THE BEST OF BRITISH RHUBARB RECIPES

Cast an eye over any traditional British allotment and you will see numerous outcrops of healthy, vigorous rhubarb plants. So well does it grow in this country that you can be forgiven for thinking that it is cultivated from native stock, but you would be wrong as it origins lie far on the other side of the world in Asia.

Rhubarb is a truly ancient food that was introduced into Europe via trade routes from China. Botanically-known as Rheum rhabarbarum, its name comes from a combination of the Greek word Rha for the Volga River, and the Latin word barbarum, the region of the Rha River inhabited by non-Romans (barbarians). The earliest records for this plant date back to China in 2700 BC when Rhubarb was cultivated for medicinal use, but it was the more popular edible species, Rheum rhaponticum was introduced to Europe by Italian botanist Prosper Alpinus in 1608. Strangely, it wasn't until 1778 that rhubarb was officially recorded as a food plant.

Unfortunately today, Rhubarb is viewed as a 'paupers' food, even though it was once a highly valuable commercial crop, especially during the opium wars of 1839 to 1842 and 1856 to 1860. This was a trade dispute between China under the Qing Dynasty and the British Empire caused by the British smuggling opium from British India into China in defiance of China's drug laws.

The imperial commissioner, Lin Zexu, was sent to Canton in 1839 to put an end to the opium trade. He wrote a letter to Queen Victoria pointing to the 'fact' that the foreign barbarians would surely die if they could not obtain tea and rhubarb from China. For this reason, the Queen should stop the 'wicked' British merchants from trading in opium otherwise sanctions would be introduced. Unfortunately, it appears that Queen Victoria never had the letter translated to her and so when Lin Zexu wrote to the British merchants in Canton telling them to bring the opium trade to an end or it would ultimately mean the death of the 'pitiful' foreigners, the British responded with canon boats - signalling the beginning of the first Opium War.

With imported Rhubarb now in short supply, the Victorian gardeners began selectively propagating those varieties available which gave fleshy edible stems. Although still sharp to taste, they found that they could be improved significantly by growing them in darkness - this was discovered by chance when a Chelsea gardener left a chimney pot over one of his plants. This forced growing of the Rhubarb caused the sugar to acid ratio to change dramatically, producing a sweeter 'fruit', but only from late winter and through to the early spring. This forced rhubarb was infinitely more delicate than the outdoor garden variety and became something of a delicacy. Even today, the best quality stems - known as Grade One and Crimson Crown grade (a premium grade bestowed only on the finest stalks) - are still coveted by top chefs.

From this came the well known Yorkshire forcing industry which exploited the early onset of winter and good growing conditions found in the Wakefield area. In fact this whole area soon became known as the the 'Wakefield Triangle' with Leeds and Bradford forming the other two corners.

In its heyday, there were nearly 200 growers producing rhubarb with many tonnes of produce carried on the 'rhubarb express' train to cities in the south. Today there are barely 12 growers left as the industry was dealt a severe blow by the cheap availability of imported exotic fruit, a popular market that has continued since the 1980's. Nowadays, together with rising fuel and labour costs, rhubarb eventually become too expensive for many growers to produce.

On a more positive note, Yorkshire rhubarb growers have been campaigning for clearer labelling of their rhubarb and has made an application for a protected name status, similar to that of 'champagne' and 'parma' ham. Although this has been approved by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in July 2007, the application is still waiting for a decision by the European Commission.

Ingredients
For the rhubarb ice cream
450g/1lb rhubarb stems, trimmed, cut into 5cm/2in pieces
160g/6oz caster sugar
50ml/2fl oz water
6 free-range egg yolks
300ml/½ pint full-fat milk
300ml/½ pint double cream
1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out using a knife
For the roasted rhubarb
800g/1¾lb rhubarb stems, trimmed, cut into 5cm/2in pieces (1cm/½in thick)
300ml/½ pint cider
200g/7oz golden syrup
½ tsp five-spice powder
1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out using a knife
For the rhubarb tarts
500ml/17fl oz full-fat milk
1 vanilla pod, split
125g/4½oz caster sugar
5 free-range egg yolks, plus 1 free-range egg, beaten
4 heaped tbsp cornflour
500g/1lb 2oz all butter ready-rolled puff pastry
plain flour, for dusting

Method
For the rhubarb ice cream, place the rhubarb pieces, 50g/2oz of the sugar and all of the water into a pan. Stir well and cover the pan with a lid.Cook the rhubarb over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the rhubarb has softened, then remove the lid and continue to cook until it has broken down. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining sugar until pale and fluffy.

