It's rhubarb season and no doubt everyone is making pie! But there's many other things you can do with rhubarb: relishes and chutneys and compotes, sauces both sweet and savory, ice cream and sorbets. The list is endless but one of my favorites to make when rhubarb is plentiful is rhubarb syrup.

Read on for the recipe and a list of amazing things you can do with rhubarb syrup!

Last spring Nora gave us a nice round-up of rhubarb cocktails using rhubarb syrup. Here's a take on her recipe, with a few variations and suggestions following.

Rhubarb Syrup

4 C chopped rhubarb

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Combine everything in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook gently until the fruit is soft and the liquid has thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Ladle into a fine strainer (or a coarse strainer lined with cheesecloth) that has been placed over a large bowl. Strain until most of the liquid is in the bowl. Give a little press on the solids with a spoon to extract more syrup.

Carefully pour the syrup into a clean bottle, cover or cork the bottle and refrigerate. It should keep for quite some time in the fridge. The solids make a nice rough jam, so if you want you can put them in a clean jar and keep them in your refrigerator for a week or so. It's great on toast!

Variations:

• Add a few coins of ginger or a few large pieces of orange peel to the rhubarb at the start of the cooking time.


• Towards the end of the simmering time, add a small handful of rough chopped basil, or several sprigs of thyme.


• Stir in a few teaspoons of rose water or orange flower water.

Fun and delicious uses for rhubarb syrup:

• Mix with club soda to make a refreshing drink: about one part syrup to 3 parts club soda. Serve over ice, garnished with a lime wedge.
• Rhubarb bellinis! A simple recipe of about one part syrup to 4 parts sparkling wine, Champagne or prosecco.
• Rhubarb Mojito from Brooklyn Farmhouse.
• Drizzle over plain or vanilla yogurt or vanilla ice cream. Or poke holes in a plain vanilla or lemon cake with a skewer and pour the syrup over until it soaks in

Related: Rhubarb Basil Cocktail

(Image: Dana Velden)