A discussion has arisen over the colour of rhubarb stems. Is the
concentration of the red colour related to variety, environment or the
weather ?

Thanks
Rob

In article ,
Rob G wrote:

A discussion has arisen over the colour of rhubarb stems. Is the
concentration of the red colour related to variety, environment or the
weather ?

Er, yes?

I believe primarily the first, but probably the others, plus the
age of the plant and the stems. The truth is rarely pure and
never simple (Oscar Wilde).


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick wrote


Rob G wrote:

A discussion has arisen over the colour of rhubarb stems. Is the
concentration of the red colour related to variety, environment or the
weather ?

Er, yes?

I believe primarily the first, but probably the others, plus the
age of the plant and the stems. The truth is rarely pure and
never simple (Oscar Wilde).


I agree, on our last allotment we had a few different varieties of rhubarb
(from other plotholders) and one always had thinner redder tastier stems. I
have no idea what variety it was but it was certainly the best of the bunch.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

I have Glaskins Perpetual with both green stems and red stems.

On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:30:15 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:

Nick wrote


Rob G wrote:

A discussion has arisen over the colour of rhubarb stems. Is the
concentration of the red colour related to variety, environment or the
weather ?

Er, yes?

I believe primarily the first, but probably the others, plus the
age of the plant and the stems. The truth is rarely pure and
never simple (Oscar Wilde).


I agree, on our last allotment we had a few different varieties of rhubarb
(from other plotholders) and one always had thinner redder tastier stems. I
have no idea what variety it was but it was certainly the best of the bunch.

This is a good moment to ask about the oxalic acid and soluble
oxalates. I read somewhere that even when turning green, the stems
don't contain the unhealthy concentration found in the leaves. 1), is
this true? and 2), is there a degree of greening in the petioles which
indicates unsafe levels?

--
Mike.

In article ,
says...

On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:30:15 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:

Nick wrote


Rob G wrote:

A discussion has arisen over the colour of rhubarb stems. Is the
concentration of the red colour related to variety, environment or the
weather ?

Er, yes?

I believe primarily the first, but probably the others, plus the
age of the plant and the stems. The truth is rarely pure and
never simple (Oscar Wilde).


I agree, on our last allotment we had a few different varieties of rhubarb
(from other plotholders) and one always had thinner redder tastier stems. I
have no idea what variety it was but it was certainly the best of the bunch.

This is a good moment to ask about the oxalic acid and soluble
oxalates. I read somewhere that even when turning green, the stems
don't contain the unhealthy concentration found in the leaves. 1), is
this true? and 2), is there a degree of greening in the petioles which
indicates unsafe levels?

AIUI the leaves always contain more than the stems; but older stems
contain more oxalates as the growth matures. So people trying to avoid
oxalates shouldn't eat rhubarb picked after July.

Janet

Janet wrote:
AIUI the leaves always contain more than the stems; but older stems
contain more oxalates as the growth matures. So people trying to avoid
oxalates shouldn't eat rhubarb picked after July.

Mine never seems to want to grow much after the end of May anyhow. :-/

On Fri, 15 Jun 2012 22:28:09 +0100, Janet wrote:

In article ,
says...

On Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:30:15 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:

Nick wrote


Rob G wrote:

A discussion has arisen over the colour of rhubarb stems. Is the
concentration of the red colour related to variety, environment or the
weather ?

Er, yes?

I believe primarily the first, but probably the others, plus the
age of the plant and the stems. The truth is rarely pure and
never simple (Oscar Wilde).


I agree, on our last allotment we had a few different varieties of rhubarb
(from other plotholders) and one always had thinner redder tastier stems. I
have no idea what variety it was but it was certainly the best of the bunch.

This is a good moment to ask about the oxalic acid and soluble
oxalates. I read somewhere that even when turning green, the stems
don't contain the unhealthy concentration found in the leaves. 1), is
this true? and 2), is there a degree of greening in the petioles which
indicates unsafe levels?

AIUI the leaves always contain more than the stems; but older stems
contain more oxalates as the growth matures. So people trying to avoid
oxalates shouldn't eat rhubarb picked after July.

Su not too attractive even in June. But I wonder specifically if
anybody has some gen on the greenness as an indicator.

--
Mike.