In a separate pan, bring the milk, cream, vanilla pod and vanilla seeds to a simmer. When the milk mixture is just boiling, discard the vanilla pod (it can be washed and dried thoroughly, then reused in another recipe).When the milk mixture is just boiling, pour it over the egg and sugar mixture, whisking thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and well combined. Return the mixture to a clean pan and cook over a low to medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.Add three-quarters of the softened rhubarb and stir well until combined. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and churn for 40-50 minutes, or according to the manufacturer's instructions.

When the ice cream mixture is almost solid, transfer it to a freezable container.
Fold in the remaining softened rhubarb to form a ripple pattern, then freeze the ice cream for 3-4 hours, or until solid.
For the roasted rhubarb, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Place the rhubarb into a roasting tray, pour over the cider and add all of the remaining roasted rhubarb ingredients, including the vanilla pod. Transfer to the oven and roast for 8-10 minutes, or until the rhubarb stems are just tender.Carefully remove the rhubarb pieces from the cooking liquid using a slotted spoon and set aside onto a plate to cool.Bring the remaining cooking liquid to the boil in a pan. Boil for 2-3 minutes, or until the volume of liquid has reduced and thickened slightly. Set aside until ready to serve.

For the rhubarb tart, increase the oven temperature to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
In a separate saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla pod to the boil.Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks until pale, fluffy and well combined.
Pour the hot milk mixture over the egg and sugar mixture and whisk together until smooth and well combined. Return the mixture to a clean pan and bring to a simmer.Add the cornflour, whisking continuously to remove any lumps. Continue whisking over a medium heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Transfer the custard mixture to a bowl, cover with cling film to prevent a skin from forming, then set aside to cool.

Roll the puff pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface to a 0.5cm/¼in thickness. Using a cookie cutter or an upturned mug, cut four 15cm/6in discs from the pastry. Brush each disc all over with the beaten egg then prick several times with a fork. Transfer the discs to a baking sheet. Spoon the cooled custard mixture into the centre of each pastry disc, leaving 1cm/½in free around the edge.Arrange the roasted rhubarb stems on top of the custard mixture.Bake the rhubarb tarts in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the pastry has risen and is golden-brown.
To serve, place a rhubarb tart into the centre of each of four serving plates. Place 1-2 scoops of rhubarb ice cream alongside. Drizzle over the reserved cider sauce.

Ingredients
Rhubarb base
zest and juice of 1 orange
juice of 1 lemon
2.5cm/1in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
1kg/2lb forced rhubarb, cut into 4cm /1½in pieces
175g/6oz caster sugar

Topping
25g/1oz powdered milk
25g/1oz ground almonds
25g/1oz rolled oats
250g/8oz plain flour
250g/8oz soft dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2.5ml/½ tsp salt
175g/6oz unsalted butter, cut in cubes

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.Mix together the caster sugar, ginger, juice, zest and 2 tablespoons of water. Pour the mixture over the rhubarb.
To make the crisp topping, in a food processor blend together the dry topping ingredients on a pulse action. Add the butter and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles a crumble. Scatter over the top of the rhubarb mix, bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the top is golden.

Serve hot or cold with clotted cream or ice cream.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups of chopped rhubarb in large chunks

Streusel Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup all purpose flour
5 tablespoon softened butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method

Cream together the brown sugar and the butter, then beat in the eggs and the vanilla. Mix together the flour, salt and baking soda and add to the creamed mixture after adding half of the milk. When it is is all incorporated add the rest of the milk. Fold in 2 cups chopped rhubarb and spread evenly in a dish and mix all the ingredients for the streusel topping and sprinkle over the cake.

Bake at 350º for 35 to 45 minutes. It will puff nicely around the topping and be very well browned when done and a toothpick inserted in a cakey area should come out clean.
.

