Grandma Radloff's Rhubarb Sauce

For Rhubarb Fool and other variations, see below.

Rhubarb Sauce can be eaten plain as a dessert, but it is also good over vanilla ice cream. Grandma Radloff always made Rhubarb Sauce in the spring. She never used cornstarch or food coloring in hers, which are optional ingredients in the recipe below.

Because of its high amount of acid, rhubarb is best cooked in non-reactive cookware such as stainless steel. Do not use cast iron to cook the rhubarb in.

1 pound rhubarb, sliced into 1 - 1 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar - more or less to taste
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
red food coloring (optional, Grenadine would also add red color)

Place rhubarb in a medium saucepan; add a very small amount of water in the bottom of the pan (about 1/2 cup), just enough to keep the rhubarb from sticking until it gives off its own juice. You can always add more water later if needed to thin it out a bit. Add sugar; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until rhubarb is tender.

Optional: Add cornstarch to thicken, if desired, and a few drops of red food coloring, or until desired color is reached. If adding cornstarch, return rhubarb sauce mixture to saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

Cool and eat as a dessert or afternoon treat. See other ideas for serving the sauce below.

Makes about 3 cups of rhubarb sauce.

To make Rhubarb Fool:

For 1 pound of rhubarb as made above and cooled, whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar until the cream forms soft peaks. At this point, you could alternate layers of rhubarb with the whipped cream in glass serving dishes, or gently fold the rhubarb into the whipped cream and spoon into glasses dishes. I have seen recipes made both ways.

Other Variations: