Edible rhubarb flower heads
May 11, 2009
In the last Hobby Farms issue I picked up, there was an article on food foraging, wildings that are edible. What really caught my interest was the mention of rhubarb flower seed heads, it suggested frying them. No other directions were shared, so I decided to be creative and try it for myself.
I snapped them into pieces, just like broccoli florets, and added a dab of olive oil and a dab of butter. They had a tart, pungent smell as they fried, lost their pretty color, and turned soggy pretty quick.
The first bite I tried a piece plain, and wow, what a zing! It tasted like hot, mushy, tart rhubarb! The second bite I salted it, and that gave it a salty, mushy, tart rhubarb taste. The third bite I tried it with some sugar, and that’s when I decided there’s a reason why it’s not common knowledge that rhubarb seed heads are edible!
But they look so cool that I’m thinking I might start adding them to flower arrangements! Do you eat something ‘wild’ that most people don’t know is edible?
33 Barefoot Lane 
May 12, 2009 at 9:29 am
What a bummer I didn’t get to try them! Not! On a side note, everybody, don’t eat any of the leaves. They would not make a good substitute for lettuce (like was attempted for broccoli) as they are poisonous. I admire your adventurous spirit but I think I’ll stick to garden produce, with the exception of wild berries. 🙂