Makes 2 cups
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cupgolden raisins
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 tablespoon peeled minced fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Method
Sate the onioni in the olive oil until translucent. Add rhubarb, raisins, sugar, ginger, and cinnamon stick. Cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb begins to break down, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and stir in vinegar. Refrigerate for up to five days.

Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese, room temperature
1/2 pond mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1/3-cup all-purpose flourbaked cornmeal crust
6 eggs
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
1-tablespoon vanilla extract
Orange Scented Rhubarb Compôte
5 stalks of rhubarb, cut into 1/4" pieces (about 3 cups)
1 cup sugar
zest and juice of 2 oranges

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Method
Cream the butter and 1/2-cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, cornmeal, and salt. Mix these until well combined.Press the mixture on the bottoms and up the sides of a 10" x 3" springform pan.Place the pan into the oven, and bake until lightly golden, 20-25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack completely before proceeding.

Reduce the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the ricotta and mascarpone in a large mixing bowl. Stir them until as smooth as possible with a rubber spatula. Stir the remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar and the 1/3-cup flour into the ricotta. Stir until well incorporated.Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange and lemon zest, and salt. Sir until just combined. Do not over mix.Pour batter into the prepared cornmeal shell. Place in oven on center rack.
Bake for about 70 minutes, until a light golden color. Make sure the center is fairly firm, and the point of a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.At this point turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake fro two hours. This will help it from cracking. Still some cracking is inevitable and, again, part of the rustic appeal.

After that, remove the cake to a wire rack to cool completely. Then cover the pan and move it to the refrigerator at least 2 hours but overnight is better.

Ingredients
8 egg whites
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Rhubarb Curd
3 cupsrhubarb
3 tablespoons pomegranate juice
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Garnish
1 lb strawberries

Pavlovas:
Preheat oven to 250F. Cut two sheets of parchment paper to baking sheet size and draw an 8" circle on each one, using a round cake pan as a guide; place on baking sheets, marked side down.

Using a mixer, whisk the egg whites until white and glossy. Continue whisking and slowly add in white and brown sugars, one spoonful at a time. Once sugar has been completely incorporated, fold in the vinegar, corn starch and vanilla.
Divide the egg whites into two equal amounts and dollop out onto the prepared cookie sheets. Using a rubber spatula, gently smooth out each mound into the marked circle, building up the sides slightly to create a gentle indentation in the middle. Bake in preheated oven for 90 minutes, or until just set in the centre; turn the oven off and allow the meringue to cool in oven with the door closed for at least an hour or overnight.

Rhubarb Curd
Combine the rhubarb and pomegranate juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Simmer until rhubarb starts to break down into a pulp, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and, using an immersion blender or food processor, process into a smooth puree. Set aside.

Whisk together the sugar, eggs and salt in a heat-proof bowl until pale yellow and thick. Set over a pot of simmering water and slowly add in puree, whisking constantly. Continue cooking until mixture is thick and smooth, about 10 minutes - be sure to keep on whisking, or else you'll end up with scrambled eggs! Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and butter. Set aside to cool.

To assemble the pavlovas

Pick out twelve pretty strawberries for garnish - hull and set aside. Slice the remaining strawberries.Place the first pavlova disk on a large serving plate. Spoon out half of the rhubarb curd into the centre of the meringue; top with the sliced strawberries, followed by the second pavlova. Use the remaining curd to fill the centre of the second pavlova.Arrange the reserved whole strawberries in a ring around the outer edge of the curd. If you happen to have any broken pavlova pieces, crumble them and sprinkle overtop. Serve immediately.

Ingredients
Bottom Layer
225g Rhubarb
20g Caster Sugar
Juice of an orange
Zest of an Orange

Middle Layer
150g Ground Almonds
625ml Water
30g Cornflour
30g Caster Sugar

Top Layer
Strained almonds left after making the almond milk for the middle layer
50g Light Brown Sugar
20g Flaked Almonds
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

To make the bottom layer
Pre heat the oven to 200ºC/Fan 180ºC

Cut the rhubarb into small pieces and place in an ovenproof dish together with the caster sugar, sprinkle over the orange juice and add the zest. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender.Check that the rhubarb is sweet enough and add more sugar if necessary.Leave to cool.

