Rhubarb is quite tart and most people prefer it cut with fruit, fruit juice or sugar. It makes an excellent base for pies (especially with strawberries) pastry fillings and of course chutneys.
As we all know, with life some of the best intentions never see fruition and this was the case for me when I received a kilo of the finest Rhubarb courtesy of my father. The original intention was to make a spicy chutney, the recipe for which I will post later. In this case a few kilos of blackcurrants made an appearance and they were defrosting rapidly. My large collection of preserving jars had made the move into the apartment intact however they were for the most part sans lids. The local supermarkets seemed to be out of these supplies and we could not find even the little cellophane and rubber band jobbies either. It seemed that the chutney was not too be. Until the freezer came to the rescue.
See more after the jump
There are several options for freezing Rhubarb. The wet method, which involves packing rhubarb in little containers and pouring over sugar syrup, or the dry method.
I have opted for the dry method in this case as the sugar would be unacceptable in a chutney but I can still turn it into a pie or a base for a fruit sponge if I wish at a later date.
To prepare:
Firstly trim the stalks of the leaves which are poisonous and the stems where they join on to the root system. Wash and dry with a paper towel.
Dice the stalks into 1cm lengths and place on a tray that will fit in the freezer in a single layer.
Freeze for at least two hours then transfer to containers suitable for long term storage or as in my case a proper sealer bag. This has the added option of removing all the air which will prevent freezer burn and increase the life of the frozen Rhubarb.
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