when are you sowing your garden this year?

[Jonsey]

I planted four rhubarb today, just off the edge of our septic field. They will have full sun most all day. I have another that I planted about 6 years ago where it gets plenty of ground water but it doesn't get enough sun. I might transplant it tomorrow.

In prepping the holes for the rhubarb I fertilized with organic moose berries gathered from the yard. So I'll call it moose rhubarb, and later this summer I'll make moose rhubarb pie and moose rhubarb cordial.

Will you share your recipe for rhubarb cordial?

[Hummer]

Will you share your recipe for rhubarb cordial?

Sure. We've made many fruit cordials or liqueurs over the years but last year was the first I've used rhubarb--from stalks a neighbor gave us. I made one with vodka, another with Buffalo Trace bourbon, and one vodka batch I blended with a peach liqueur that I'd made. I don't think I've done any batch the same, it's more what I have on hand or what seems like it would taste good. I like rhubarb but I didn't expect the liqueur to be very drinkable, but it was surprisingly good!

Liqueurs can be made from most any fruit by filling a wide mouth jar with fruit and topping up with liquor, then letting it steep in a refrigerator for a few months. Some people use Ever-clear but I find it too harsh, and it takes longer to mellow. Vodka, rum, bourbon work well, even gin and tequila. Also use or add triple sec, or Grand Marnier, etc. for richer flavor. Add sugar, the amount depending on the batch size and sweetness of the fruit. Tart fruit like rhubarb, chokecherry and wild raspberries will take more sugar. Lots of recipes on the web like this one which uses vodka, Grand Marnier and sugar: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/rhubarb-liqueur

Don't be afraid to get creative, it's almost impossible to screw up good booze, good fruit and sugar. But aging the liqueur a few months to a year will help integrate and mellow the flavors.

Steep the liquor in the fruit for 1-3 months or so, then drain, strain and filter if possible. We usually bottle and cork in 375 ml wine bottles, but sometimes use clear beer bottles with a capper.

The rhubarb I planted last week won't be harvested until next year. (It wasn't helped when a bear dug up two of the plants the next night!) On Saturday, a friend brought us 21 lbs. of rhubarb from her garden in Oregon so we went to work making rhubarb sauce, apricot-rhubarb pie, and rhubarb cordial. From the sauce we made and served rhubarb margaritas. Yea. We don't have our large mouth jars here now so we started a batch of liqueur in a bottle of tequila we had on hand. I'll make more soon when I can acquire more wide mouth jars.

[Jonsey]

Sure. We've made many fruit cordials or liqueurs over the years but last year was the first I've used rhubarb--from stalks a neighbor gave us. I made one with vodka, another with Buffalo Trace bourbon, and one vodka batch I blended with a peach liqueur that I'd made. I don't think I've done any batch the same, it's more what I have on hand or what seems like it would taste good. I like rhubarb but I didn't expect the liqueur to be very drinkable, but it was surprisingly good!

Liqueurs can be made from most any fruit by filling a wide mouth jar with fruit and topping up with liquor, then letting it steep in a refrigerator for a few months. Some people use Ever-clear but I find it too harsh, and it takes longer to mellow. Vodka, rum, bourbon work well, even gin and tequila. Also use or add triple sec, or Grand Marnier, etc. for richer flavor. Add sugar, the amount depending on the batch size and sweetness of the fruit. Tart fruit like rhubarb, chokecherry and wild raspberries will take more sugar. Lots of recipes on the web like this one which uses vodka, Grand Marnier and sugar: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/rhubarb-liqueur

Don't be afraid to get creative, it's almost impossible to screw up good booze, good fruit and sugar. But aging the liqueur a few months to a year will help integrate and mellow the flavors.

Steep the liquor in the fruit for 1-3 months or so, then drain, strain and filter if possible. We usually bottle and cork in 375 ml wine bottles, but sometimes use clear beer bottles with a capper.

The rhubarb I planted last week won't be harvested until next year. (It wasn't helped when a bear dug up two of the plants the next night!) On Saturday, a friend brought us 21 lbs. of rhubarb from her garden in Oregon so we went to work making rhubarb sauce, apricot-rhubarb pie, and rhubarb cordial. From the sauce we made and served rhubarb margaritas. Yea. We don't have our large mouth jars here now so we started a batch of liqueur in a bottle of tequila we had on hand. I'll make more soon when I can acquire more wide mouth jars.

Thank you very much Hummer. I will try this when I get my rhubarb going again as I am moving and only taking a small one with me for propagation.

