My grandparents used to grow rhubarb in their garden. This garden disappeared long before I was born but my dad’s memory of it is, well, idealized. If you every go to the farmer’s market with him, he will tell you stories about the abundance of produce and wonderful meals that came from that garden.

Rhubarb is one of those that really take him back to his childhood. He tried very hard to recreate those wonderful dishes that my grandmother used to make but he never quite mastered rhubarb. Actually, I remember thinking that I’d never been less interested in dessert than when my father was making something with rhubarb. Sorry dad, but it was usually gross.

Rhubarb can be a tough ingredient as it’s quite tart. You need a lot of sweetness to balance it out. As an adult, I’m trying to create new rhubarb memories. I’m determined to make something wonderful so erase those bad dessert memories and make my father and grandmother proud. I thought that a nice simple syrup with rhubarb and strawberries would be a great starter recipe. It turned out so well. I’m super happy with it. You can use the syrup the same way you would any simple syrup. The last few days we’ve been using it to sweeten lemon flavored sparkling water and on top of my Roasted Apricots (as a substitute to the Blackberry Sage Syrup). The solids are great as a fruit spread on toast or in anything you would use jam.

Strawberry Rhubarb Simple Syrup