All products are independently selected by our editors. If you purchase something, we may earn a commission.
Custard (or vanilla in any form), strawberries, lemon, cinnamon and cardamom; all flavours which very much invite rhubarb to join the party. Potentially top of this list is ginger, especially the context of jam. A seasonal hero from Durslade, this particular preserve is made in their Farm Shop kitchen using rhubarb from the Triangle itself, balanced with warm stem ginger and bright citrus notes. It’s made in small batches, so a breakfast-topper that I ration while the season lasts!
Time-honoured brewing methods make the most of traditional farming techniques at Orkney Gin Company, not least in the brand’s rhubarb-flavoured variety, which is lightly sweetened without pulling its punches on the zestiness. Made in the Old Tom style originating in the 18th century, the gin pairs the flavour of the headline pink stems with juniper, cinnamon, rose petals and Seville orange. Though its maker admittedly has its roots in Orkney, this liquor marries all that Yorkshiremen know about growing rhubarb with all the Scots know about brewing botanical spirits.
Ffern, an organic fragrance company based in Somerset, approaches perfume slightly differently. They release four scents a year, which change with the seasons. This year, ‘Spring 24’ takes inspiration from the band of Yorkshire growers that so entranced us. As rhubarb is one of the plants with no fragrant oil to extract, Ffern have captured the distinctively tart zing through bitter orange, bergamot and grapefruit. The sweetness, even more pronounced in the red variety typical of the Triangle, comes from davana, a fragrant herb said to smell different on every person who wears it, but always with a syrupy tone. The all-important earthiness comes from a common pairing: ginger plus red cedar. A truly seasonal new-season fragrance.
For those on the hunt for the very freshest batch of the pink stuff (and equipped with fingers on the greener end of the spectrum), this terracotta forcer from Original Organics may be just the ticket. With a detachable lid and four galvanised steel pegs to force the rhubarb upwards while keeping it firmly rooted to the ground, the product also has a classic tea-stained finish to make it an easy-on-the-eye addition to any vegetable garden or allotment. If the rhubarb season seems too short for such a space investment, chicory and asparagus respond similarly to growing in darkness. Become an all-purpose master of crop coercion.
If the sight of vibrant red stalks whets your appetite for botanical history as well as crumble, try this book by Clifford M. Foust. An Asian plant with special chemical and medicinal properties, rhubarb sparked many European trade expeditions and much in-depth scientific research from the Renaissance through to the 20th century. In a survey which includes sections on the geographic and economic importance of the plant, Foust presents the remarkable efforts taken to adapt rhubarb for convenient use in Europe. This 1992 first edition also covers the international culinary craze it set off in the 19th century – one which seems to be returning today.
Happily, rhubarb gluts are common enough that the imagination can run dry on how to use it all up. As well as the more obvious crumbles, cobblers, tarts, jams, stewing and baking, I like to think I have pushed the boat out a bit with creations like chilli-infused chutney, homemade gin, mustard pickling, even a savoury curry. I haven’t, however, ever gone as far as brushing my teeth with it. Dubious as I was about this rhubarb toothpaste from Marvis, the fruit’s bitter, aromatic notes blend surprisingly well with the powerful freshness of menthol and mint.
A no-fuss crumble will always be my go-to solution to a rhubarb craving. Pair with custard for the classic combo, lift with delicate raspberry and lemon, or boost the root’s zingy notes with ginger and cardamom. Eyeball quantities and experiment with flavours, or keep a recipe on hand – very visibly on hand, if you plump for this illustrated tea towel. Designed by Studio Wald for the Hepworth Wakefield, it has been hand-stitched and screen-printed in Yorkshire to coincide with the exhibition The Rhubarb Triangle and Other Stories: Photographs by Martin Parr.
To emulate the romanticism of forced rhubarb’s signature blushing pink – and indeed that of its candlelit existence – without the grittier pastoral realities, consider this pair of candlesticks from Steuben Glass. This is an original 1920s set designed by Frederick Carder, the founder and artistic director of the brand. The sight of one of these slender, soft-pink glass stems holding a flickering flame rhymes with a typical forcing-shed scene: rhubarb stalks reaching up into the darkness towards a few low lights.
This ‘Rhubarb Smoke’ candle by Boy Smells captures the scents and quasi-religious ambiance of forcing sheds, where rhubarb is grown in darkness and picked in the company of that same warm glow. The coconut and beeswax candle envelops its owner in earthy notes of ivy, white birch and wild fig, lifted by sharp rhubarb and just-brewed black tea. Even the lingering smoke created by blowing out the candle enhances the scent, and further parallels the picking practices of the Rhubarb Triangle; all without the mud.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter, and be the first to receive exclusive shopping stories like this one, direct to your inbox
