Forcing rhubarb
ONE OF MY breakfast treats at this time of year is stewed rhubarb and yoghurt. No combination has that clean, sharp and yet hauntingly sweet taste that is guaranteed to brighten the sleepiest head and set you up for the rigours of the day ahead. I grow a number of different varieties that provide a staggered harvest – from the first fragile shoots that we pick to eat at Christmas, to the last harvest at the beginning of July. Early and extra sweet rhubarb can be encouraged by excluding all light from the plant, which in turn suppresses leaf growth down to a yellow flame at the end of a long, pale pink stem. Sugars are greatly increased as a result. I tend to use ‘Timperley Early’ for this early harvest and it is, as the name suggests, an excellent early forcing variety. But if you do force rhubarb by blocking all light with an old chimney pot – or, if you’re lucky enough to have one, a proper terracotta rhubarb forcer with a lid ( right) – the later growth will be weakened so I suggest rotating the plants yearly for forcing duty, to allow them to replenish their energy.