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“Rhubarb Day” celebrated at the Magallanes Expo in Punta Arenas

Monday, January 29th 2018 - 11:06 UTC
Full article 24 comments
Punta Arenas residents celebrate with different produce made out of rhubarb Punta Arenas residents celebrate with different produce made out of rhubarb

Punta Arenas celebrated “Rhubarb Day” as part of the Magallanes Expo celebrations. Although not original from the extreme south of Chile, rhubarb has long grown and adapted in Magallanes region where it is much valued for its gastronomic and medicinal properties.

 In effect according to Punta Arenas residents, the low lying plant of big green leaves and red stem has antioxidant properties, and was first common in salads and marmalades, but has since advanced into sauces, flour and even punch. But the more intense the red color of the stem means it has been more exposed to the sun and thus is tastier.

“When we talk about rhubarb in Magallanes, we're talking about a product we feel belongs to us because it has been with us for a long time and it is used in many of our traditional dishes, including marmalades, juice, küchen, and some even more creative such as vinegar, flour and different sauces”, pointed out Victor Vargas Vidal head of Magallanes Agriculture Development Institute.

He added that Magallanes was considering its industrial plantation with the purpose of imposing it in international markets.

The big attraction at the Magallanes Expo was rhubarb punch, which is considered to have laxative properties, küchen and the marmalades with their typical sweet/sour taste that makes them so special.

Another surprise was rhubarb chicha, which is the name given to the alcoholic drink of the aborigines made out of fermented fruit. In this case a lady by the name Irma Silva, in her stall at the expo, said that after experimenting with fermented rhubarb stems, she managed the most exquisite liqueur.

Categories: Tourism, Entertainment, Chile.

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  • Clyde15

    theguardian.com/global/2016/jan/31/mysteries-of-the-rhubarb-triangle

    Maybe they could twin themselves with the rhubarb triangle in Yorkshire !

    Who first brought it to the Punta Arenas area ?

    Jan 29th, 2018 - 12:51 pm 0
  • MarkWhelan

    Rhubarb is one of the things I most miss since coming to South America.
    I remember as a child stripping the stems and dipping them in sugar. Aaaaah WONDERFUL.
    Unfortunately Brazil is too warm to grow rhubarb and the crowns are almost impossible to get anyhow.
    Oh well back to dreaming about rhubarb tarts, rhubarb pies and rhubarb turnovers.

    Jan 29th, 2018 - 01:10 pm 0
  • Chicureo

    We have rhubarb in Chile, abet in small garden plantings and it's not too rare to find rhubarb pies available in the south, especially with German influence. I personally love the flavor.

    Jan 29th, 2018 - 05:30 pm 0
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