Rhubarb is an herbaceous perennial edible plant grown for its fleshy, edible stalks or leaf petioles which are cooked as a vegetable. Rhubarb is popularly known as ‘the pie-plant’ because of its significance as a major ingredient in preparing pies. Rhubarb is believed to be originated in cooler parts of Asian continent. The plant is normally grown as a cool season crop. Botanical name of Rhubarb is Rheum rhabarbarum.

Food Uses and Nutrition of Rhubarb: As mentioned earlier, the edible part of the rhubarb plants is leaf stalk. The large triangular-shaped leaves are not edible due to the presence of high amounts of oxalic acid in them. Rhubarb leaf stalks are rich in vitamins and minerals. Vitamins present in the leaves include vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin B and vitamin E. Minerals present include calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, potassium, sodium and zinc.

Nutrition in Fresh, Raw Rhubarb Leaf Stalks: The leaf stalks or petioles can be used raw or cooked. When they are used raw, they have a crisp texture (similar to celery, although it is in a different family). According to USDA, the United States Dept. of Agriculture, nutrition present in 100grams of edible RAW rhubarb leaf stalks is as given below:

Water-93.61 g; Energy-21 kcal; Protein-0.9 g; Total lipid (fat)-0.2 g; Carbohydrate, by difference-4.54 g; Fiber, total dietary-1.8 g; Sugars, total-1.1 g; Calcium, Ca-86 mg; Iron, Fe-0.22 mg; Magnesium, Mg-12 mg; Phosphorus, P-14 mg; Potassium, K-288 mg; Sodium, Na-4 mg; Zinc, Zn-0.1 mg; Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid-8 mg; Thiamin-0.02 mg; Riboflavin-0.03 mg; Niacin-0.3 mg; Vitamin B-6-0.024 mg; Folate, DFE-7 Aug; Vitamin A, RAE-5 Aug; Vitamin A-102 IU; Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)-0.27 mg; Vitamin K (phylloquinone)-29.3 Aug; Fatty acids, total saturated-0.053 g; Fatty acids, total monounsaturated-0.039 g and Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated-0.099 g

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Similarly, nutrition in raw, wild rhubarb leaf stalks is as given below:

Water-83.5 g; Energy-61 kcal; Protein-4.2 g; Total lipid (fat)-0.5 g; Carbohydrate, by difference-9.9 g; Phosphorus, P-87 mg; Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid-33 mg; Thiamin-0.1 mg; Niacin-0.1 mg and Vitamin A, IU-4480 IU

Rhubarb leafstalks may be preserved for a long time by freezing. Both fresh and frozen leafstalks are used for cooking. Nutritional quality of frozen rhubarb is almost same as that of fresh rhubarb. A detailed account of nutrition in frozen, cooked (with sugar) rhubarb leaf stalks are as given below:

Water-67.79 g; Energy-116 kcal; Protein-0.39 g; Total lipid (fat)-0.05 g; Carbohydrate, by difference-31.2 g; Fiber, total dietary-2 g; Sugars-28.7 g; Calcium-145 mg; Iron-0.21 mg; Magnesium-12 mg; Phosphorus-8 mg; Potassium-96 mg; Sodium-1 mg; Zinc-0.08 mg; Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid-3.3 mg; Thiamin-0.018 mg; Riboflavin-0.023 mg; Niacin-0.2 mg; Vitamin B-6-0.02 mg; Folate, DFE-5 Aug; Vitamin A-73 IU; Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)-0.19 mg and Vitamin K (phylloquinone)-21.1 Aug

Similarly, nutrition in frozen, uncooked rhubarb leaf stalks is as given below:

Water-93.51 g; Energy-21 kcal; Protein-0.55 g; Total lipid (fat)-0.11 g; Carbohydrate, by difference-5.1 g; Fiber, total dietary-1.8 g; Sugars-1.1 g; Calcium-194 mg; Iron-0.29 mg; Magnesium-18 mg; Phosphorus-12 mg; Potassium-108 mg; Sodium-2 mg; Zinc-0.1 mg; Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid-4.8 mg; Thiamin-0.031 mg; Riboflavin-0.029 mg; Niacin-0.203 mg; Vitamin B-6-0.025 mg; Folate, DFE-8 Aug; Vitamin A-107 IU; Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)-0.27 mg; Vitamin K (phylloquinone)-29.3 Aug; Fatty acids, total saturated-0.029 g; Fatty acids, total monounsaturated-0.021 g and Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated-0.054 g

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