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A pitcher and glass of iced rhubarb ade sweetened with honey with a backyard patio in blurred in the distance.

Honey-Sweetened Rhubarb Ade

This sweet and tangy beverage will thrill your taste buds. With a flavor similar to a sour cherry pie, this Rhubarb Ade is really hard to stop drinking!
INGREDIENTS AT A GLANCE
  • 3 cups rhubarb stalks
  • 1 quart water
  • 1/3 cup honey
Total Time:
40 minutes
Serves:
12 glasses
A pitcher and glass of iced rhubarb ade sweetened with honey with a backyard patio in blurred in the distance.

Honey-Sweetened Rhubarb Ade

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Serves 12 glasses

Ingredients  

  • 3 cups rhubarb stalks
  • 1 quart water
  • 1/3 cup honey

Instructions

  • Wash and cut rhubarb into 1/2-inch cubes then add to large pot with water. Cover and place over medium heat. Cook at a light boil for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before handling.
  • Carefully strain liquid into a pitcher and discard solids. Stir honey into the pitcher and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating.
  • Serve once completely chilled.
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: ade, cooler, drink, honey, rhubarb
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

This sweet and tangy drink will absolutely thrill your taste buds. Made simply with rhubarb, water, and honey, the flavor of this Rhubarb Ade is very similar to a sour cherry pie. Serve it straight, over ice, mixed with some iced tea, or even add it to an adult beverage. The bitterness of the rhubarb mixed with the sweetness of the honey blends so perfectly to create this refreshment that it’s really hard to stop drinking.

I’ve been working with the Philomath Community Gleaners here in Oregon and they recently got in both a gorgeous bounty of rhubarb as well as a large donation of local honey. While most people immediately gravitate toward classic rhubarb recipes like Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, I wanted to come up with a few ideas that people wouldn’t normally think of. Transforming these two ingredients into a delicious Rhubarb Ade was definitely at the top of my list. The result is just delightful!

A metal bowl filled with cut red rhubarb stalks on a slate table.

What is Rhubarb?

Rhubarb is a vegetable that looks a lot celery, except the stalks are twice as thick and they are a vibrant red color. When you get rhubarb, you want to remove and discard the leaves. Rhubarb leaves have high levels oxalic acid and are considered poisonous. Small doses will make you nauseated but a large dose can be lethal. So always remove rhubarb leaves!

Rhubarb can be eaten raw, but it’s very bitter. Most rhubarb recipes pair it a sweetener of some sort to compensate for its sourness. It pairs very well with berries of all sort and is most commonly seen partnered with strawberries. Because of this, you’ll sometimes hear people classify rhubarb it in with “fruit” but it’s technically a vegetable.

Making Rhubarb Ade in a Tiny Kitchen

This drink is very easy to prepare in a tiny kitchen. You’re going to need a large pot, a stove top, knife, cutting board, a strainer, and a pitcher big enough to hold 1 quarter of liquid. You’ll spend less than 10 minutes cutting the rhubarb stalks down into 1/2-inch cubes, but the rest of the process is just waiting—for it to cook as well as cool. Once you’re done, you can either keep it in your fridge for about a week or you can even turn them into delicious freezer pops!

Rhubarb juices are known to stain, but not nearly as bad as other red vegetables. If you’re using a wooden cutting board like I do, just sprinkle some baking soda on the surface of the board, then work it into the stain with a lemon. Rinse the board and dry it with a towel. The staining should come right up.

Can I Substitute Sugar for Honey?

Yes! I used honey because I think it has a wonderful flavor and it sweetens drinks perfectly. But, if you want to use sugar instead, just substitute the 1/3 cup of honey with 1/2 cup of sugar. You will be mixing the sugar into liquid that is already hot, but you might not melt down all of the granules in one shot. Just stir your Rhubarb Ade again before serving to keep the sugar from settling on the bottom.

That’s it!

Give this recipe for Honey-Sweetened Rhubarb Ade a shot and let me know what you think. Don’t forget to come back and give me your rating. If you have any questions or find other substitutions that are yummy, feel free to add those in your comments! As always, if you like this recipe, please share on social media so other people know about it too.
Nutrition Facts
Honey-Sweetened Rhubarb Ade
Amount Per Serving (180 g)
Calories 17
% Daily Value*
Fat 0.03g0%
Saturated Fat 0.007g0%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.013g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.005g
Sodium 4mg0%
Potassium 42mg1%
Carbohydrates 8.26g3%
Fiber 0.2g1%
Sugar 7.8g9%
Protein 0.14g0%
Vitamin A 50IU1%
Vitamin C 0.8mg1%
Calcium 30mg3%
* Percent Daily Values based on a 2000 calorie diet.
First Published On: June 20, 2019
Last Modified On: December 11, 2023
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Tiny.Kitchen
Valerie is the author of Tiny.Kitchen. With mouthwatering recipes and useful techniques, she combines her experience living in an RV with her professional cooking skills and love of food to address the unique concerns of those who want to make delicious meals in their tiny kitchen. Learn more »

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