In 1919, a doctor in Helena, Montana, wrote to the Journal of the American Medical Association concerning the disturbing case of a young wife who was pale, exhausted, and vomiting when he arrived. She had apparently been pregnant – he found “the complete products of conception of about six weeks’ development, discharged into the bed clothes” – but the placenta was bloodless, and what blood there was would not coagulate. She died a few hours later, bleeding from the nose.

The night before, she’d made rhubarb stems and leaves for supper, and had eaten most of the leaves herself, while her husband had only a little. He was weak and dizzy, but did not die. The journal editors wrote back that the doctor’s hunch – that she had been poisoned by the rhubarb leaves, probably by a substance called oxalic acid – was likely correct.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170413-the-deadly-danger-in-foods-we-love

Rhubarb leaves must act like rat poison.
I wonder how many old ex weather girl grannies have been knocked off by being give a good hearty rhubarb leaf broth to keep the chill out.

Granny-: I’m starting to feel a little bit odd, dear.
Inheritance Seeker-: One more big tablespoon of broth should do the trick, Granny.

Peak Warming Man said:

In 1919, a doctor in Helena, Montana, wrote to the Journal of the American Medical Association concerning the disturbing case of a young wife who was pale, exhausted, and vomiting when he arrived. She had apparently been pregnant – he found “the complete products of conception of about six weeks’ development, discharged into the bed clothes” – but the placenta was bloodless, and what blood there was would not coagulate. She died a few hours later, bleeding from the nose.

The night before, she’d made rhubarb stems and leaves for supper, and had eaten most of the leaves herself, while her husband had only a little. He was weak and dizzy, but did not die. The journal editors wrote back that the doctor’s hunch – that she had been poisoned by the rhubarb leaves, probably by a substance called oxalic acid – was likely correct.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170413-the-deadly-danger-in-foods-we-love

Rhubarb leaves must act like rat poison.
I wonder how many old ex weather girl grannies have been knocked off by being give a good hearty rhubarb leaf broth to keep the chill out.

Granny-: I’m starting to feel a little bit odd, dear.
Inheritance Seeker-: One more big tablespoon of broth should do the trick, Granny.

you can tell rhubarb is wrong, because it tastes like ear wax

Probably didn’t help that it was recommended as food during WW1

I like rhubarb. I was also well aware that its leaves are poisonous.

sibeen said:

I like rhubarb. I was also well aware that its leaves are poisonous.

I reckon if you polled a studio audience less than half would know that rhubarb leaves are deadly.

Rhubarb is delicious lightly cooked in Zibibbo and served with a good custard or ice cream.

Peak Warming Man said:

sibeen said:

I like rhubarb. I was also well aware that its leaves are poisonous.

I reckon if you polled a studio audience less than half would know that rhubarb leaves are deadly.

depends on if they are an audience on gardening australia or not.

Peak Warming Man said:

sibeen said:

I like rhubarb. I was also well aware that its leaves are poisonous.

I reckon if you polled a studio audience less than half would know that rhubarb leaves are deadly.

thanks Grant…

In countries where rhubarb is more commonly eaten it’s well-known that the leaves are toxic.

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Bubblecar said:

In countries where rhubarb is more commonly eaten it’s well-known that the leaves are toxic.

When I was growing up rhubarb was a very common dessert.

Yum. Rhubarb and apple with custard.
Rhubarb is Right. Except for when it kills you.

sibeen said:

Bubblecar said:

In countries where rhubarb is more commonly eaten it’s well-known that the leaves are toxic.

When I was growing up rhubarb was a very common dessert.

because they had to cull during the great depression?

kii said:

Yum. Rhubarb and apple with custard.
Rhubarb is Right. Except for when it kills you.

I used to hate it when my mum added rhubarb to the apple pie.. what a waste of good apples.

Arts said:

kii said:

Yum. Rhubarb and apple with custard.
Rhubarb is Right. Except for when it kills you.

I used to hate it when my mum added rhubarb to the apple pie.. what a waste of good apples.

I hated it when mum pretended that rabbit was chook.

When it was served with custard or ice cream it was called stewed fruit. If it was served for breakfast it was called compote.

Someone needs to genetically modify or grow rhubarb to make to taste better.

> she had been poisoned by the rhubarb leaves, probably by a substance called oxalic acid

Oxalic acid is harmless in quantities that are easily ingested. I know, I used to eat it a lot, in the form of the weed oxalis. It has a very strong pleasant piquant flavour that strongly deters overeating.

Also, all oxalic acid does is bind to nutrients, making them inaccessible – so eventually you could die from starvation or for example osteoporosis, but not from poisoning.

Checking websites – OK, rhubarb leaves are harmless raw (because you’d vomit it out long before concentrations reach toxic levels). They are poisonous when cooked with bicarb soda, but who does that?

I thought so.

Oxalate is an essential part of the Krebs cycle. It binds with Acetyl CoA to begin digestion.

In England they seem to think the rhubarb is a fruit.

>>They are poisonous when cooked with bicarb soda, but who does that?<<

It was common to put a pinch of bicarb in with the greens to make them greener. In the 50s. So I guess if you were cooking the leaves….I have boiled rhubarb leaves to clean a saucepan. It works well with aluminium saucepans particularly. I’m sure someone will be able to elucidate with the chemistry. But we’ve always known not to eat the leaves.

