Chefs love Yorkshire forced rhubarb - we find out why it is so good!

In the heart of West Yorkshire, forced rhubarb has been produced since the late 1800’s. The 9-square miles where the rhubarb is best grown is known as the ‘rhubarb triangle’ and had over 200 operating pickers who once supplied 90% of the world’s winter forced rhubarb. The Staff Canteen spoke to one of the last pickers in the area, Robert Tomlinson. Robert Tomlinson, from Tomlinson Rhubarb, is a fourth generation grower of Yorkshire forced rhubarb. When it was first introduced in the 1800’s there was over 200 operating pickers now he is one of just 12 who are left and based in the rhubarb triangle where they have to stick to strict rules including using original forcing sheds. He explained: “It is an area in which the soil is perfect for the growth of rhubarb and it lies between Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield. “Unlike outdoor rhubarb, the forced rhubarb is grown and then put into forcing sheds where it is ‘tricked’ to believe it is spring and grows in complete darkness.” The process of growing forced rhubarb takes two years, the roots are planted outside and after two summers as well as exposure to the cold they are then dug up. Robert explains how digging up the forced rhubarbs can be 'back breaking work'. He said: "The roots we are fetching can be 50 or 60 kilos. At the end of the day a bit of hard work doesn't matter because we love what we do." Once dug up the roots are put into forcing sheds where Robert and his team 'keep the roots warm and watered' to trick them into thinking its spring. It grows looking for light using the energy it saved up over the two years of being outside. Rhubarb can grow an inch in a day and one shed usually produces a thousand boxes. Robert and his team are looking for a deep red colour and then the crop is harvested by candlelight to allow smaller roots more growth time