Rhubarb History On Three Continents
Rhabarbarum forte Dioscoridis, et Antiquorum = Rabarbero = Rubarbe = Rhubarb, circa 1771, Courtesy of the New York Public Library
Today we share this story in celebration of national strawberry month. It's rhubarb season! The origins of rhubarb dates back to China in 2700 BC when the Chinese cultivated rhubarb for medicinal use. The Italian botanist Prosper Alpinus introduced the more popular edible species to Europe in 1608. People did not recognize it as a food plant and cultivate it as such until 1750 in Germany. Europeans introduced rhubarb first to the New England region in the 1820s where it became a popular ingredient for pastry and pie fillings. Sometime in the nineteenth century it made its way south and became very popular among southerners. This period recipe from the 1950s with its unknown author is most likely from a southern migrant from Mississippi or Louisiana who settled in Chicago.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe
Ingredients
1 recipe for a plain pastry
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup diced rhubarb
1 1/2 cups strawberries cut
1 tablespoon butter
Directions
Mix dry ingredients and add to fruit. Mix all into unbaked shell and dot with butter. Place crisscrossed strips of pastry over the top. Bake at 450°F for 12 minutes then 350°F for 30 minutes.
The Chicago Defender, June 30, 1951
Rhubarb Recipes
Rhubarb and Poetry
The Life of Pie on the BBC Food Podcast
Southern Food and Civil Rights: Feeding the Revolution
Subscribe to our Podcasts
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Youtube
About Fred Opie
Books
Food Blog
Lacrosse Blog
