Column “Own Stove”: The Five-Minute Ice Cream

The rhubarb season is slowly coming to an end. And before it's finally over, you should take advantage of it, because nothing comparable will be harvested in the vegetable patch (in cookbooks, rhubarb is usually classified as a fruit) all year.

Rhubarb is the great eccentric of the garden, a Siberian knotweed plant with medicinal properties that British pharmacists discovered for use in the kitchen. Its leaves are poisonous, and its bright pink stems are so pungently acidic that they require a lot of sugar to socialize them. Once you've done that, though, rhubarb suddenly becomes extremely complex, with grassy and fruity aromas that can make you feel like you're switching back and forth between a freshly mown meadow and a greenhouse full of tomatoes.

The nice thing about these last three or four weeks of the rhubarb harvest is that berry season is now beginning, which greatly expands the range of culinary partners. It's probably long been known that strawberries go perfectly with rhubarb, which itself has hints of strawberry, and this combination, originally very popular in the USA, is now commonplace in German jam shelves and cake displays. British cooking columnist Nigel Slater swears by blueberries as an accompaniment. He puts 240g of sliced ​​rhubarb stalks with 200g blueberries, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of water in a casserole dish and lets everything simmer in the oven at 160°C for a good 45 minutes. The result is a very grown-up, thoroughly elegant dessert, which Slater serves "without cream or any other frills," which is, however, very un-summery serious; a dollop of fatty, milky flavor really doesn't harm any rhubarb dessert.

It's especially delicious when paired with butter, nuts, cheese, herbs, or citrus fruits. With just one of these ingredients, you need very little for a great dish. Eight delicious variations.

Perhaps an even more worthwhile partner, however, is the raspberry. With its playful floral notes, woody and violet notes, and plenty of delicately tart sweetness, it has no problem holding its own alongside rhubarb; it couldn't be fresher or more summery. For Franconian star chef Alexander Herrmann, both fruits are the ideal combination for a sorbet he calls "lightning ice cream" because it's so quick to make. The only effort: slice the rhubarb stalks and simmer gently in a pot with water, a dash of wine, and a little sugar until just softened. Strain everything through a sieve, then place it in a bowl with a lid and freeze thoroughly in the freezer.

The ice cream itself is made in just a few minutes. Herrmann's instructions are admittedly a bit sloppy, if not nonexistent, but that's okay; you can adjust the ice cream to your liking. The important thing is: the rhubarb and (also already frozen) raspberries should be in a ratio of 40:60. Fill the 500 ml container of a powerful blender with the fruit, add a little zest from an untreated lemon, 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoons of yogurt (feel free to vary the amounts), and blend well. Season to taste; a touch of vanilla is also good. If necessary, let everything refreeze briefly. Now summer can begin.