What is Strawberry Rhubarb Pie?
Rhubarb, often called “pie plant,” is a fibrous vegetable in, of all things, the buckwheat family. It looks rather like dark red celery and Marco Polo raved about it from his journey to China. Rhubarb was originally grown in Asia and was first brought to the United States of America about 1790 or so. Colonists being the thrifty people they were, soon found out they could make pies with the red stems of this unusual plant. Thus, the strawberry rhubarb pie was born. Rhubarb is extremely sour so the strawberries and added sugar help smooth out the taste. Conversely, the tartness of the rhubarb compliments the strawberry flavors. Strawberry rhubarb pie is rather like crisp or crumble — that is, it has a fruit filling with a streusel-like topping.