One year I made rhubarb butter by cooking it down into a sauce with sugar and then cooking it even more on low heat to get rid of most of the water. Then I canned it in a hot water bath. It was very nice. I would say to eat it on pancakes but I think most of it got eaten straight, with a spoon.
I think your forest is very pretty. Good luck with the mooses and bears!

[Hummer]

Thank you very much Hummer. I will try this when I get my rhubarb going again as I am moving and only taking a small one with me for propagation.

One year I made rhubarb butter by cooking it down into a sauce with sugar and then cooking it even more on low heat to get rid of most of the water. Then I canned it in a hot water bath. It was very nice. I would say to eat it on pancakes but I think most of it got eaten straight, with a spoon.
I think your forest is very pretty. Good luck with the mooses and bears!

Cooked rhubarb with it's high acidity and added sugar syrup will last a long time refrigerated, even without canning. Of course, canning is a good way to take advantage of fruits and veggies when they're abundant. My grandma had a perennial crop of rhubarb in her Denver garden and I grew to love the sauces, pies, syrups and jams that she made from it. I imagine she might have made rhubarb liqueur too, but she wouldn't have told anyone, or labeled the bottles. Nana was a closet sipper who re-bottled rum into plastic containers so it wouldn't look like she kept alcohol in the house. She lived through the Great Depression and her experiences led her to build a large basement cold cellar room filled with home canned goods.

We picked up a couple 3 qt. jars and added to the rhubarb cordials in making. One is dry with tequila only, no sugar yet, one uses vodka with Grand Marnier and sugar syrup, and another is with rum and triple sec with sugar syrup. We'll see how they come out in a few months.






BTW, I have neighbors here in the mountains who have rhubarb plants that I know are more that 35 years old. It's a trouble free and abundant food producer. And, I've never seen evidence that wildlife eat it.

[Jonsey]

Cooked rhubarb with it's high acidity and added sugar syrup will last a long time refrigerated, even without canning. Of course, canning is a good way to take advantage of fruits and veggies when they're abundant. My grandma had a perennial crop of rhubarb in her Denver garden and I grew to love the sauces, pies, syrups and jams that she made from it. I imagine she might have made rhubarb liqueur too, but she wouldn't have told anyone, or labeled the bottles. Nana was a closet sipper who re-bottled rum into plastic containers so it wouldn't look like she kept alcohol in the house. She lived through the Great Depression and her experiences led her to build a large basement cold cellar room filled with home canned goods.

We picked up a couple 3 qt. jars and added to the rhubarb cordials in making. One is dry with tequila only, no sugar yet, one uses vodka with Grand Marnier and sugar syrup, and another is with rum and triple sec with sugar syrup. We'll see how they come out in a few months.






BTW, I have neighbors here in the mountains who have rhubarb plants that I know are more that 35 years old. It's a trouble free and abundant food producer. And, I've never seen evidence that wildlife eat it.

Grandmas are lovely people.

These look really fun to make. I can't wait to get moved so I can start my garden again. I will have to try rhubarb up on my mountain property too. I have been trying to think of ways to grow things up there. Lots of deer. I really like the way you seem to be forest gardening. I was thinking about doing that too and wondering if any of my herbs would survive sheltered by the trees.

[Brian]

Cooked rhubarb with it's high acidity and added sugar syrup will last a long time refrigerated, even without canning. Of course, canning is a good way to take advantage of fruits and veggies when they're abundant. My grandma had a perennial crop of rhubarb in her Denver garden and I grew to love the sauces, pies, syrups and jams that she made from it. I imagine she might have made rhubarb liqueur too, but she wouldn't have told anyone, or labeled the bottles. Nana was a closet sipper who re-bottled rum into plastic containers so it wouldn't look like she kept alcohol in the house. She lived through the Great Depression and her experiences led her to build a large basement cold cellar room filled with home canned goods.

We picked up a couple 3 qt. jars and added to the rhubarb cordials in making. One is dry with tequila only, no sugar yet, one uses vodka with Grand Marnier and sugar syrup, and another is with rum and triple sec with sugar syrup. We'll see how they come out in a few months.






BTW, I have neighbors here in the mountains who have rhubarb plants that I know are more that 35 years old. It's a trouble free and abundant food producer. And, I've never seen evidence that wildlife eat it.

Wish we lived closer to you two. The things I could learn by watching all the magic that happens bubbling away in those jars/carboys, or in this case just soaking away I guess...