I love kale and chop it up finely like parsley and add it to soups, stews, meatloaves, meatballs, quinoa salads, green salads, muffins, bread, you name it.
Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties.[1] Boiling decreases the level of sulforaphane; however, steaming, microwaving, or stir frying do not result in significant loss.[2] Along with other brassica vegetables, kale is also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells.[3][4] Kale is also a good source of carotenoids.[5]
That's not why I love it, though - it's a very under-rated veg and I love veggies.
Is it difficult to grow?
That might be my best option if I want to get my hands on some.
@msolga,
Just did a bit of online research & answered my own question:
Seems pretty straight forward.
This information applies to Oz. March is our Autumn.
I don't know how useful this information would be in places where it snows, or you have extremely cold winters, though .....
Quote:..... cottagers kale. It is full of vitamins and minerals and I eat it. There is a variety called blue curl scotch and another called red Russian. It's lovely and magnificent in a salad. Try cooking the leaves and drink the water and it is utterly beautiful.
Just sow the seeds from now right through to the end of March. Another variety to try is called Two Peters. I've never heard of it before but this is what I do: put some seedling raising mixture on the garden, make a couple of grooves, and take the seed – which is like cabbage seed - and just sprinkle it on. The ground is lovely and moist and, the seed will be up and growing in about five days and it is magnificent. ....
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1796371.htm
@Rockhead,
Got it. Kind of like parsley, only with bigger leaves.
@roger,
It tastes really good though, roger - raw that is as a salad. I don't like it cooked.
This reminds me of the episode of Cheers where Woody gets the role of Veggie Boy advertising a vegetable smoothie. He doesn't like it, and feels that he's doing something wrong so he gets hypnotised so that he does like it. After being hypnotised he takes a swig and responds, 'You can really taste the kale.'
I'm a big fan of kale.
There's a saying that kale must have got a frozen night before being harvested.
We usually have it with 'kale sausage' and 'smoked pork chop' and fried potatoes.
@Walter Hinteler,
I don't know about kale, but parsnips are definitely improved by a bit of frost, it increases the sugar content, which also helps if you're using them to brew wine.
Sozlet loves kale chips (kale washed, dried, drizzled with olive oil and a bit of kosher salt and baked for... some amount of time. I have a recipe somewhere.)
I haven't tried it yet but she was raving about it.
Now that I've been reminded I'll try to make it sometime soon. I do keep reading about how wonderful kale is. I don't think I've had it much at all, not sure if I like it or not.
@hamburgboy,
hamburgboy wrote:COUMADIN/WARFARIN users beware : do NOT consume kale !
Interesting. I wonder if people who take a baby aspirin every day for heart health could just eat some kale instead?
@tsarstepan,
hahaha, they will eat just about everything, graze like cows lol.
@msolga,
The thing is, I've eaten kale before. Put in in ricotta tortes, for example, instead of spinach. But I never saved the water.
Zowie, the water, cooked down a tad, tastes really good.
Soon, there will be some kale drinkies on the market, under the Osso brand.
Something like Osso Mirabile.
I know none of you believe me..
@ossobuco,
Quote:....I never saved the water.
Zowie, the water, cooked down a tad, tastes really good.
Interesting, osso.
I can't say I've tasted the water from cooked spinach, or silver beet (Swiss chard), either. But then, I don't cook either with much more than the water than clings to the leaves after washing ..... maybe I should try the cooking liquid?
What I'd
really like to know is what does kale
taste like, compared to say, spinach, or chard?
Jane, can you describe the taste of raw chard compared to other similar greens?
I'm quite intrigued by this vegetable I know absolutely nothing about!
-
@msolga,
Taste wise it's a bit like common garden sorrel, MsOlga, crunchier than spinach and more flavor to it. Finely chopped with a nutty dressing along with other vegetables it's a meal for me. It's not really appetite suppressing, but a plate of kale salad w/other veggies fills me up.
@ossobuco,
ossobuco wrote:
The thing is, I've eaten kale before. Put in in ricotta tortes, for example, instead of spinach. But I never saved the water.
Zowie, the water, cooked down a tad, tastes really good.
Soon, there will be some kale drinkies on the market, under the Osso brand.
Something like Osso Mirabile.
I know none of you believe me.. of course I won't start a company from that idea, no backing, but that the water tastes very good.
Ok, I froze most of that reduced kale water. Nothin' but kale effusion in it, except I probably had added a tsp of salt to the the cooking water at the beginning of the kale cooking.. which was just to put it into my ricotta torte, nothing fancy.
Having it tonight as broth. Still wonderful. In my case, I've a few frazzled kale stems in it, but it's mostly broth and more broth.
I'm picturing kale savory popsicles, spinach savory popsicals, chard/silverbeet popsicles.
You heard it here first.
Just bought myself some frozen collard greens (never had frozen ones before), and failed to cook down the water. Plus my freezer is not very large.
I suppose this is old news, that cooked down greens leave good taste, though I've not read about that - usually it is all about the greens themsselves and some fat. But given how good the kale water is, seems to me savory has a way to go in marketing.
@ossobuco,
Kale popsicles?
Not since Felix Unger wanted some weird vergtable gum have I been so scared.
@sozobe,
Kale chips.. now those sound good. Well, to me.
@Sturgis,
Who knows, since gelato has gone to the dogs and become savory in some chef type restaurants. Kale gelato.. now there I would blanch. It's just not right!
