Rhubarb was not widely consumed as it is today until the 19th century. One of the earliest known references to rhubarb as a food is a tart recipe from Maria Elizabeth Rundell’s 1807 cookbook, later reprinted in Alan Davidson’s Oxford Companion to Food. A pivotal factor in rhubarb’s transformation from a medicinal ingredient to a beloved dessert was the arrival of cheap, accessible sugar imported from the West Indies.
The popularization of culinary rhubarb is often credited to London-based market gardener Joseph Myatt (1771–1855), a pioneer in the cultivation of rhubarb and strawberries in England. The location pinpointed on the map, Myatt’s Fields in Camberwell, London, marks where rhubarb was grown. Joseph Myatt obtained a dozen rhubarb roots from his friend Isaac Oldacre, an English gardener from Derbyshire who had risen to prominence as the gardener for the Emperor of Russia in St. Petersburg.
Myatt’s first rhubarb crop in Camberwell was described as “of a kind imported from Russia, finer and much earlier growing than the puny variety cultivated by the Brentford growers for Covent Garden.” By experimenting with forced rhubarb, Joseph developed larger plants with enhanced flavor, texture, and a variety of colors.
Famously, in 1824, Joseph sent his sons, James and William, to the Borough Market with five bunches of rhubarb, selling only three. The following week, they brought ten bunches, all of which were sold. Some accounts suggest they also brought a recipe for rhubarb tart to help promote sales.
You can read more about Joseph Myatt here.
Image: The Victoria rhubarb, considered a high-quality variety, is credited to Myatt. This image is from the A–Z of Home Vegetable Gardening (1918), and is shared under a Creative Commons license.
