Kitchen Detective: ; a Crisp Is a Great Way to Use Up Rhubarb; Let Fruit Soak First to Eliminate Fruit's Sharp Taste

Summary

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My Vermont garden is already bursting with rhubarb. Much like fiddlehead ferns, they are a sign that the "outdoor" cooking season is upon us, the time when one can scoot out of the kitchen door and grab something to throw in the pot. But just like some of our other Vermont crops - corn, strawberries, and blueberries - the yield far outweighs one's creativity in the kitchen. A rhubarb crisp, when well made, goes a long way to using up this oversupply.

Testing began, of course, with the rhubarb. We wanted the crisp to bake up in either an 8-by-8-inch baking dish or a 9-inch deep- dish pie plate and we needed about 8 cups or 2 pounds of rhubarb. The first step, we determined, was to soak the rhubarb in cold water for about 20 minutes to eliminate its sharp bite. The rhubarb is best soaked in long lengths. If cut into small pieces, it tends to fall apart. We like the flavor of dark red stalks better than the pale pinkish green stalks and thin stalks were less stringy than fat ones. Once soaked we cut the stalks into 1-inch lengths.

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Kitchen Detective: ; a Crisp Is a Great Way to Use Up Rhubarb; Let Fruit Soak First to Eliminate Fruit's Sharp Taste

As for the sugar, we tested granulated sugar, brown sugar, and honey and preferred the clean flavor of 3/4 cup granulated sugar. For citrus, we tested orange, l...

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