Rhubarb is a native plant of Mongolia and is believed to have arrived in Italy in the 15th or 16th century. Large quantities were taken to China on the Silk Road, and it has been recorded that this road could have been known as the Rhubarb Road! A Yorkshireman, Sir Matthew Lister, introduced edible garden rhubarb into England from Italy around 1620. At first it was appreciated for its medicinal qualities, but from the 1780’s the chopped stalks began to be used as a substitute for gooseberries in pies. In the late 1870’s, Joseph Whitwell erected forcing sheds, where it was grown in the dark, and after that the expansion of the rhubarb industry was very rapid..

read more MCA | The rhubarb triangle.