Vegan Rhubarb Cake

GOOD TO KNOW

Rhubarb – actually not a fruit
It is actually a “stem vegetable”, because botanically it is a shrub and we eat the stem, not the fruits.
Rhubarb originally comes from China (there it is grown as a medical plant, especially for intestinal cleansing) and in Germany it has been existing only for about 160 years.
A phenomenon, that makes the plant very special: The roots are medicinal, the stems are full of nutrients and the leaves are toxic!
Rhubarb contains a lot of minerals, especially a lot of potassium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and a bit of iodine. These minerals also have a quite good relation to each other reffering the heart and the circulation system.
Besides it provides plenty of citric and apple acid, tannins, essential oils, the bowl-friendly pectin and different glycosides.
It also contains so-called „ anthraquinones”, which are pure medicine and they “irritate” the tissue of our intestinal mucosa and our liver-gall-system. Therefore they purge more or less.
But what needs to be considered: Rhubarb contains a lot of oxalic acids. Therefore you shouldn’t eat it raw and the leaves are absolutely taboo! And you should always peel the stems, because most of the oxalic acid is in the skin. And also important to know: Green rhubarb contains more oxalic acid than red one and the late one contains more than the early one. The acid not only attacks the tooth enamel, but also binds the calcium of the food or of our blood.  This is why you should eat it in moderation and not in masses! But people with tendency to kidney stones, gout, rheumatism and arthritis should forego rhubarb.

Nice To Know:
A tip how to easily reduce the “dangerous” oxalic acid: Put the rhubarb immediately after peeling and cutting  into boiling water for a short time ( to blanch).