Simple and Aromatic Rhubarb Peel Syrup

I like rhubarb a lot. Every spring I am trying to find new ways of using it, not only cakes or the typical jam: plain or with strawberries or oranges but also chutney, ketchup or rhubarb in savory variations: chicken or fish with rhubarb for instance.

About 3 years ago, while searching for a new way to preserve rhubarb I came to the idea of making sirup. And there it was, this simple recipe, which for me it was close to genius. Why? Because it is using something that you would normally throw away: the peel of the rhubarb. The result is a wonderfully pink sirup, with a tart and lemony taste, refreshing and bursting with flavor.

There are many ways to use the sirup. You can pour just a little of it in glass and fill with sparkling water or sparkling wine, you can pour some on ice cream or waffles, you can use it to sweeten yogurt, müsli or various desserts, I even used it in cakes once, because I was missing the necessary Fanta. I just mixed it up with sparkling water and pretended it was Fanta. It worked.

So if you do anything with rhubarb at all this spring, don’t throw away the peel, just give this sirup a chance, you will then make it every year.

The sirup keeps very well. Recently I found a bottle in the cellar that was made in 2013. Still perfect.

This recipe makes enough syrup to fill 2 or 3 small bottles. You can easily double the recipe, I always do.

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Rhubarb Peel Syrup

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  50 mins

Total time:  1 hour

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

• 250 g/ 8.8 oz rhubarb peel
• 1 kg/ 35.2 oz granulated sugar
• 10 g/ 2 ¼ teaspoons citric acid
• 1 liter/ 4.2 cups/ 33.8 fluid oz water

Instructions

1. Wash rhubarb thoroughly before peeling it. Measure the peel and place it in a pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring everything to a boil. Turn the heat down and let the syrup cook, uncovered for 30 minutes. If you make the double amount give it 5 more minutes cooking time. Take the syrup off the heat, let cool down and keep in the fridge or cellar for 24 hours.
2. Strain the syrup and discard the peel. Pour the syrup back into the pan, bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Pour into the sterilized bottles and seal.

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