To make the middle layer

Boil the water in a saucepan and add the ground almonds.Leave to infuse for 15-30 minutes the oil is released from the almonds which helps to give the milk its richness.Blend and then strain through a fine sieve.Save the strained almonds to make the biscuits for the top layer.

Rinse the pan and add the cornflour and sugar Gradually whisk in the almond milk and boil and simmer until it thickens.Press some baking parchment or cling film on top of the mixture to prevent a skin forming and leave to cool.

To make the top layer
Line a baking tray with non stick parchment.Combine the strained almonds, sugar, flaked almonds and baking powder. Spoon small teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking tray, leaving plenty of space for them to spread out. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown and look dry in the centre. Leave on the tray to cool slightly and then transfer to a wire rack.

To assemble the rhubarb & almond creams
Divide the rhubarb and a little of the syrup between 4 sundae dishes.Spoon the almond blancmange over the rhubarb.Chill until set. Break the biscuits into small pieces. Just before serving scatter the biscuits on top of the almond blancmange.

Rhubarb and Custard Soufflé

400g rhubarb, cut into 2.5cm chunks
100g + 2 tablespoons caster sugar
25g softened butter
6 gingersnap biscuits
150g ready-made custard, plus extra for serving
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon plain flour
4 egg whites
Pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and put a baking tray in to heat up.

Put the rhubarb into a saucepan with 100g caster sugar. Cover the pan and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft. Set aside to cool completely.Rub the insides of six ramekins with butter. Put the gingersnap biscuits into a sandwich bag, tie a knot in the top and smash the biscuits with a rolling pin to make fine crumbs. Alternately, process until fine with a food processor. Dust the insides of the buttered ramekins with the smashed biscuits, then shake out any crumbs and keep them for later.

Place a tablespoon of cooled stewed rhubarb into each ramekin. Mix the rest of the rhubarb with the custard, egg yolk, vanilla extract and flour. In a large, clean bowl using an electric whisk, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat on high speed for about 3 minutes, or until the whites and very stiff. Gently fold 2 spoonfuls of the egg whites into the rhubarb mixture. Tip this into the bowl containing the egg whites and fold together very carefully. Divide the mixture between the ramekins and level the tops. Wipe the rims of the dishes clean.

Remove the hot baking pan from the oven and place the ramekins on it. Put back into the preheated oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the soufflés are golden and have risen nicely. Serve immediately, sprinkled with your leftover gingersnap crumbs and a dusting of icing sugar.

Life's Little Rhubarb Cookbook: 101 Rhubarb Recipes (Cooking at Its Best from Avery Color Studios)
"Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb" was what crowds in a Hollywood movie muttered when stewing about something. Life's Little Rhubarb Cookbook will make you want to stew, too--and cook up rhubarb in dozens of other ways, as well. Besides offering recipes for pies and a host of other old-fashioned desserts, Joan Bestwick shows how to serve rhubarb from breakfast to dinner--before dessert. She offers cinnamony muffins with a dollop of peach and rhubarb filling in the center, easy Rhubarb Chutney to serve with cottage cheese at lunch, refreshing Rhubarb and Lemon Punch sweetened with pineapple juice, and for a midafternoon treat, a "pizza" of rhubarb puree on a flattened pie crust dotted with strawberry "pepperoni," dried black cherry "olives," and a shower of grated white chocolate "cheese."

Famous chefs have paired rhubarb with chicken, fish, and meats in savory dishes. Bestwick proves how well this works in a baked chicken casserole that may inspire you to try rhubarb in other main courses. And, understanding that today time is as precious as calories, Bestwick's dishes generally require around 30 minutes of preparation and call for 5 or less ingredients. The salads in this slim volume are colorful, sparkling, and easy gelatin molds. Set one a buffet table or put it out at a potluck and watch confirmed food snobs find it irresistible.

