Rhubarb delicacy and liquor

I love rhubarb and I'm always looking for
new recipes to try out.  I just had to try this. 

I do like Rhubarb.  I guess the flavour reminds me of childhood when we ate the raw stalks, sometimes after dipping them in sugar.  Back in those days there weren't that many sweets available so we kids would eat all sorts of plants such as Njóli (Rumex longifolius), Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) and Rhubarb.   I have to admit that my tastebuds can't bear the acid taste of raw Rhubarb anymore.  Nor am I a fan of Rhubarb jam.  I find it too heavy and almost gluey in concistency.  Although I have tasted very good jam that was 50/50 Rhubarb and Strawberries.

But before my youth, way back in the old days when fresh fruit was only seen in Iceland before Christmas and canned fruit was an expensive luxury, the heel of the Rhubarb was considered a special delicacy.  It was thought to taste similar to canned pears and those were expensive and difficult to get.  So when making Rhubarb jam, the heels would be cut away and canned separately.  This fact seems to be lost on many today as most people know that they are supposed to cut the bottom off the stalks, but instead of treating them with the reverence they deserve, people throw them away.  For some reason I mentioned this to a friend and a few days later she showed up with a bag of Rhubarb heels for me.  So this is what I did with them.

Rhubarb delicacy from way back when recession was the way of life

First I cleaned the heels and cut off the brown bits.  I then weighed them and I had about 200 g / 7oz.
I put them into a small pot and poured 180 g / 6.3 oz of sugar over them.  I heated this up and let it simmer gently until the heels were soft.  I then poured this into a sterile canning jar and let it cool before I closed the lid.  This is lovely warmed up slightly and served with ice cream.

I am still harvesting Rhubarb and have a few other recipes that I am going to make.  I'm making another batch of ice cream, this time I'm goining to siv the rhubarb bits out and see if my youngest likes it better.    I've made syrup before as well as saft, but I came across a recipe for a liquor that I thought was interesting.  I doubt that I'm going to try it, but even though I don't like to post recipes that I haven't tried and tested I thought I would write it down in case I change my mind.  It might make an interesting gift.

Rhubarb liquor

This recipe is for about 6 dl. and takes about 4 weeks to do.

5 dl / 2 cups Rhubarb pieces
4 dl / 1 3/4 cup vodka
1 vanilla pod
1,5 -2 dl (3/4 cup more or less) simple syrup

Put the Rhubarb into a jar. Pour the vodka into the jar, put a lid on and shake for a few minutes.
Let this stand for about 2 weeks.  Add the vanilla pod.
After about 4 week you siv the booze and add the simple syrup and stir well.  Taste and add more syrup as you like.
Let this stand for about a month to let the flavours mellow.
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