Rare as rhubarb: 'It's fascinating what a big deal was once made of this pie-filler'

Although it comes from China, rhubarb found its greatest fans in the west. It may no longer be a highly prized commodity, but it still makes a brilliant frangipane upside-down cakeOnce upon time, during the middle ages, rhubarb was considered such a valuable product it was several times more expensive than opium and saffron.Such was the journey it had to embark on from China, along the Silk Road towards Europe. It would appear the high cost of rhubarb was a matter of logistics, and so, the solution to rhubarb (like many other vegetal and fruit crops that have their genesis far from where they are popular) was to cultivate and acclimatise the plant by clever hybridisation, so it could flourish in the locales where it was desirable. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jul/18/rare-as-rhubarb-its-fascinating-what-a-big-deal-was-once-made-of-this-pie-filler #australian_food_and_drink #food #baking #dessert