Ingredients
75 g butter, divided
1 Tablespoon oil
2 large onions, halved and sliced
750 g lamb, chopped into cubes
2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1 litre vegetable stock
salt
freshly ground black pepper
sugar or honey, to taste
20 g fresh coriander chopped
3 Tablesp[oons fresh mint, chopped
400 g rhubarb, cut into 1 inch lengths

Melt 25 g of butter in a heavy-based saucepan on a low-moderate heat. Add onions and saute for 10 minutes, until golden and softened. Put the onion aside.
Increase the heat to high and add the oil. Add about half of the cubed lamb and brown all over (about 5 minutes). Put the browned meat aside and brown the rest of the lamb.
Return all the meat and the onions to the saucepan, add coriander. Add enough hot stock to cover. Reduce the heat, cover the saucepan and simmer on a low heat for about an hour.
Season with salt and pepper.
Melt 25 g of butter in a small saucepan, add the chopped fresh herbs and fry, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the fried herbs to the meat and simmer for another 30 minutes.
Melt the rest of the butter and add chopped rhubarb. Saute for 3-5 minutes, until rhubarb is soft, but not mushy. (If the rhubarb is very sour, add about a tablespoonful or two of sugar or honey). Stir the rhubarb into the stew.
Taste for seasoning and serve with rice or couscous.

A rhubarb brulee is a layer of fruit and a custard with burn caremelised sugar on the top, made famous in Spain as a creme brulee, its literal translation is burnt cream. The sweet burnt sugar gives it an interesting texture but the great thing about it is that it is a perfect dessert for a dinner party as it can be pre-prepared to the burnt sugar stage and with just two minutes work your rhubarb brulee is ready to serve. A traditiional creme brulee is only made of the custard the addition of fruit is a fairly modern idea.

The idea of thickening the custard with raw eggs puts a lot of peopel off but it is no where near as hard to achieve in practise as it first appears.

Ingredients
For the custard
500g heavy cream
1 vanilla pod
5 egg yolks
60g fine sugar
200g rhubarb or rhubarb and strawberries

For the caramel layer
50g fine brown sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees C.

Method

Place your ramekins on a cookie tray to stop accidents when you get them out of the oven and pop a few strawberries or raspberries in the bottom. Extract the vanilla seeds by cuttign hte vanilla in half and then scraping the seeds out with a knife put in a medium heavy based pan and add the cream. Put the cream over a medium heat and whixk it constantly whilst it heats remove from the heat when it is steaming.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a separate bowl. The idea is that the eggs and the cream are combined as a custard, but if you add the eggs to the cream straight they will curdle. So add the cream to the eggs very slowly and carefully. I use a small ladle and add the cream a few tablespoons at a time and whisk constantly. Once you have added several ladlefuls then the egg mixture is warmer and the eggs can be added to the cream in one go without the risk of curdling. Once this is done you can cook the custatrd immediately but hte mixtuire is best sieved becasue it removes any trapped air that can make the custard bubbly.

Pour the custard into the ramekin dishes and chill for a few hours. Put the ramekin dishes into a deep oven dish and mnake a Bain Marie by pouring boiling water into the oven proof dish until it measures about halfway up the outside of hte ramekin dishes. Bake the custard for about 35 to 45 minutes. Cool at room temperature and then chill.

Just before serving, sprinkle the top of each serving with an even layer of brown sugar to caremilise it. The process of caremilsation can be doen with a blow torch, but that is the chefy way the grill of an ordinary oven works just as well. If you are using the food torch, heat the sugar with the flame until it begins to brown. Stop when it reaches a golden color, if it gets too dark it gets bitter.

If you are using the oven grill, grill for half a minute, within an inch of the heating element.Do not let it stay too long because the custard needs to be eaten at room temperature to create a contrast in textures.

Serve the creme brulee immediately it has been caremelised because if you leave it around the hard crispy sugar goes pappy.

Rhubarb and coconut cake


Ingredients
60g butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 eggs
2 cups wholemeal flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups plain Greek style yoghurt
3 cups rhubarb, sliced in 2-3cm lengths

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Method

Grease and line a 24cm cake tin.

Cream the butter, sugar, coconut and lemon zest and add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each one.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into the bowl. Add the yoghurt and fold all ingredients gently to combine. The mixture will be very thick, if it's too dry add an extra tablespoon of yoghurt.Fold in the rhubarb and pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin.

Bake for 75 minutes, then cool on a wire rack, sprinkle with extra coconut and serve with clotted cream.

