Kale, Not Just a Hipster Vegetable
Brassica oleracea
Family: Brassicaceae
COOL SEASON COLE CROP
In recent years kale has become extremely popular, and even maligned for its popularity with so-called “hipsters”. But kale is deserving of its popularity as a vegetable that is both nutritionally good for you, and delicious.
It comes in a wide variety of sizes, colors, and shapes, and is basically an open-headed or loose leaf cabbage.
The name “Kale” is a Scottish word derived from “coles” or “caulis”, terms used by the Greeks and Romans in reference to the whole cabbage-like group of plants. In Scotland, Kale is such an important part of their traditional diet that the word became synonymous with “food” in some Scottish dialects. For example, to be "off one's kale" is to feel too ill to eat.
Kale originated in the eastern Mediterranean and Anatolia, where it was cultivated for food beginning by 2000 BCE at the latest. Curly-leaved varieties of cabbage already existed along with flat-leaved varieties in Greece in the 4th century BC. These forms, which were referred to by the Romans as Sabellian kale, are considered to be the ancestors of modern kales.
The earliest record of cabbages in western Europe is of hard-heading cabbage in the 13th century. Records in 14th-century England distinguish between hard-heading cabbage and loose-leaf kale.
Russian traders introduced Russian kale into Canada and then into the United States in the 19th century. USDA botanist David Fairchild is credited with introducing kale (and many other crops) to Americans, having brought it back from Croatia, although Fairchild himself disliked cabbages, including kale. At the time, kale was widely grown in Croatia mostly because it was easy to grow and inexpensive, and could desalinate soil.
USES
Kale is an incredibly versatile green in the kitchen, and can be used raw or cooked. Young Kale leaves add an earthy flavor to raw salad green mixes, and fully mature Kale is one of the few leafy greens that doesn’t shrink much when it’s cooked. It’s great sautéed, roasted, stewed, and even baked into Kale chips. Just be careful not to over-cook it, as it can develop a more bitter taste. Kale is also often added raw to smoothies, juices, and salads. To prep Kale for use, whether raw or cooked, first remove the tough and fibrous stems. A quick and dirty way to do it is to hold the stem in one hand and strip leaves along the stem away from you. You can also cut the leaves into thin, confetti-like ribbons. A quick massage can help the process of breaking up the cellulose structure of Kale. You can drizzle it with olive oil, salt, and lemon juice, and rub the leaves together in your hands to get a slightly sweeter, much silkier Kale. This leafy green pairs well with garlic, onion, sesame, soy sauce, ginger, smoked or roasted meats, potatoes, grains, oregano, thyme, red pepper, cream, Parmesan cheese, and more. To store Kale, wrap the leaves in a loose bundle with a paper towel or a thin cotton kitchen towel, place them in a large, sealable bag, and refrigerate in the crisper drawer for up to a week.
Here are 43 recipes for inspiration.
PRESERVATION
Kale is usually used fresh but it can be baked into chips that last a while, and in recent years, people have experimented with fermenting it much like its close cousin, cabbage. Kale can also be chopped and frozen, and is often sold this way for people who use kale in smoothies.
GROWING
SEASON & PLANTING
This is a cool season crop that you can start planting from seed as early as August or September. Plant starts are usually available starting in September or October (depending on the weather of the year) and can be planted throughout the cool season, into spring. Kale often makes it through summer in a well-amended and watered garden but will be buggy in the summer. They usually bounce back when the weather cools down again in the following fall season.
SOIL & NUTRITION
Plant in well-amended garden soil. Feed throughout the season with a general purpose organic fertilizer.
TEMPERATURE & SUN EXPOSURE
Plant in full to part sun. Kale not only tolerates the cold weather we have in winter, it thrives on it. The flavor of both kale and cabbage improved with frost. We do not see the kind of cold, sustained temperatures that can damage kale.
WATER
Provide steady, regular water, as usually found in a garden bed.
HARVESTING
Pick the outer/lower leaves first, as the plant grows. Or grow into a large open head that you harvest all at once. Most people use kale as they grow it, picking only the outer leaves as they need, ensuring a constant supply of fresh greens.
WILDLIFE
With warmer weather, noctuid moth larvae may eat holes in the leaves, which is purely cosmetic damage.
INVASIVENESS
Kale does not seem to escape cultivation in our region.
VARIETIES
Curly-leaf (Scots kale, blue curled kale) One of the most common types found in the produce section.
Lacinato (also known as Tuscan Kale, and dinosaur kale) Popular in recent years. Sword-shaped, bumpy foliage.
Salad Savoy (sometimes called “ornamental”) Frilly and fluffy, ranging in color from white to pink and to purple to magenta, this colorful variety is used on buffet tables for displays. A bit tough.
Red Russian This type has oak-shaped leaves in colors ranging from blue-green to purple-red.
Siberian This one is best when cooked, and is one of the tougher and more cold hardy varieties. Varieties usually have gray-green ruffled leaves.
Red Bor This huge variety has a mass of well-curled reddish leaves with deep purple veins turns a solid, deep violet in cool weather, and is as edible as it is ornamental.