No Half Measures

26 May 2020

In all fairness, I really started my big rhubarb adventures in May 2018, but I’ve always loved it. As a child, my gramma would make rhubarb pies of all kinds and it was my favorite. If any of us grandkids got to choose what dessert we got for our birthday, it was rhubarb pie.

Fast forward to my adult life. We had moved to Saint Paul in 2014 and I’d always wanted to make my own pies, but finding rhubarb is the problem. I think I got a little bit one year but it certainly wasn’t enough. We moved into our house in 2016 and it was while biking the neighborhood that I noticed a house with a massive rhubarb patch in the back. So of course, against Kevin’s better judgement, I left a note on their door. Surprisingly, they emailed me! And that’s how we got our first huge batch of rhubarb - 45 lbs!

That year, since we had such a huge abundance of rhubarb we decided to make rhubarb wine. The first batch turned out great! In 2019 we got some rhubarb that was slightly past its prime and the wine didn’t taste as good.

We followed this recipe, which is basically 3.5 lbs of rhubarb, 3 lbs of sugar, 1 tube of white grape juice concentrate, white wine yeast and yeast nutrient. You let it sit for several months, racking it to clarify the wine, until you finally bottle it. It’s quite easy and delicious!

The 2018/2019 bounty prompted us to try and start our own patches at the in-laws’ houses.

Unfortunately, I tried reaching out to the person with the big patch in 2019 but didn’t hear back. This year, 2020, I saw a post about a “ton” of rhubarb that was free for the taking. I was skeptical, because my definition of “a lot” and the normal definition differ drastically, but I figured if I got even a few pies out of it, that was better than nothing.

We did quite a bit better than that, though, bringing home 22 lbs of rhubarb!

And what did I do besides make pies right away?

I estimate that I have enough for 17 pies. So far I’ve made 8 full size pies and 6 mini pies, after I bought the wrong size pie tin. So I have about 7 pies left to make!