Rhubarb: A traditional medicinal vegetable now often paired with fruit

The history of rhubarb is as colourful as its bright red stock. Originally grown in Asia as a medicinal plant since at least 2,700 B.C., rhubarb became popular to eat in the 18th and 19th centuries when the large-scale introduction of sugar into the European diet made this tart veggie more palatable.

Canadian farmers grew 1 250 metric tonnes of rhubarb in 2022, the lowest rhubarb harvest in two decades.

Rhubarb needs at least two months of cool weather to sprout in the early spring, making the temperate zones of southern Canada an ideal growing location.

Farmers in British Columbia (55.4%) accounted for over half of the rhubarb grown in Canada in 2022 at 693 tonnes. Rhubarb was grown commercially in every province in 2022.