Let’s start with this link that gives a nice little history of what exactly forcing rhubarb is. Me, Remy, I have to tell you that I’ve never really thought about rhubarb before now, and it was really fun learning something about it!
Along the same lines as the last link, this link will introduce you to the area where forced rhubarb is so prevalent: The Yorkshire Rhubarb Triangle.
What exactly is the purpose of forcing rhubarb? Why would we want to go through all this effort? Apparently, it makes for a much tastier plant!
This link will take you to an out of date (2013) Q&A from Oregon State University about whether or not rhubarb leaves and in particular oxalate are toxic to humans. I’m including it as a historic viewpoint on the matter and right after this link will be the updated info I provided in the episode.
Here is an updated article (2023) from Colorado State University about the toxicity of oxalates. It goes over everything I added to the episode. And the button beside will take you to an article about high oxalate foods, how to prevent them, and what can cause oxalate toxicity.
Here is a very brief news clip from The Today Programme where the two are in the forced rhubarb shed listening as the rhubarb grows.
And for this last one, it’s a longer clip of just the isolated sound of the rhubarb growing. It’s really cool, kind of eerie, creaky as M said, and as one place described it “beatboxing” sounding.
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