Ukrainian and Swedish Dessert - Rhubarb Kysil or Rabarberkräm

 What's the common spring dessert to both Ukrainian and Swedish cuisines? Right: rhubarb kysil or "rabarberkräm" in Swedish. It is a jelly-like soft dessert similar to the British rhubarb compote but more light-textured. 

My mum and granny used to cook rhubarb kysil (Ukrainian: кисіль) in early spring when there were no other berries or fruits yet in our garden near Kherosn in the South of Ukraine. We also made a rhubarb drink - flavored and delicious. But rhubarb is rare in Ukrainian supermarkets nowadays. It is more like a home-grown plant. And I was surprised to see it in every single supermarket in Sweden! I have many recipes with rhubarb in my Swedish cooking book and want to show you how to make this delicious and rich flavored rabarberkräm.

Rabarberkräm

• 700 g rhubarb
• 400 ml water
• 100 ml sugar (80 g)*
• 2 1/2 tablespoon potato starch

The recipe in the book calls for 80 g of sugar, but I'd recommend you take half. I used a sweetener instead of sugar. For rhubarb kysil in Ukraine, we use more water and less rhubarb. Our version is more liquid, and it varies: someone like it thicker, and someone not. So try this classic Swedish recipe and optimize it according to your preferences.

Rabarberkräm recipe in Swedish cooking book.

1. Prepare the rhubarb stalks: cut the ends and peel them. Cut them into 1-2 cm chunks.
2. Add sugar to water and bring it to a boil. Put the rhubarb in and let it cook for several minutes until soft. 
3. Mix the potato starch with a couple of tablespoons of water and add it by a fine stream to the rhubarb, stirring. Let it boil for about 1 minute, and turn the heat off.
4. Let the kräm cool down and enjoy! Swedes serve it with yogurt, fresh berries, or small almond cookies on top. I like it as it is 🙂 This time, I processed the cräm (kysil) with a blender to get a more smooth texture, and it was more like mousse. But anyway, it's up to you. This is the simplest dessert, and it has such many options to experiment with!

Below are some pictures of the process. Bon appetite!🍓

Ingredients for the kysil/kräm: fresh rhubarb, potato starch, sweetener or sugar.

Peel the rhubarb stalks.

Cut rhubarb into 2 cm chunks.

Cook the rhubarb for a couple of minutes until soft.

Add potato starch mixed with water to a cooking rhubarb.

A perfect summer dessert!🍓

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