Canning Rhubarb Nectar

I love sour foods. When I was younger, I would eat War Heads® for the sour coating and spit out the rest of the sweet candy. I would also eat lemons just like most people would oranges. However, I was not properly introduced to rhubarb until I moved to the Midwest where rhubarb grows in abundance. I love this beautiful tart vegetable that bears a resemblance to celery.

One word of caution about rhubarb, do not eat the leaves. They are poisonous. Do not put them in your scrap bag to make soup broth. Throw them in the compost pile or you can try making this rhubarb leaf insecticide found here. I have never tried the insecticide, but it might be worth a shot.

This year I decided to make rhubarb nectar inspired by a flickr® album photo. The user, Green Wellies, gave a brief description on how she made her rhubarb nectar. I played around with the recipe and came up with my own version of using Meyer lemons, oranges, and rhubarb. In the original recipe, the lemons and oranges were just roughly chopped and boiled with the rhubarb but I found that the white part of the rind made the nectar bitter, so I zested the lemons and oranges and added the lemon and orange juice to the rhubarb. This eliminated the bitterness.

This sour drink can be used as a lemonade substitute or added to yogurt for flavoring.

Ingredients (makes about 3 pints)

• 2 Meyer lemons
• 2 oranges
• 4 stalks rhubarb
• ½ cup honey

Directions

1.     Zest the lemons and oranges. Juice the lemons and oranges.

2.     Place the zest, fruit juice, and rhubarb to a pot.

3.     Add enough water to barely cover the rhubarb.

4.     Boil the rhubarb on medium high heat until the rhubarb is very soft and falling apart when picked up with a spoon, about 30 minutes.

5.     Strain the rhubarb and zest.

6.     Place the rhubarb nectar back in the pot and add the honey.

7.     Bring the nectar to a boil

8.     Place the rhubarb nectar is hot, sterile jars leaving ¼” headspace.

9.     Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes.

10.  To serve, use 1 part nectar to 4 parts water.

Posted on Simple Lives Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Seasonal Recipe Round Up