Botanically a vegetable, rhubarb has stalks that look like cherry-red celery but are less watery. Their flavor is tartness itself with a fruity aftertaste. Field-grown rhubarb is available principally in April and May; hothouse rhubarb is available in some parts of the country year-round. Usually hothouse stalks are pink or pale red. They have a less tart flavor and are less stringy than field-grown stalks, which are a richer red with a richer flavor to match. When choosing rhubarb, pick crisp, firm stalks, ideally no more than an inch wide, and the deepest reds in the bin. If leaves are attached, they should be crisp. Slice the leaves off when you get home and discard them, since they are mildly toxic. Rhubarb does not ripen once harvested. Store whole stalks in perforated plastic bags in the crisper for up to 3 days.
Rhubarb is too tart to eat raw, but a little sugar or honey helps set its color in cooking and smoothes out the tang. To prepare, rinse and then trim the tops and bottoms of the stalks. If the stalks are stringy, peel them back with a small knife as for celery and remove the coarsest strings before cooking. If the stalks are over 1 1/2 inches wide, slice them lengthwise in half. Cut crosswise into 1- to 2-inch pieces. If sugar is a concern, you can stew rhubarb without sugar, since it will be sweeter after cooking. Sprinkle the pieces with water in a heavy skillet and cook until tender, then stir in sugar to taste. Continue cooking until the desired texture is reached, remembering that rhubarb will continue to soften and cook as it cools. We find rhubarb most delicious when poached in Light Syrup for Poaching Fruit and simmered until the pieces are tender but still intact. Rhubarb is particularly delicious with oranges and strawberries, so we usually add one or the other to the cooking fruit. It also makes an excellent compote to serve with poultry and white meats. Rhubarb cans and freezes well and makes heavenly pies, preserves, and jelly.
