fibers really break down and the consistency gets soft and mushy like stewed rhubarb. The flavor and texture are still delish, just not as firm as Diane's intention.)

Using a slotting spoon, immediately place rhubarb into jars and pour liquid over the top. Seal jars. For more information on this important phase of canning, please consult Diane's book, or your favorite canning guide. Keep in mind: you can also make this recipe and store the rhubarb in clean lidded containers in the fridge. Unsealed rhubarb should be eaten within 2 weeks.

Let jars cool to room temp and rest for 12 hours.

Serve rhubarb on something sweet and creamy like vanilla ice cream...






I thought you might enjoy a peek at some shots from the book...