Hi Susan,
Thank you for letting me know about the error in my recipe. I have now corrected it to include adding the lemon juice with the blueberries and rhubarb. I tried to reply privately but you have used a fake email address.
Although websites like mine are a wonderful source of free recipes, keep in mind that they are created by humans who work very hard to develop and make them available to you.
Being human, I make the occasional mistake, of course, and I rely on my readers and taste testers to (kindly) point them out so that I can fix them.
I would however, like to point out that this recipe is made with blueberries, and not strawberries. I haven’t tried it with strawberries, but I would think that your “fresh from the farm” strawberries do not contain as much water as blueberries. Even without the lemon juice, the fruit should not have burned, unless the heat was too high.
A one star rating is extremely wrong and very unfair. These bars are absolutely delicious and are a family favorite for us and for many other readers, who either missed the lemon juice omission, or just figured it out.
Although you didn’t mention what the “several modifications” are that you made, I can assure you that none are needed other than my one small omission.
I am sincerely sorry that my omission of lemon juice in the recipe caused you so much trouble and made you annoyed enough to leave such an angry comment.
You can avoid having such a terrible experience and better baking success in the future by:
1-Reading the recipe thoroughly before buying ingredients and beginning to bake.
2-Reaching out to the writer if you have any questions or spot anything that doesn’t make sense.
3-Following the recipe exactly without substitutions, unless they are included in the recipe notes.
With Kindest Regards, Colleen