Freeze Rhubarb – That’s How it Works

Prepare rhubarb for freezing

Before you freeze the rhubarb, make a few minor preparations that are not particularly time-consuming.

• First, remove the leaves from the vegetables and then clean the rhubarb stems under running water.
• After you have dried the rhubarb, cut the vegetable sticks into large pieces. The rhubarb pieces should be about 3 inches in size.
• If you like, you can blanch the rhubarb before freezing. If you blanch the vegetables, they usually retain their color. The taste or the length of the freezing time, however, makes no difference. You can also easily freeze the vegetables immediately after cutting them up.

Blanch rhubarb – that’s how it works

In addition to the color retention, the oxalic acid content of the rhubarb is also significantly reduced during blanching. If you are sensitive or have a pre-existing condition, it is better to blanch the vegetables before eating them.

• After bringing a pot of water to a boil, toss the rhubarb pieces into the bubbling water for about two minutes.
• Then pour the vegetables out over a sieve and immediately put them in a pot of ice-cold water.
• After that, place the rhubarb on a thick kitchen towel to dry before freezing.

How to freeze rhubarb

If you freeze the rhubarb properly, the vegetable will keep for about a year and then the new rhubarb will already be in the starting blocks.

• It is best if you divide the rhubarb into large portions before you freeze them, as you want to use them later.
• To prevent freezer burn, make sure that you seal the freezer bags as airtight as possible.
• You carefully squeeze the air out of the freezer bag and close the clip directly on the rhubarb pieces.
• If you use the rhubarb later, you do not have to defrost the vegetables, but use the frozen rhubarb pieces for baking or cooking.