I love it when the first of the rhubarb appears, it means it really is well and truly spring time. I remember when my sister and I were little we used to dip a stalk of raw rhubarb into sugar and munch on it.

Rhubarb, which is actually a vegetable but is prepared and eaten as a fruit, is of course fabulous in pies, crumbles, tarts, ice cream, fools and sorbets, but it also is great when made into a sauce to serve with roast pork, duck, goose (as you would apple sauce) or even pan-fried or barbecued mackerel as the tartness of the rhubarb cuts through the rich meat and the oily fish perfectly.

To make rhubarb sauce, just place some sliced rhubarb into a saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of water. Cover and cook on a low heat until the rhubarb has reduced to a mush. Stir in some caster sugar to taste. This can be served with the roast meats or mackerel or as a base for so many other desserts. Fold in some softly whipped cream to make a rhubarb fool which can be served with shortbread biscuits or meringues, or use instead of jam and cream to sandwich between a sponge cake.

forced RHUBARB

Forced rhubarb, which is vibrant pink in colour with small yellow leaves, is delicious. The stems are more tender, sweeter and a lovely shade of pink, and don't need to be peeled as older rhubarb sometimes needs to be. It's a simple process and well worth trying. The advantage of forced rhubarb, as well as the sweetness and tenderness, is that it will be ripe to pick earlier in the season than the rest of the rhubarb, early to mid-March as opposed to end of March/beginning of April.

All you need is a container (dustbin, box, large pot or bucket) which will exclude light. Place it over the rhubarb as soon as it begins to show signs of growth. The lack of light and the heating effect of the container will rapidly bring on the rhubarb which should be ready for eating a good month or so before rhubarb that is not forced. When the rhubarb is picked (or it outgrows the covering) remove the covering and leave the rhubarb to recover for the next year.

RHUBARB TIPS

Rhubarb is so easy to grow if you have a bit of space, but don't use the leaves in anything as they are poisonous

When picking rhubarb gently pull the stalk as low as possible to the base of the plant

When growing rhubarb, to help develop a good and healthy root system, as tempting as it may be, you should try not to pick too many stalks in the first year