Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce
It’s been a week and there’s nothing like savoring a good old fashioned strawberry rhubarb sauce with pancakes to start the weekend off right. Before making this sauce, I had never tasted let alone cooked with rhubarb before in my life. I had seen strawberry rhubarb pies, of course, but never ate one. I’m positive this strawberry rhubarb sauce will convert you to being a rhubarb fan if you’re not.
Rhubarb comes in bright colors of red and green. Some varieties are grown to purposely be a vibrant red or pink color, but the color has no effect on the taste of the rhubarb. The rhubarb I bought from Strites’ Orchard was mostly green with just a touch of red. Since it is early in the season, the rhubarb stalks are young and tender. I read conflicting directions on whether or not to peel the rhubarb before cooking with it, and ultimately decided not to. If your rhubarb is older or tougher, you may want to peel it first.
I love vintage recipes, in case you forgot, so I really wanted to try an old fashioned rhubarb recipe. That’s where the Evening Public Ledger came into play. This Philadelphia based newspaper was published until 1942 and contained a column by a Mrs. Willson which had various savory and sweet and sometimes unique recipes. I found this rhubarb sauce recipe from 1915.
I decided to throw in some strawberries, that I also bought at Strites’, because strawberries and rhubarb just seem to go well together. Initially, I was going to make the strawberry rhubarb sauce in the slow cooker, but ours had a hole in it, so I decided to make it the old fashioned way just like the recipe calls for: in a double boiler. I had to improvise a little since I didn’t have an actual double boiler. You can use any pan and any metal or glass bowl that will fit snugly in the pan but won’t touch the boiling water.
You should probably serve the strawberry rhubarb sauce over ice cream or make it for Mother’s Day and serve it over pancakes for your mom for breakfast.
Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 stalks rhubarb cut in 1/2"-1" pieces
- 1 pint strawberries sliced
- 1/2 cup maple sugar
Instructions
- Prepare your double boiler by bringing the water in the bottom pan to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and place bowl on top.
- Add the rhubarb, strawberries, and sugar to the bowl and cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
- Use a potato masher or spoon to mash the strawberries and rhubarb. Cook an additional 20 minutes.
EEEEP! This looks so yummy. My neighbor grows rhubarb and always gives me some!
Thank you! Let me know if you try it!