Rhubarb Juice

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Vegan/Gluten-Free/Nut-Free

Skill Level: Beginner

Yield: About 2 quarts of juice (8 cups)

Prep Time: 25-30 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Equipment Needed:

• Cutting board 

• Chef's knife 

• Large saucepan

• Fine mesh strainer

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

• About 4 pounds of rhubarb, leaves removed and discarded and stalks trimmed and rinsed

• 4 cups water

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, or more to taste

Procedure:

1. Slice your rhubarb stalks into slices that are roughly 1/2-inch in size. Add sliced rhubarb and 4 cups water to a large saucepan.

2. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. You want the liquid to continue to bubble regularly, but it can stay at more of a simmer.

3. Cook until the rhubarb has completely broken down and looks very mushy in texture, stirring occasionally. This should take 15-20 minutes.

4. Position a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl. Transfer the rhubarb pieces into the strainer a few ladles at a time. Use the bottom of the ladle or a rubber/silicone spatula to press and stir the solids around in the strainer to extrude as much liquid from the rhubarb as possible. Once you feel you've gotten as much liquid as you can get, discard or compost the solids. Repeat this process with the remaining rhubarb/liquid in the pan.

5. Once all of the solids have been strained out, return the liquid to the now-empty pan and put it back on your burner over medium-low heat.

6. Add 1/4 cup sugar and whisk until the sugar is fully dissolved, 2-4 minutes.

7. The juice will be very tart with just a hint of sweet at this ratio, so taste the juice and if you feel you would like it to be sweeter, add more sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, tasting after each addition until your juice tastes how you would like it to taste.

8. Rhubarb juice can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (I like to store it in 2 quart-sized mason jars). If you are familiar with water bath or pressure canning, you could can your rhubarb juice for longer-lasting storage.

To Serve: If you are making the recipe exactly as I have written here, I would use this juice only as a mixer because it is very tart! I absolutely love it mixed with prosecco or champagne as a Rhubarb Mimosa, and it's also a very refreshing mocktail simply mixed with club soda.

Tips:

• If you are picking your own rhubarb, choose stalks that are firm, free of any blemishes, and who's leaves look mature. Thinner stalks that are more red than green tend to be sweeter, so opt for these over fat green stalks if you have the option. Throw away the large green leaves as they are not edible, trim away any of the root end that feels slimy, and rinse thoroughly before chopping.

• This recipe can easily be scaled down if you don't feel you want or need 2 quarts of juice; just remember there are 4 tablespoons in 1/4 cup when you adjust your amounts of rhubarb, water, and sugar.

• When I developed this recipe, I tasted the rhubarb juice without adding any sugar and it really made my face pucker so I definitely recommend adding some type of sweetener! I added sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and stopped when I felt like the juice was just palatable enough to mix with. If you don't want to use sugar, you could substitute honey, agave nectar, or your favorite type of sweetener.

• I did notice that as the juice sat in the fridge, the sugar did tend to sink to the bottom of my jar. I'm not totally sure if that was just the nature of this one or if I did not give it enough time on the heat to fully dissolve, but either way if your juice does this, simply shake or stir just before using.

The Story:

Every year for Mother's Day, we host a brunch for family at our house. I love setting up a little "mimosa bar" with a few carafes of different flavored juices and and a couple bottles of prosecco. I usually do orange juice, grapefruit juice (my personal fav), and peach nectar or something else a little different. This year, with my big beautiful rhubarb plant beckoning me from the yard, I thought why not rhubarb mimosas?

My first dive into research-land yielded a few rhubarb juice recipes, but most were very heavy-handed on sugar. My initial thought was, if I'm using this as a mixer, do I even need sugar? I decided to cook down the rhubarb using a ratio of 1 cup water to 1 pound rhubarb until the rhubarb was fully broken down, strain it, then taste it and determine if sweetener was even necessary.

Rhubarb is VERY tart on it's own, and even diluting it with water didn't take away quite enough of that snap for me. By going slowly, tasting often, and adding just 1 tablespoon of sugar at a time, I ended up with a juice that had the perfect amount of tang and subtle sweetness for my needs.

Mixed with slightly-sweet prosecco, this Rhubarb Juice truly made such a special little brunch treat. I liked about 2/3 prosecco, 1/3 rhubarb juice, but of course you can figure out what you like best! Aside from the delicious flavor, the color of this juice and subsequent mimosa was just stunning.

If you try out this rhubarb juice recipe, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments!

Happy tasting!