A recipe with two ingredients a little time in the dehydrator with a big pay off: rhubarb sour candy from the garden!

Strips of rhubarb on a wood surface.

These taste like if Sour Patch® had a kid with simple ingredients + kept the fiber. I like the big flavor coupled with the little chew. I get to help out at our local elementary school, and the kids go crazy for them every year!

It is a great, simple way to use up some of the rhubarb and not make yet another crisp… but if you’re looking for tips on growing rhubarb or other recipes, I have you covered.

Rhubarb Sour Candy Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 stalks of Rhubarb
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water

Directions:
Slice the rhubarb lengthwise on a mandolin (I use my thin setting) leaving them as long as you can. This is the putzy part, and I usually save the extras pieces that don’t make nice long strips for making rhubarb sauce or something.

Getting ready to slice a rhubarb stalk on a mandolin
A thin slice of rhubarb with other slices and the mandolin in the background.

Mix a 1:1 sugar/water solution into a medium sized sauce pan so the rhubarb slices fits easily.

Simmer for 3-5 minutes or until you notice the stalk strips becoming much softer. Then, using a pair of tongs, gently pull out the strips and lay flat on either a dehydrator tray or parchment paper.

Rhubarb slices simmering in sugar water.
Simmered slices of rhubarb going into the dehydrator to make rhubarb sour candy.

Set dehydrator to 140F and let them go for 7-8 hours, or set your oven at the lowest setting (usually 225F) and watch closely after 15 minutes. Remove from dehydrator or oven and let cool completely.

Chop into desired sizes, and store in airtight container for up to 1 week. (But they will be gone before that!)

Let me know if you try this fun “nature’s own” rhubarb sour candy recipe and what you think of it!

Enjoy!
Michelle