RHUBARB.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21136, 19 March 1932, Page 7 (Supplement)

RHUBARB.

TASTY. WAYS TO COOK. Stewed rhubarb on the menu too often means a shapeless mass of soft fibres, or raw, hard sticks drowned in water. It is perfectly easy to avoid these two extremes and produce a dish of wellregulated rhubarb, cut to suitable lengths, lying neatly side by side in its own juice, with a cunning flavouring of cloves, lemonrind, or cinnamon. The first essential' is not to peel the rhubarb and to cut it rather short, or it will be difficult to balance on the spoon and to eat gracefully. Lay it on a glass fireproof dish, and serve it in tho samo dish, thus avoiding taking it out or even pouring it out of a saucepan. Put with it a half-inch stick of cinnamon, a little sugar, and enough water to cover the bottom of the dish, and then bako it gently. For tlief best results tho dish should bo covered either with its own lid or with greased paper twisted over the edges to keep in the steam. It is done when tender, and it may be served hot, cold, or jellied. Rhubarb Jelly. Jellied rhubarb is excellent. Just pour off the juice, and, after measuring it, use it to dissolve half or a quarter of a packet of lemon jelly. Pour it back over tho rhubarb and leave till required. Rhubarb flan looks well with small red sticks of young rhubarb. A flan case or tart is made of short pastry and tho cold, stewed rhubarb is arranged carefully without any of the juice. A thick syrup is then made by boiling a cupful of granulated sugar in half a cup of hot juice for 10 minutes, taking care not to stir it after it has come to the boil. Let it get cool and pour it over the rhubarb. When the rhubarb is older and less pleasing to the eye, it can be hidden in the interior of a pudding. Two sticks of rhubarb are sliced thinly and boiled till they go to a mash in one pint of water with an inch stick of cinnamon to flavour. Measure it and make it up to one and a-half pints with some more water. Next sprinkle in three ounces of sago and stir now and again as it boils, especially when it begins to get thick. It should simmer for about 25 minutes and will be done when the grains of sago are transparent. Add sugar to taste and a few drops of cochineal to colour it and pdur into a wet mould. Rhubarb Meringue. Chop two pounds of rhubarb and cook it in very little water, then thicken it with one ounce of cornflour mixed with three ounces of sugar. After it has boiled for threo minutes add the yolks of two eggs and a cup of milk with an ounce of butter to give it a smooth, mild taste. Pour all into a pie-dish and bake for three-quarters of an hour, and to finish cover roughly with a meringue made- of the stiffly-beaten whites of the eggs dredged with sugar. This should be lightly browned in the oven for a minute or two. If an extra good sweet is wanted the pie-dish can be lined and ornamented with short pastry before the rhubarb is poured into it. Rhubarb Delight. Chop two sticks of rhubarb and stew them till soft. Then cream two ounces of butter with three ounces of sugar and stir in two eggs, beating well till it is light and creamy. Add the stewed rhubarb, which should not be watery, and beat again till fairly stiff, then heap in a glass dish on top of cold custard.