My mom tells me that at the first sign of the Rhubarb poking out of the ground, my Grandpa Earl would say, "It's time for Rhubarb Pie!" He's a fan a quite a few different pies, but the first fresh fruit pie of the season is special. I don't have a pie recipe today, but since Angelina enrolled in Food Preservation for 4-H this year, we tried Rhubarb Sauce. The first time I ever tried Rhubarb Sauce was at a 4th of July celebration hosted by friends at their farmstead. The sauce was served over ice cream, creating a perfection of sweet and tangy. I hope to acquire the recipe used that day, but for now, here is the recipe Angelina and I used to preserve our rhubarb.
Rhubarb Sauce
Ingredients:
1.5 to 2 lbs. rhubarb per quart jar
Sugar
Directions:
Wash the rhubarb stalks and drain. Cut the stalks into 1-inch pieces (we prefer 1/2 inch). Put rhubarb in a large saucepot. For each quart rhubarb measured, add 1/2 to 1 cup sugar (we used 1/2 cup to keep the sauce more tart and tangy). Stir to coat the rhubarb with sugar; let stand 3 to 4 hours in a cool place. Bring slowly to a boil; boil 30 seconds. Pack hot rhubarb and syrup into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust seals and screw bands. Process pints and quarts 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.
Remove jars from the canner and let cool at least 24 hours.
