One of summer's great gifts is definitely the beautiful stalks of rhubarb. It tastes crunchy, tart and slightly sweet, and can be versatile and extremely tasty put in crumbles, sauces and pies, not to mention teamed up with other players to get fantastic results.

In the colder climate, rhubarb is one of the best delicacies you can get. It tastes wonderfully earthy, and without doubt can become a fantastic sauce that can be accompanied with a lot of different tasty dishes. Making a concoction that would feature this tender stalk can be a slight challenge, but with simple ingredients, it can actually taste fantastic.

One of rhubarb's all-year round use is in a jam. Rhubarb freezer jam is probably something that a lot of people have eaten through their childhood. Making rhubarb into a jelly or jam was a great way of preserving it, and it rendered a beautiful amount of flavor which just mingled together with other ingredients. A simple recipe for rhubarb freezer jam can actually stay in your kitchen for long, and they are so versatile, they can be used in a wide array of products.

For making an eminently satisfying rhubarb freezer jam, you would need about a pound of rhubarb, chopped finely into inch long dices. Wash the rhubarb stalks well before chopping, and remove any sign of leaves or roots. Remember, rhubarb roots and leaves contain oxalic acid, which is poisonous to a huge extent, so be careful using rhubarb. Once you have chopped the rhubarb into pieces, add to it about 3/4th of a pound of fresh, hulled and chopped strawberries, preferably sweet and tart.

Then take a saucepan and pour in about half a cup of water, and add your fruits to it. Add about 2 1/2 cups of sugar to it slowly, and let the concoction come to a gentle boil over medium heat. Mix well till you see the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat to a simmer.

Now comes the crucial part. Keep the rhubarb uncovered and just walk away. Do not check, do not stir, or mix anymore. Just add to it another two to three tablespoons of water, and mix in one package of strawberry jelly, mixed with water as per the package instruction. Remove the concoction from the heat and make a puree of the cooked fruits, with either an immersion blender or in a food processer.

Once the concoction has cooled enough, remove the bowl to the freezer and let it be for at least 3-4 days to build the flavors up. Generally it would be consolidated by then, and then you can use it on a lot of things. One favorite is the rhubarb freezer jam on hot crumpets. Another one is to heat the jam with a bit of water to thin it, and serve it with thinly sliced rare veal, seared for just a little bit on a hot grill. You would find the combination incredibly satisfying