Beyond the South End

Rhubarb Musings

 

 

Shared From Maine Boats, Homes, & Harbors, The online version

We celebrate spring in the April/May issue with a story about that early garden sprouter, rhubarb, which was used as medicine long before it became a staple in pie — some people say rhubarb was introduced to this country by a farmer in Maine. (See also a story by Sandra L. Oliver, “That Old Rhubarb” from the latest edition of the magazine.) Also see an old time recipe for the fruit, which it is now categorized as by the U.S. Customs because of its present culinary use as a dessert.)

Rhubarb seems like it’s always been a part of the New England landscape. But actually, rhubarb is native to Asia, and was once a staple of the China trade.

We asked Dan Finamore, the Russell W. Knight Curator of Maritime Art and History at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, to help us track down some background on the plant. The Massachusetts Historical Society holds a notebook from William P. Elting, which contains details about the China trade from 1797 to 1803. In the back section of Elting’s notebook notes on how to trade in Canton, include a description of how to identify the best rhubarb, Finamore found.

About 1840, the Chinese scholar Lin Zexu wrote to Britain’s Queen Victoria “Not to speak of our tea and rhubarb, things which your foreign countries could not exist a single day without.” For what it is worth, it appears the letter was not received.

In Maine, the Old York Historical Society has a rhubarb recipe that was written down about 1850 by Louisa Caroline Wilcox Putnam of York, according to Joe Lefever, executive director of Old York Museums. Louisa married Captain William Putnam in 1846, and she accompanied her husband on voyages to Asia and the west coast of the United States. Perhaps she got the recipe while on her travels abroad.

The recipe for “Rhubarb Marmelade” is in a book used aboard the ship William E. Roman, built in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1849-50 and on the ship Empress of the Sea, built in the Boston area in 1852-53. The book with the recipe also has financial accounting notes, from 1853 in San Francisco. That means Louisa used this recipe book on board the Empress of the Sea, according to Lefever. There also are Chinese word pronunciations in the back. So this book also probably went to China when she and her captain husband were there.
On the Roman, the Wilcoxes sailed from New York to Shanghai, Macao, Ankier, and then to Scilly Lights, England in 1850-51, and on the Empress from New York to San Francisco in 1853.

Here is the recipe:

Rhubarb Marmalade

Pare five oranges, taking away the white
rind and seeds - put the pulp in
 a sauce pan - with the peel cut 
very small; add five pounds of
 Rhubarb and cut very small - and 
four pounds of loaf sugar. Boil the whole two hours and the fruit 
half an hour before adding the sugar.
 3 Lemons instead of five oranges makes a nice change.

(Transcribed with the formatting as written.)

Recipe and Account Book of Louisa Caroline Wilcox Putnam (York, Maine 1822-1894 York, Maine) and Captain William E. Putnam (Stamford, Connecticut 1811-1868 York, Maine). A2014.252.001, Old York Historical Society Collection, Gift of Dorothy Hungerford.

Please let me know if you were actually able to follow this recipe and recreate it.

A Modern Day Recipe for Rhubarb

 

 

 

Rhubarb Raspberry Galette

From cooking.com

 

 

Ingredients

For the Dough:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

½ cup ice water

For the Filling

1 ½ lb. rhubarb

1 cup raspberries

3 tablespoons flour

1 to 1 ¼   cups sugar

Melted butter for brushing

Sugar for Sprinkling

Directions

To Make the Dough: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ice water and toss just until the mixture holds together. Be careful not to over mix. Press the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 min.

Line a baking sheet with kitchen parchment. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the chilled dough into a 14-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate while preparing the filling. (It’s important to keep the dough as cold as possible until you’re ready to bake.)

To Make the Filling: Trim the ends of the rhubarb and, if the stalks are more than 1 inch thick, cut them in half lengthwise. Cut the stalks into 1-inch-long pieces. In a large bowl, gently toss the rhubarb and raspberries with the flour and sugar. Let stand until moist, 5 to 10 min.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Gently spread the fruit in the center of the chilled pastry, leaving a 2-inch margin around the edge. Carefully fold the edge of the dough over the fruit, pleating it as you go. Brush the edge of the dough with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit is soft and bubbling, 45 to 55 min. Set on a rack to cool slightly. Wonderful served warm with vanilla ice cream.