Macerated Rhubarb Recipe

by Marilyn & Kerry G.

Is a macerated rhubarb recipe the same as marinating the rhubarb? Some say yes, some say no.

Maceration means to soften or break something into smaller pieces using liquid. Smaller pieces take less time to go through the process than the larger ones.

If you take chopped up rhubarb, put into a large bowl and sprinkle well with white sugar, the sugar will pull the water from the rhubarb and form a syrup. Don't add any liquid to begin with because rhubarb is so high in water content already. You don't want excess.

You could add other spices if you like. It depends what kind of a syrup you are looking for and how strong of a flavor you want.

You might choose cinnamon, allspice, ginger, any type of citrus like orange or lemon peel, herbs, or you can just add a bit of vanilla if you like.

Once your macerated rhubarb recipe has been made, store in the refrigerator covered air-tight for up to 4 days.

Fresh fruit often sprinkled with sugar and left to sit and release their own juices, tends to makes food flavorful, easy to chew and easier to digest.

Here's a recipe using using raspberries. If you want to use strawberries instead, you certainly can. Just make sure to hull them and cut into smaller pieces as they are bigger than raspberries.

You will need very few ingredients.

1 lb rhubarb chopped
1/3 cup white sugar
1 lb raspberries

Mix the rhubarb and sugar in a bowl, cover and let sit at room temperature overnight. In the morning, the sugar will have turned into a nice syrup.

Give it all a light toss and and pour into a saucepan.

Simmer uncovered and gently stir occasionally until softened and the rhubarb begins to fall apart. This takes about 5 minutes.

While the rhubarb is cooking, cut the raspberries in half if they are big; if not, just leave them in one piece.

Add to the mixture in the sauce-pot and simmer 3 or 4 more minutes until raspberries have softened. Remove from the heat.

This macerated rhubarb recipe with raspberries is very good eaten hot or cold all by itself, or pour it on a plain cake with some vanilla ice-cream. You can add a few spoonfuls over cereal, to custard or swirl some in a plain yogurt. A very useful sauce for all types of dishes.