From April to mid-June, the strong rhubarb stalks invite you to harvest. Unfortunately, once harvested, they don't last very long. However, a larger harvest can be preserved in various ways.

Store rhubarb in the refrigerator
Freshly harvested or purchased rhubarb should be used within a few days as it spoils quickly. The rhubarb stalks are best kept in the refrigerator, as the cold inhibits the putrefactive bacteria. Wrap the rhubarb in a damp cloth and place in the crisper. This protects it from drying out.
The rhubarb should not be stored for longer than three days, as its quality suffers greatly. It is better to harvest the rhubarb immediately before processing or only buy small quantities that you can use immediately.
Freeze rhubarb
Rhubarb can be frozen for a year or so. However, the longer it is stored, the more it loses its aroma, which is why it is best to use it up after six months at the latest
Freeze rhubarb step by step
- Prepare the rhubarb by washing it, removing the leaves and the tough ends of the stalks.
- If necessary, you can peel the rhubarb by loosening the woody fibers with a small knife and peeling them off lengthwise.
- Cut the prepared rhubarb stalks into pieces.
- To preserve the color of the rhubarb when you freeze it, blanch it in boiling water for 3 minutes and shock it in ice water. However, the rhubarb can also be frozen raw.
- Place the rhubarb pieces next to each other on a wooden board and put it in the *** freezer for a few hours. This will prevent the pieces from freezing together into a lump.
- Put the pre-frozen rhubarb pieces in freezer bags and press out the air before sealing. Other tightly sealable, freezer-safe containers are also suitable for storage.
- Always remove the required amount of rhubarb from the freezer and use it up completely after a year at the latest.
Boil the rhubarb
You can preserve rhubarb by boiling it in a number of ways:
- Boil the rhubarb in sugar water: Place the cleaned and chopped rhubarb in glasses, fill with sugared water and boil for half an hour at 90 °C.
- Cook the rhubarb compote: Sauté the prepared pieces of rhubarb in a little water, add the sugar and spices and thicken with starch. Then pour into sterile jars.
- Cooking rhubarb jam: Mix cleaned rhubarb pieces with preserving sugar, leave to stand for an hour, then bring to the boil and fill into sterile jars after four minutes.
- Boil down the rhubarb juice: Juice the rhubarb using a juicer, juicer or steam juicer, add sugar if desired. The steam-extracted juice can be filled directly into sterile bottles or boiled down as a jelly. The raw juiced rhubarb juice must be boiled before bottling in order to keep.

The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:
- as a free PDF file to print out yourself