Rhubarb Butter Sauce for Fish

Try serving this with salmon cooked by placing it on an elderflower head in a baking parchment parcel with a dash of white wine, then baking in a hot oven so the bag puffs up and the salmon steams inside. It's also good with other oily fish and with pork.

Serves 6-8

500g rhubarb, cut into batons
2 teaspoons sugar
Juice and grated zest of 1 orange
150ml fish stock
40g chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Put the rhubarb, sugar, orange juice and zest in a pan and cook gently for about 15 minutes, until the rhubarb has broken down into a purée. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, boil the fish stock until reduced by half its volume. Stir in the rhubarb, season and cook for five minutes, then push through a sieve into a clean pan. Just before serving, heat the sauce and whisk in the pieces of butter a few at a time to give a glossy finish. Season to taste.

Riverford Farm Cook Book: Tales from the Fields, Recipes from the Kitchen

3lb/1.25kg rhubarb
3lb/1.25kg sugar
1 sachet general purpose wine yeast.

Method

Wipe the rhubarb, but do not peel.Chop into small pieces.
Place in a large howl and cover with sugar. Leave overnight until the sugar has dissolved.
Strain off the syrup and cover the rhubarb with water to rinse off any remaining sugar. Add this liquid to the syrup and make it up to 1 (UK) gallon with water and a cup of cold black tea to add astringency.Add the wine yeast and transfer the liquid to a demi-john fitted with an airlock.
Leave to ferment.

Using a hydrometer, stop fermentation using two Campden tablets when the reading reaches around 1.01. Leave the wine to clear naturally; alternatively use a vegetarian clearing agent e.g. Bentonite.

Pour the wine into sterilised bottles, and leave for a minimum of 3 months.
If kept in a cool place the wine may be stored for up to two years.

Ingredients
1 large onion, finely chopped
½ cinnamon stick
2 star anise
300ml cider vinegar
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
100g golden raisins
4cm piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
3 pieces crystallised ginger, thinly sliced
400g granulated sugar
1kg forced rhubarb, trimmed, washed and cut into 2.5cm pieces

Method

Place the onion, cinnamon, star anise and vinegar in a large, heavy-based pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the orange zest and juice, raisins, both gingers and sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 15 minutes, until it is a thick syrup. Add the rhubarb and cook gently for about 10 minutes. Pour into sterilised jars, cool, then seal and store in the fridge for up to 5 weeks.

Essiac herbal tea for cancer was named after Rene Caisse, as Essiac is her last name last name written backwards.She went to Canada nearly a hundred years ago and claimed to have found the cancer cure used by native Americans for hundreds of years, a tea containing natural herbs. It contained

Burdock root (Arctium lappa)

Burdock root has been used as a herbal medicine ingredient for hundreds of years, it contains trace minerals of potassium, phosphorous, chromium, iron, magnesium, zinc, silicon, sodium and cobalt. It also has vitamin E and B complex.
It has been used to purify the blood and is both a diuretic and diaphoretic. It has been claimed that it can shrink tumours.

Sheep Sorrel (Rumex acetosella)
Sheep sorrel is a traditional medicine used to shrink tumours in Europe and South East Asia. It is high in vitamins E, K, D, C B complex and A and contains tracem minerals iron, silicon, sulphur, manganese, copper, magnesium and calcium

Slippery Elm (Ulmus Fulva)

Slippery elm removes toxins from the body.

Turkey Rhubarb (Rheum Palmatum)
Turkey Rhubarb is less bitter than the common rhubarb and contains a number of vitamins such as B complex, C, A and P. It trace minerals such as sodium, copper, iodine, iron, chlorine, calcium, manganese, potassium, magnesium, sulphur, phosphorus and zinc.

Rhubarb is used a a natural laxative becasue the theory is that the more waste the boby manages to eliminate the more tumours will be eliminated as well.

The method of making essiac tea is not easy to do in the home because it needs such large vessels and they must be stainless steel and it is made with distilled water which is sodium free.Other necesseties are a spatula, a funnel, a fine-mesh double strainer which should all be stainless steel; a minimum of twelve, sixteen ounce glass bottles which must have an air tight seal.Also despite its hype there is no clinical evidence that it works, however it does not seem ot do any harm either.