Rhubarb: the First Taste of Spring
Rhubarb: the First Taste of Spring
Five thousand years of history — and still the freshest flavour of the Latvian year.
Rhubarb's story begins in the highlands of Western China and Eastern Tibet, where it has been valued for almost five millennia. From there it travelled the old trade routes into Europe, and in the Baltics it became something more personal: the first plant to push out of the ground after winter, and the first fresh taste of the new year. In Latvia's rich soil and cool climate, rhubarb feels entirely at home.
What's inside
Rhubarb stalks are mostly water — up to 96% — but what remains is worthwhile: vitamin C, vitamin K, organic acids that give the stalks their signature tang, and dietary fibre, which is retained in concentrated form in the dried pieces.
How it tastes
Like spring. Fresh, green, mouth-puckeringly tart. As syrup, that sharpness is softened into an elegant sweet-and-sour cordial; as dried sweetened pieces, it becomes a chewy sweet with a bright acid finish that keeps you reaching for another one.