# Observations on rhubarb pie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [September 25, 2021, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339 "2021-09-25T21:51:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/1 "2021-09-25T21:51:19Z")
I’m in my early 40’s. When I was a child, it was semi-common to find restaurants that served rhubarb pie. It was never very common, but if you went looking for it, you usually didn’t have to look too long before finding a restaurant that carried it. Not anymore. For the last 15 years or so, **nobody** carries it–no restaurant, no grocery store. The only thing that I can find–and even this is pretty rare–is _strawberry_-rhubarb pie. I don’t want idiotic strawberry-rhubarb pie; I want rhubarb pie. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/2 "2021-09-25T21:59:06Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > Not anymore. For the last 15 years or so, **nobody** carries it–no restaurant, no grocery store. The only thing that I can find–and even this is pretty rare–is _strawberry_ -rhubarb pie. I don’t want idiotic strawberry-rhubarb pie; I want rhubarb pie. I love strawberry rhubarb pie! I don’t think I had ever seen a rhubarb until I was a young adult. But I spent a lot of time in Texas and I don’t think rhubarb was all that popular there. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/3 "2021-09-25T22:07:26Z")
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen just-rhubarb pie in any store, but if you want some, just hang out with my family. Lots of us make it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/4 "2021-09-25T23:02:24Z")
When I was a kid, we raised all kinds of fruits and veggies in our back yard, including a patch or rhubarb. And behind our property was a large field with lots of blackberries. My mom baked plain rhubarb pie, and also blackberry-rhubarb pie. Mmmmm! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/5 "2021-09-25T23:08:46Z")
I have rarely seen rhubarb pie offered in restaurants. Even apple pie has gotten relatively scarce - you might see apple cobbler instead. Mrs. J. makes a mean rhubarb pie. I have planted several clumps of rhubarb in hopes of assuring a steady supply. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/6 "2021-09-25T23:12:45Z")
My mother-in-law feels so strongly about the importance of rhubarb pie that when she moved, she insisted as part of the sale of the house that she be allowed to come back and dig up the rhubarb she had planted at the correct time of the year to transplant it safely. The rhubarb did not convey. The lawyer thought she was kidding. She wasn’t. Fortunately, she had sold her house to a friend, and he was okay with her returning for the rhubarb. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/7 "2021-09-25T23:18:28Z")
Apparently rhubarb comes from Mongolia, as my mom discovered when she visited there and saw it growing wild. And so, of course, she immediately harvested some, and made jam. While she was on vacation, on the opposite side of the world from her kitchen, while staying in a yurt. The other tourists and the locals alike were amazed when she served everyone the jam with breakfast the next morning. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/8 "2021-09-25T23:47:42Z")
My mom was a great pie maker and I loved her rhubarb most of all - I am a sucker for tart/sweet. Rhubarb was easy to get in stores in the northeast and my grandparents had some growing in the yard so it was a regular treat. We’d eat it stewed, too - essentially just the filling of a pie. No need to add strawberries, IMHO. I recently started trying to make pies (nowhere near as easily as mom made it look) but rhubarb is really hard to find here in SoCal - the few scared stalks I found in Gelsons were $12/lb. I’ve also found pre-made pies at Marie Callender’s but I’m sure it is canned filling, ok in a pinch. One of the nicest gifts my wife has ever given me was finding a friend who had access to a bunch of rhubarb and making me a cobbler for my birthday dinner. Once I had a gooseberry pie and my memory is that it was just about as good. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/9 "2021-09-26T00:12:37Z")
I grow rhubarb on my place and there is never a shortage of people who come a’begging for it every year. I don’t need much for myself, so I’m happy to give it away. And I’ve made a ton of rhubarb pies for others over the years – gives me an excuse to have a slice, too. @mtnmatt, I have a recipe for stewed rhubarb that’s not super sweet to pair over roasted poultry. It’s a pretty wonderful combination! ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/10 "2021-09-26T00:42:29Z")
I have never had rhubarb pie. I sometimes make strawberry rhubarb, but rarely eat it myself. I like sour flavors, but there’s something about the texture of rhubarb that I’m not wild about. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/11 "2021-09-26T01:10:10Z")
We used to have rhubarb (no strawberries) crunch. Mmboy! > **[Rhubarb Crunch Recipe - Food.com](https://www.food.com/recipe/rhubarb-crunch-2072)** > > Try Rhubarb Crunch from Food.com. - 2072 ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/12 "2021-09-26T01:49:45Z")
Yum, that sounds good, so long as there was enough rhubarb for pie, too! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/13 "2021-09-26T01:56:19Z")
My mom only baked with what she grew (zucchini bread: not as bad as it sounds). Rhubarb gets woodier as summer progresses, so it was canned early and saved for later as a ice cream topping. Not as many pies rolled out since cobblers are easier (this was the Midwest, where bars prevail over cookies for the same reason. I guess pies and cookies were for Southerners who could hire cheap labor while they lazed in the heat (ahem). The birds never gave the strawberries much chance, but since Germans have enlarged sour receptors, my mom wouldn’t have mixed them in anyway. We did have tart cherries, but never added them in either. For NSFW yuks, look up “rhubarb thief” on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/14 "2021-09-26T02:30:17Z")
My Dad was a baker, and when I was growing up he had a small rhubarb patch in the back yard. Not for the family; he was growing it for the bakery where he worked. I’m not sure if it was because they preferred to use fresh rhubarb or if it was hard to get commercially in the quantities they needed. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/15 "2021-09-26T02:37:38Z")
One of my friends makes an excellent rhubarb cobbler. I was in heaven. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/16 "2021-09-26T03:29:23Z")
Mama Jo’s in Amherst, Ohio makes them. It’s one of my favorite stores. > **[Fresh Baked Pies | Mama Jo Homestyle Pies - Page 2](https://www.mamajopies.com/pies/?sort=alphaasc&page=2)** > > We offer fresh baked, homemade, fruit and cream pies daily! Choose from more than 35 delicious flavors. Order yours today! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/17 "2021-09-26T03:38:06Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I spent a lot of time in Texas and I don’t think rhubarb was all that popular there. As I understand it, rhubarb does best in places that get a nice, cold winter. That rarely happens in most of TX, so it doesn’t surprise me that something that never grew locally didn’t catch on. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/18 "2021-09-26T03:51:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Apparently rhubarb comes from Mongolia, as my mom discovered when she visited there and saw it growing wild. And so, of course, she immediately harvested some, and made jam. While she was on vacation, on the opposite side of the world from her kitchen, while staying in a yurt. The other tourists and the locals alike were amazed when she served everyone the jam with breakfast the next morning. I want to be this kind of tourist. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/19 "2021-09-26T04:10:13Z")
I grew up in Texas, and rhubarb really wasn’t a thing there. I’d never even had rhubarb until just recently. The previous owners of our current house apparently intended to plant rhubarb in the yard, but never got around to it- they just left them, unpotted, sitting in the ground in the side of our house… which is evidently the optimal growing environment for rhubarb, as we now have dinosaur sized plants growing there. We harvested some and made a strawberry-rhubarb cobbler and some rhubarb-infused vodka, and both were fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339/20 "2021-09-26T04:51:21Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > (zucchini bread: not as bad as it sounds) Not bad at all. Zucchini bread is delicious! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-on-rhubarb-pie/951339.md?page=2)