Can you cook rhubarb with no sweetener?

I am going to have to make myself a wee rhubarb crumble and custard after eating this thread , my mouth is watering now !

No. I think he has ruined his taste buds swamping all savoury dishes in Worcestershire sauce and pepper! I don’t add extra seasoning so my taste buds notice strong tasting foods. I can’t eat very hot curry. I’ll try Temperley Early Rhubarb on him next.

25Avalon

Dh just said it was a bit bland when I dished it up!!!!

Did you tell him you'd given him his heart's desire ?

I do cook rhubarb without sugar or sweetener and I eat it mixed into plain yogurt or with overnight oats.
My teeth are still intact and my digestion is normal.

Maybe the red rhubarb would be less bland?

JackyB I never get the chance to do rhubarb crumble these days, which I would love, but wouldn't make just for me.

That's a real shame . You should make some for yourself.
What about using a packet of ready-made crumble? You could get some sent from the UK, if it's not available where you are.

When I had an excess of rhubarb I used to make rhubarb and ginger conserve.

Dh just said it was a bit bland when I dished it up!!!!

I use pineapple juice.

If you add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda, you can reduce the amount of sugar you need by at least half

Yuk no! Always add sugar ?

I pop ruhbarb in the microwave oven for 2 mins having added a little water and a spoon ful of brown sugar. Otherwise I add a sweetner afterwards.

You can certainly cook rhubarb without sweetening of any kind, but that wasn't really your query was it?

If your DH likes to try rhubarb without any sweetening that is his affair. Like you, and most of the rest of the world, I certainly am not able to eat unsweetened rhubarb.

Cook your usual amount without any sugar, dish half of it for him, add sugar to the rest for yourself, bring it up to the boil again.

Make sure you know which plate is which, put his in front of him and watch his face when he tastes it. Don't put a spoonful into your own mouth until he has tried to swallow his first mouthful, as I guarantee the sight of his face will make you laugh and choke if you were trying to eat or drink at the same time.

I’ve cooked the green stemmed rhubarb with no sugar or anything apart from a little water. I’ll give it to dh later and let you know.

... I'm sure you can...

i.imgur.com/bkYUTZL.mp4

I cook in a little water then stir a raspberry jelly into it and leave to set, lovely.

The reason one should never cook fruit with sugar is that the skins become very tough and leathery - very unpleasant in jams, for example.

I always add some berries instead of sugar…

I cook it without sugar then stir in some honey or sugar to taste while it is warm.

My father was fond on rhubarb and stayed with us on his many visits and so I had a clump of it = too big for my tiny plot and too tart for me. I had heard it aggravated arthritis due to the acidity? Also heard of the sweet cicily tip but never cooked with it. The rhubarb is long gone but the cicily comes up every year and lovely aniseed aroma to delicate leaves.

I'd think it would be bad for your stomach to eat it without sweetening. Give you the trots!

If anyone wants sweet cicely I'll send them some seeds. I have it growing all down the side of a long field. I thought it was very common, but it looks very much like cow parsley so perhaps people don't recognise it when they see it.

I tried using it once when my diabetic MiL was staying, but how do you remove it after cooking? It disintegrated into a slimy mess and stuck to the rhubarb.

This actually kicked me into gear to make my own tonight using my nearly dead punnet of strawberries that got freezer burn at the back of the fridge and some rhubarb. Used just oj for the sweetener.
Let us know how your DH gets on with his unsweetened rhubarb. Worth ruining the desert if it gets him to have a puckered face from the sour taste ?

Sweet cicely is good, but not a common plant. Some varieties have less acid naturally , Glaskins perpetual is for example, not an early variety but you can pick it longer into the season because of the lower acidity, many other varieties get more acidic as the season goes on. IF you want to grow that or other lower acid varieties there are specialist nurseries

I use lots of sugar. Used to dip the raw rhubarb into sugar as a child ?

I don’t add sugar if making a crumble, if making a pie I sprinkle caster sugar on top before cooking like my mother did. Seems to work ok, not had any complaints yet. Sometimes add stewed apple if I have some eating apples that need using up.

Elegran

There is only one way to prove to him that rhubarb without sweetener will set his teeth on edge. That is to insist on cooking HIS without any. Keep on doing your own as usual, and don't give in if he asks for some of yours!

Elegran I think you are right. He is so stubborn he won’t want to admit it if it gives him tooth and stomach rot but it will be interesting to see! I’ll also pull the rhubarb from the green stemmed plant not the red raspberry one, thanks to tips on here that red is naturally sweeter. I’ll come back and let you all know.