Content
- Is rhubarb now a fruit or a vegetable?
- For botanists there is no doubt
- The main thing is healthy and tasty
- A vegetable with a high ornamental value
- Tips & Tricks
Is rhubarb now a fruit or a vegetable?
By the time the rhubarb season starts in April, the question is back in the room. Followers of the fruity-sour garden plant engage in passionate debates as to whether rhubarb is fruit or vegetable. The answer is amazing for some hobby gardeners.
For botanists there is no doubt
If the answer is literally true to the definitions for fruit and vegetables, there is no doubt that rhubarb is a vegetable. On the other hand, the trade bothers little and sorts rhubarb always in the fruit shelf.
In addition, the use of rhubarb is more likely to be associated with the fruit. The red or green stems are transformed into refreshing compotes, fruity marmalade, invigorating juice and seductive cakes.
Of course, the method of processing puts the rhubarb into the category of vegetables. It is not the fruits, but the bars that are being processed. For other stem vegetables, such as celery or asparagus, no one frowns at the question of fruit or vegetables.
The main thing is healthy and tasty
If hobby gardeners plant rhubarb, they certainly have no botanical sophistry in mind. Rather, they seek to cultivate a perennial shrub with a variety of healthy attributes:
Only the content of oxalic acid can cause sensitive people. If you refuse consumption after the end of the rhubarb season on June 24, there are no concerns. In higher concentrations oxalic acid is anyway contained only in the inedible leaves.
A vegetable with a high ornamental value
Once the question of fruit or vegetables has been clarified, rhubarb is actually becoming more and more of a fascination. In terms of varieties, such as the Siberian ornamental rhubarb, there are probably no vegetables that can make it more attractive to the water.
Tips & Tricks
If you want to be on the safe side in terms of oxalic acid, just use the following trick. Add 0.3 grams of carbonate of lime per 100 grams of rhubarb to the cooking water. The acid is bound in this way and poured off together with the water.
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