By the way, there used to be a recipe on the side of the custard powder box that my Mum used for Pink April. Stewed rhubarb swirled through custard. Sounds better as Pink April though.

:)

dv said:

In England they seem to think the rhubarb is a fruit.

Yeah, and try convincing a German that baked pumpkin is edible. It’s animal food, apparently.

Although the OP doesn’t mention it, rhubarb leaves have been used deliberately induce abortion since ancient times.

buffy said:

dv said:

In England they seem to think the rhubarb is a fruit.

Yeah, and try convincing a German that baked pumpkin is edible. It’s animal food, apparently.

Just tell them that that’s why they lost the wars.

dv said:

Although the OP doesn’t mention it, rhubarb leaves have been used deliberately induce abortion since ancient times.

I suspected some such but didn’t want to go there.

buffy said:

Yeah, and try convincing a German that baked pumpkin is edible. It’s animal food, apparently.

Whilst Germans have been known to be incorrect, or on the wrong side of history on occasion, in this case they have righteousness and truthiness on their side.

dv said:

buffy said:

dv said:

In England they seem to think the rhubarb is a fruit.

Yeah, and try convincing a German that baked pumpkin is edible. It’s animal food, apparently.

Just tell them that that’s why they lost the wars.

Nah, this guy had been a political prisoner in a gulag. Very slowly, over time, he told me bits of his late teenage years. He was an East German Prussian. Quite a damaged soul.

buffy said:

dv said:

In England they seem to think the rhubarb is a fruit.

Yeah, and try convincing a German that baked pumpkin is edible. It’s animal food, apparently.

my dad ate baked pumpkin without complaining…

dv said:

In England they seem to think the rhubarb is a fruit.

That’s why I get pissed off when people think I am English.

dv said:

In England they seem to think the rhubarb is a fruit.

really? we grew it and never thought it a fruit.

Actually Willi has written a memoire. I should see about getting a copy, but it will be a slow read as it is German.

http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/7014571

kale in england was a animal fodder. humans didn’t eat it.

JudgeMental said:

kale in england was a animal fodder. humans didn’t eat it.

They still don’t*.

• Hippies don’t count.

Peak Warming Man said:

dv said:

Although the OP doesn’t mention it, rhubarb leaves have been used deliberately induce abortion since ancient times.

I suspected some such but didn’t want to go there.

Why not?

sibeen said:

buffy said:

Yeah, and try convincing a German that baked pumpkin is edible. It’s animal food, apparently.

Whilst Germans have been known to be incorrect, or on the wrong side of history on occasion, in this case they have righteousness and truthiness on their side.

In the USA, specially the heartlands, pumpkin is fodder and dessert. Sarah’s Dad had a hard time pumpkin in a roast dinner until he started baking it off with brown sugar on it.

buffy said:

dv said:

In England they seem to think the rhubarb is a fruit.

Yeah, and try convincing a German that baked pumpkin is edible. It’s animal food, apparently.

Yet they eat sauerkraut.

JudgeMental said:

kale in england was a animal fodder. humans didn’t eat it.

I’m surprised the animals even ate it

Arts said:

JudgeMental said:

kale in england was a animal fodder. humans didn’t eat it.

I’m surprised the animals even ate it

Mr PTSD told mr kii that he’s growing kale in the front gated garden by the west wall and to harvest it while he’s teaching in Las Vegas. mr kii just pulled a face and said…no.
I think the gate will remain locked.

Anyway I think that’s too close to where the locals think the dead Vietnam vet is buried.

the CIA tried killing castro by encouraging him to smoke rhubarb leaf cigars.

Arts said:

JudgeMental said:

kale in england was a animal fodder. humans didn’t eat it.

I’m surprised the animals even ate it

everything eats brassicas.

sarahs mum said:

Arts said:

JudgeMental said:

kale in england was a animal fodder. humans didn’t eat it.

I’m surprised the animals even ate it

everything eats brassicas.

How did we get talking about kale and brassicas? Rhubarb isn’t a brassica.

sarahs mum said:

Arts said:

JudgeMental said:

kale in england was a animal fodder. humans didn’t eat it.

I’m surprised the animals even ate it

everything eats brassicas.

A goat ate my grandma’s brassicas off the line one day

Rhubarb Rhubarb, a British film made in 1980 (a remake of 1969’s Rhubarb), in which the only word spoken — albeit repeatedly — is “Rhubarb.”

Anything you have to put that much sugar on to eat probably is best left to caterpillars.

roughbarked said:

Anything you have to put that much sugar on to eat probably is best left to caterpillars.

Some oxalic acid info: http://oxalicacidinfo.com/

roughbarked said:

Anything you have to put that much sugar on to eat probably is best left to caterpillars.

Including chocolate, coffee and vanilla?

btm said:

Rhubarb Rhubarb, a British film made in 1980 (a remake of 1969’s Rhubarb), in which the only word spoken — albeit repeatedly — is “Rhubarb.”

rhubarb rhubarb (repeat) is a term that extras are encouraged to say when they have a crowd scene that ‘responds/murmurs’

mollwollfumble said:

roughbarked said:

Anything you have to put that much sugar on to eat probably is best left to caterpillars.

Including chocolate, coffee and vanilla?

I don’t have sugar in my coffee…