Is Rhubarb A Fruit Or A Vegetable. This is due to its sour fruity taste and the fact that it is mainly used for desserts. The identity of rhubarb has vexed gardeners and chefs for years so much so in fact that a in 1947 a US court ruled it was a fruit. Rhubarb Rheum officinale Baillon is a very undemanding perennial vegetable but is often mistaken for fruit. Heres where things get confusing.
All that and its perennial in many areas. Rhubarb is a good example as well because people cant tell whether its a fruit or vegetable. Since it is most often used to make sweet desserts like other fruits they deemed that importers shouldnt have to pay the higher vegetable tax on the stalks. The whole plant a herbaceous perennial growing from short thick rhizomes is also called rhubarb. It was reclassified as a fruit when US customs officials. Heres where things get confusing.
As kids we use to go out to the garden pick a stalk of rhubarb and see who could finish eating their stalk first just the thought of this makes me pucker-up.
In the United States until the 1940s it was considered a vegetable. Guess what rhubarb is a vegetable even though it is commonly used in pies muffins sauces and desserts. Rhubarb is a good example as well because people cant tell whether its a fruit or vegetable. Rhubarb is a very ornamental vegetable that is usually prepared and eaten much like a fruit. The large triangular leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid and. Despite its similar appearance to celery rhubarb is no relation.