If you wait too long, you might just miss rhubarb season. Usually only found between mid-spring and mid-summer, rhubarb season is quite short, so make sure to take advantage of it while it’s around and make this no-fuss dessert crisp, loaded with fresh, sweet strawberries and tangy rhubarb. This combination of juicy sliced strawberries, tart rhubarb, and crunchy oatmeal crisp topping is one you won’t want to miss. So, if you see rhubarb at your local grocery store or farmer’s market, don’t hesitate, snag a bundle or two before it vanishes for another year.
How does one harvest rhubarb? This has been the question that has made me avoid doing anything with the rhubarb growing in my garden for the past three years now. Perhaps it’s a good thing that I waited, because after some online research and a bit of help from my brother, I realized I totally would have done it all wrong.
How to Harvest Rhubarb:
- Harvest rhubarb from late spring through the end of summer.
- Do not harvest rhubarb in its first year. In its second year, harvest only during the first two weeks and select only the largest stalks. During and after the third year, you can harvest one-third of the plant.
- Stalks are ready to harvest when they are half to one inch wide and show a dark pink to maroon coloring at their base.
- Twist at the bottom of the stalk to harvest the rhubarb. At most, pick three stalks per rhubarb cluster.
- Never leave any broken stalks, because this may cause infection. Cut these stalks off with a sharp knife, as well as the tops of any stalks that have started to flower. Do not allow your rhubarb plant to flower.
- Cut the leaves off the stalks you have harvested, and throw them away. Rhubarb leaves are poisonous and not meant for consumption.
- When stalks are all very thin, or you have harvested one-third of the plant, discontinue harvesting for the year.
- Rhubarb is best used when fresh, but may also be frozen.
Additional Things to Note When Deciding to Grow Rhubarb:
- This plant will continue to grow back every year, and if properly taken care of, may last for twenty years. Make sure to plant the rhubarb in a location that you will be happy with long-term.
- This plant needs a lot of water, so try to plant it as close to the water source in your garden as possible, or somewhere where you will not forget to water it often.
A huge thanks to my brother for coming to my aid in my first rhubarb harvest. It’s always nice to have someone with you who carries a knife at all times for just such tasks.
Ingredients:
Strawberry & Rhubarb Mixture
- Unsalted Butter, Cold
- 2 Cups Sliced Strawberries
- 2 Cups Chopped Rhubarb
- 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Corn Starch
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier (See Suggestions)
- Pinch of Salt
Crisp Topping:
- 1/3 Cup Quick Cooking Rolled Oats (See Suggestions)
- 1/3 Cup All-Purpose Flour (See Suggestions)
- 1/3 Cup Oat Flour (See Suggestions)
- 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- Pinch of Salt
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted
Directions:
Strawberry & Rhubarb Mixture:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Butter an 8 x 8 glass baking dish; set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the strawberries, rhubarb, granulated sugar, corn starch, vanilla, Grand Marnier, and a pinch of salt; set aside for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Crisp Topping:
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, all-purpose flour, oat flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter with a pinch of salt.
- Evenly spread the strawberry and rhubarb mixture in the glass baking dish. Using your hands, crumble the topping over the strawberry and rhubarb mixture.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling.
Suggestions:
- Allowing the strawberry, rhubarb, and sugar mixture to set for a few minutes will let all the ingredients meld properly before baking.
- If you don’t have Grand Marnier, you can omit it from the recipe or replace it with whiskey or brandy.
- You may use any type of flour you have on hand in this recipe. Normally, I would have used only all-purpose flour, but at the moment, I was attempting to get rid of a small bag of oat flour to make more room in my spice cabinet. Just make sure that you use a total of 2/3 cup of flour.
- I only had 1/3 cup of oats; had I had more on hand, I most likely would have used 2/3 cup in this recipe. Using more oats will not change any other measurements in this recipe or add any additional baking time.
- You can purchase rhubarb at your local market or farmer’s market. Search for stalks that are very firm, like what you would look for when buying celery.
Improvements:
- Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Check out our recipe for Classic Vanilla Ice Cream (Easy No Egg Recipe).
- Add the seeds of half of a vanilla bean to the sugar and fruit mixture before baking.
- Use Triple Sec, Gran Gala, or orange juice instead of Grand Marnier.
- Add finely chopped or sliced almonds to the crisp topping.
Ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter, Cold
- 2 Cups Sliced Strawberries
- 2 Cups Chopped Rhubarb
- 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Corn Starch
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier (See Suggestions)
- Pinch of Salt
- 1/3 Cup Quick Cooking Rolled Oats (See Suggestions)
- 1/3 Cup All-Purpose Flour (See Suggestions)
- 1/3 Cup Oat Flour (See Suggestions)
- 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- Pinch of Salt
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Butter an 8 x 8 glass baking dish; set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the strawberries, rhubarb, granulated sugar, corn starch, vanilla, Grand Marnier, and a pinch of salt; set aside for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, all-purpose flour, oat flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter with a pinch of salt.
- Evenly spread the strawberry and rhubarb mixture in the glass baking dish. Using your hands, crumble the topping over the strawberry and rhubarb mixture.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling.
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