Orange & Vanilla Poached Rhubarb

Here’s how to make perfectly poached rhubarb, flavoured with orange & vanilla. This rhubarb is packed full of flavour & works with desserts, breakfasts & even savoury dishes.

Poaching is a simple yet seriously tasty way to cook rhubarb. It’s super easy & takes no time at all, we’re talking 20 minutes from start to finish! Poaching rhubarb also means that we end up with a intense syrup that can be used as a sauce to serve with the gently cooked fruit.

Although rhubarb is technically a vegetable, it works best with desserts, especially cheesecakes, pavlovas, panna cottas & ice cream. To get the most out of rhubarb, it’s best to use it when it’s in season & cook it with a good amount of sugar (rhubarb is quite tart!), plus some flavourings. I like to use vanilla, citrus and spices like cinnamon & ginger. Cooked properly, poached rhubarb will be tender, ever so slightly tart & full of flavour.

If you’re looking for more pudding recipes to try then take a look at our ever growing collection of dessert recipes! There’s something for everyone here, from classic crumbles, sticky toffee pudding & treacle tart, to tiramisu & a whole load of homemade ice creams.

What You’ll Need

• Rhubarb – If you want vibrant pink rhubarb, you’ll need to use forced rhubarb! However, this recipe works with regular rhubarb as well.
• Sugar – We’re using caster sugar to sweeten the poaching liquid. If you’re using regular rhubarb, you may want to use a bit more sugar as forced rhubarb tends to be naturally sweeter.
• Orange – The poaching liquid is flavoured with both orange zest and juice. We’re cutting the zest off in strips, making sure to remove as much pith as possible as this can be bitter.
• Vanilla – You’ll need half a vanilla bean for the poaching liquid. A teaspoon of vanilla paste will work as well.
• Spices – I used a star anise & half a cinnamon stick for my poaching liquid. Some stem ginger would work nicely as well.

How To Poach Rhubarb

Poaching is a simple yet delicious way to cook rhubarb! Here, we’re making a sweet syrup, flavoured with orange zest, vanilla bean, cinnamon & star anise then using it to gently cook our pieces of rhubarb.

Poaching rhubarb on the stove also has some advantages! The main one being that there’s less chance of overcooking the fruit as we can constantly keep an eye on it. Another benefit is that we can infuse loads of flavour into the poaching liquid. Rhubarb works really well with citrus, vanilla and spices like cinnamon & ginger! Plus, the liquid can be reduced into a really flavourful syrup that can be served with the fruit.

Poaching Rhubarb – Step By Step

1. Lightly trim the ends off the rhubarb then cut each stalk into even pieces. Set these aside for now. I cut my rhubarb into 6 cm long pieces but feel free to cut your’s whatever size you like.
2. Next, add water into a saucepan with caster sugar, orange zest & juice, a scraped out vanilla pod, star anise & a cinnamon stick. Set the pan over a low heat & cook until the sugar has dissolved. This will only take a few minutes.
3. Add the rhubarb into the pan then gently poach until it’s soft & tender but still holding its’ shape. This will take around 5 minutes, depending on the size & thickness of the rhubarb.
4. Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to lift the rhubarb out of the liquid & onto a plate.
5. Turn the heat up to high, bring the poaching liquid to a boil then reduce into a syrup. This will take another 5-10 minutes.
6. Let the syrup & rhubarb cool down then place both into a container. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. If you’re using forced rhubarb, it will turn a deeper pink colour when left in the syrup overnight!

Tips & Tricks

• For bright pink, vibrant poached rhubarb, use forced rhubarb.
• Add sugar to the poaching liquid to taste. Forced rhubarb is sweeter than regular rhubarb (which can be quite tart) so keep this in mind!
• Don’t over cook the rhubarb! It should be soft & tender but still hold its’ shape.
• If some of your rhubarb is thinner, cook this separately to avoid overcooking it.
• Reduce the poaching liquid into a syrup once the rhubarb is cooked (take rhubarb out first!). This gives you a punchy rhubarb sauce to serve with the poached fruit.

Serving Suggestions

Poached rhubarb can be used for both sweet & savoury dishes! It works fantastically with desserts like panna cottas, ice cream, cheesecakes & pavlovas and breakfast dishes like pancakes, waffles, yogurt & overnight oats. Rhubarb is actually a vegetable so also works really well with meats & fish, like grilled mackerel & barbecue pork chops.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Dessert Recipes To Try!

• Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta With Poached Rhubarb
• Mulled Wine Poached Pears
• Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding With Miso Caramel
• Blackberry Frozen Yogurt
• Cake Crumb Treacle Tart
• Apricot & Almond Frangipane Tart

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Orange & Vanilla Poached Rhubarb

Here's how to make perfectly poached rhubarb, flavoured with orange & vanilla. This rhubarb is packed full of flavour & works with desserts, breakfasts & even savoury dishes.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British, English

Servings: 4 People

Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

• Saucepan
• Slotted Spoon
• Sieve

Ingredients

• 650 g Water
• 150 g Caster Sugar
• 1 Large Orange
• 1 Star Anise
• ½ Cinnamon Stick
• ½ Vanilla Pod

Instructions

• Lightly trim the ends off the rhubarb then cut each stalk into even pieces. Set these aside for now.

  Make sure to cut all of the rhubarb the same size! Keep in mind that larger pieces of rhubarb will take longer to cook. I cut my rhubarb into 6cm long pieces.
• Next, add the water & sugar into a medium saucepan. Cut the zest from the orange then add into the pan along with 75 grams of the juice, the star anise & cinnamon stick. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod & add both the pod & seeds into the pan as well.

  Trim as much of the white pith from the zest as possible as this tastes bitter.
• Set the pan over a low heat & cook, stirring regularly until the sugar has dissolved. This will take 3-4 minutes.
• Next, add the rhubarb into the pan then poach gently, until just tender. The rhubarb should be soft but still hold its' shape.

  The rhubarb will only take around 5 minutes to cook, depending on the thickness of the stalks. If some of your rhubarb is thinner, poach it separately to avoid over cooking.
• Once your rhubarb is cooked, carefully transfer it to a plate & set to one side.
• Next, set the pan over a high heat, bring to the boil then cook the poaching liquid until it has reduced into a syrup. This will take around 5-10 minutes. Once ready, take the syrup off the heat & leave to cool slightly.
• Once cool, add the rhubarb into a container then pour the syrup over, through a sieve. Chill in the fridge until needed.

Notes

1. Rhubarb – If you want your poached rhubarb to be bright pink, you’ll need to use forced rhubarb which is in season from late December until the end of March. However, regular rhubarb will work as well.

2. Poaching Liquid – We’re reducing the poaching liquid into a syrup that can be served with the rhubarb. I flavoured my poaching liquid with vanilla, orange, star anise & cinnamon but feel free to flavour your’s however you like.

3. Sugar – If you’re using regular rhubarb, you’ll need to add a bit more sugar to the poaching liquid as this can be more tart than forced rhubarb. Add this to taste. 

4. Storage – Once cooked & cooled down, the poached rhubarb & syrup should be stored together in an airtight container in the fridge and is best eaten within 3 days.