Rhubarb Simple Syrup

RSpring is finally here, and with it comes one of the best parts of the season—fresh rhubarb! Those bright, tangy rhubarb stalks popping up in the garden are a sure sign that the long winter blahs are over and the yard is once again coming to life.  Rhubarb is a fantastic plant to have in your garden, I love rhubarb season, but a healthy plant or two can challenge any gardener to find ways to use up all that fresh rhubarb.   If you’ve got some rhubarb on hand (or can grab some at the farmer’s markets), making rhubarb syrup is a great way to use rhubarb that maybe you hadn’t heard of before.   

Rhubarb simple syrup is a simple recipe made using rhubarb, sugar, and water. It’s cooked into a thin syrup that can be added to drinks or cooked longer to thicken and serve as a topping for pancakes, waffles, ice cream, or trifle.  

Choosing The Best Rhubarb Stalks

The first step is choosing fresh rhubarb, select firm stalks, avoiding any that are limp or have blemishes If the leaves are still attached, they should be fresh and crisp.

Purchase or pick red stalks with deeper red colors if possible. This will make for the prettiest syrup with beautiful natural color. Our rhubarb plant came with our home, the stalks are greenish on top and dark red on the bottom. I use them as they are, waste not I always say.

Do Not Use Rhubarb Leaves

Rhubarb contains oxalic acid that can be poisonous in large quantities. Fortunately, the stalks do not have a large amount of oxalic acid. Too much oxalic acid can lead to kidney stones and kidney failure if we eat lots of it.

I did some looking and according to Heathline a person would have to eat between 5.7 and 11.7 pounds of rhubarb leaves, and much much more rhubarb stalks. Oxalic acid is toxic to dogs, so don’t feed your furry friend either the rhubarb stock or the leaf.

Rhubarb Simple Syrup Ingredients

Rhubarb Syrup Instructions

1. Rinse the Rhubarb clean

2. Remove the ends from the stalks and chop the rhubarb into one inch pieces.

3. Place rhubarb in a large saucepan. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. 

4. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cook the rhubarb for about 20 minutes. As it cooks foam may rise to the surface, if this happens skim it off using a spoon.

After 20 minutes, the rhubarb will become mushy and lose most of its color. The color will now be in the water/juice creating a beautiful pink color.

5. Remove the rhubarb from the heat and strain through a fine sieve strainer or cheesecloth into a second saucepan.

Set the cooked rhubarb pulp aside and continue the recipe using just the juice.

Set the cooked rhubarb pulp aside and continue the recipe using just the juice.

Note: If you want to use the rhubarb pulp you can add sugar to it and then serve on vanilla ice cream or yogurt the same day. It’s no longer the pretty pink color but it does taste very good. These days, I have a rhubarb plant with loads of rhubarb in the garden so once the liquid has been strained I discarded the leftover pulp.

5. Add 2 cups of sugar to the rhubarb juice. Bring back to a boil, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar into the syrup. Let the syrup simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

To make the rhubarb simple syrup thick enough for pancakes, french toast etc, let the syrup simmer over medium heat until it’s the desired thickness, more like maple syrup. Be careful not to have your heat too high as you don’t want your syrup to scorch.

Once thickened to your liking, remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Pour the finished syrup into an airtight container, like a sealable glass bottle or mason jar. The thicker syrup should last for several weeks in the fridge,

I hope you enjoy having this delicious rhubarb syrup recipe in your collection, It’s a wonderful way to add a pretty bright color and unique flavor of rhubarb to your meals.

Simple Drink Ideas that use Rhubarb Syrup

You can add rhubarb syrup to many of your typical drink recipes, the tart flavor of rhubarb mixes well with any sweet berry flavors, or citrus drinks. Here are a few simple drink ideas you can try using the rhubarb simple syrup.

Rhubarb Lemonade

2 oz rhubarb simple syrup, 1 oz fresh lemon juice 4 oz water, or soda water, ice, and a lemon slice.

Rhubarb Gin Fizz

1 oz rhubarb simple syrup, 2 oz gin, 1 oz fresh lime juice. Add ice and top with soda water. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Rhubarb Iced Tea

1 oz rhubarb simple syrup. 6 oz iced tea, ice and garnish with lemon slide.

As I have rhubarb in my garden I consider making rhubarb simple syrup as a preserve. On Pinterest, I have a board dedicated to canning and preserving. This board has recipes for jam, syrups, pickles, and other canning recipes.

Other Rhubarb Recipes

Once my rhubarb plant starts to grow it gives such a bounty of rhubarb stalks. Our family loves rhubarb, rhubarb crisp being one of their very favorite desserts. I have several other rhubarb recipes you may enjoy, especially if you have to use up your rhubarb harvest.

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