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Rhubarb

Rhubarb comes into season in the spring of the year, just as apples are going out, and before fresh fruit comes in. It is therefore a most useful production, and it is appetising as well as wholesome, and is excellent for purifying the blood. The parts of the plant used are the foot-stalks, and when these are very young they require only to be wiped with a damp cloth, and afterwards cut into suitable lengths before being cooked. When the stalks are fully grown and thick, the skin should be peeled off. Early forced rhubarb, or champagne rhubarb, as it is called, is especially prized for its beautiful colour. When rhubarb is grown in the garden this variety may be easily cultivated by placing an empty cask over the plant at the beginning of winter. As rhubarb possesses the quality of imbibing the flavour of anything with which it is cooked and imparting its own flavour very slightly, it is most useful for mixing with other and more richly-flavoured fruits in making pies and puddings.