Tesco rhubarb buyer Paul Curtis said: “Rhubarb has very much become the flavour of the moment and besides being a classic dessert in crumble form with custard, is now considered one of the most popular flavourings and scents in many food, drink and household products.
Production of forced rhubarb has expanded beyond the so-called rhubarb triangle around Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell in West Yorkshire, with its popularity encouraging more UK producers to grow it.
These include flavoured spirits such as vodka and gin, dessert pies, rhubarb and custard sweets, anti-bacterial spray, tea lights, and the latest product to hit the shelves – rhubarb and custard hot cross buns.
Legend has it that the origins of forced rhubarb were a happy accident in 1815, when labourers working at Chelsea Physic Garden accidentally buried a bed of rhubarb with soil while digging a trench.
“Right now is the peak of the forced rhubarb season, which lasts from the end of January until late March and it’s when rhubarb is at its sweetest and most flavoursome.
