P.S. Leave the ginger chunks in for flavor until there is no more compote.

I have been obsessed with rhubarb compote for the past several weeks: wash and cut up the stalks into roughly 3/4 inch pieces, toss in a few strawberries if you have them, a bit of water, some honey or agave, fat chunks of fresh ginger and let it cook until it is a glorious bright pink "soup" -- about 12 or 15 minutes. Store in the fridge and spoon it on ice cream, yogurt, toast, mrslarkin's excellent lemon posset (recipe on this site)or eat it plain... yum!

Ditto. There are several varieties of rhubarb, from bright green to deep red, with stems from ridged to smooth, and thicknsses from a half inch or less up to one inch or more in width. But the whatever the variety, the stalks should be firm, as Lindsay-Jean said.

If you're desperate, you can often revive somewhat wilted stalks by setting them in cold, or ice, water. But only if you have no other option.

Look for firm blemish-free stalks, and check out this piece with more information: http://food52.com/blog/3724-down-dirty-rhubarb