Rhubarb is one of those things I never developed a taste for. It's on my very short list of things I don't like to eat. It's not a fruit. It's a stalk. And it tastes incredibly vegetal to me. I'm also not very crazy about the affect it has on my teeth (it's worse than spinach). I honesty tried to like it. I've tasted many a compote, preserve and jam. I even baked a rhubarb and strawberry pie. I thought it was an extraordinary waste of strawberries. I'm so sad because I always thought rhubarb was one of those things that I should like because so many folks rave about it.
The only thing remotely likable that was made of rhubarb was a garnish at the restaurant where I interned. The pastry chef sliced very thin strips of it, dipped it in sugar syrup, laid it out on silpat and dried it in a slow oven. It was very pretty. And I was surprised that the taste did not offend me.
I will read with great enthusiasm your raves about rhubarb. Perhaps I can like it vicariously through you. So to answer the orignial question of what I do with it: I admire it and then pass it by.
[ June 29, 2001: Message edited by: monpetitchoux ]