Rhubarb: A Sweet Treat

Rhubarb is a vegetable. It is fromSiberia. It grows in cold, wet weather.Rhubarb is a popular food in the UnitedKingdom and Norway. It has long, redstalks, and dark green leaves. Theleaves do not taste good, but the sweetstalks are good in desserts. Strawberryand rhubarb pie is a traditional dessertin the UK. Farmers found an interestingway to change the taste of rhubarb.Now, it is much sweeter.

Rhubarb is a seasonal vegetable. It isready to eat in the summer. Sweetrhubarb grows outside its season. It iscalled “forced rhubarb”. First, farmersgrow the rhubarb outside for two years.They do not protect it from the cold.When the rhubarb is very cold, farmerstake it inside to a warm place. This iscalled a “hothouse”. The hothouse isvery dark. The rhubarb grows duringthis time. Hothouse rhubarb is sweeter.