From the dark forcing sheds of Yorkshire, the first harvests of the neon-pink Yorkshire forced rhubarb are now available. This is always an early highlight in our year – a British product with masses of character and creative potential in the kitchen.

Rhubarb large grade

Key Facts 

Yorkshire forced rhubarb is a product with a Protected Designation of Origin status (PDO). This means the genuine article can only be grown in a small area of Yorkshire where the microclimate and soil is ideally suited to growing this crop.

The rhubarb is ‘forced’ by moving young plants from the fields into low, dark, warm sheds. This combination of heat and moisture tricks the plants into thinking it’s spring and time to grow. The darkness encourages the plants to stretch upwards in search of light and accounts for the vivid pink colour. Traditionally it was harvested by candlelight, but while this practise is still in use many growers turn on dim lights in the corner of their sheds – as stipulated by modern health and safety regulations

Rhubarb Small Grade

Forced rhubarb was first grown in Yorkshire in the 1870’s and became extremely popular around the time of World War 2, but then sugar rationing contributed to it falling out of fashion. In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in the crop as customers are increasingly interested in local, seasonal products with a distinctive character.

Uses in the Kitchen

Classic uses include crumbles, tarts, cheesecakes and the like. But a recent trend has been for slicing it into ribbons for use a ‘rhubarb spaghetti’ on the dessert plate, often lightly poached first in a spiced sugar syrup. There are savoury recipes, too, that show off the rhubarb, such as a Persian lamb stew called ‘Khoresh Rivas’. Poached or baked rhubarb is also a brilliant match for oily fish such as mackerel or meats such as belly pork or goose, where the acidity helps to cut through the fat. We can supply various grades of Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb, including the smaller grade ‘sticks’ which offer good value.

Yorkshire Rhubarb

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