Collard greens
Yestetday I harvested collard greens from my garden! It was the first time planting and harvesting them! It felt wonderful to grow them from seed to harvest! Collards are a favorite of my husbands. One thing I noticed was while my husband cooked them there was very little smell emitted from them. Usually when cooking collards from the store the smell while cooking is too strong for me, why do you suppose there was little smell from our home grown batch versus so much smell from store bought collards?
Comments
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Homegrown harvest often tastes much different from store bought.
I'm not sure about the chemical changes in collards as I have never grown them but most food starts to change in taste, odour and sometimes consistency as soon as it is picked so the longer it takes to get to the table, the more chance there is of those changes occurring. Corn becomes less sweet the longer it has been since harvest as the sugars convert to starch. I think it is sulphur compounds that give the odour to cole family crops so maybe the longer it has been since harvest the more chance there is of those sulphur compounds forming?
Maybe someone else has a more definitive answer than my guess.
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@cartern72 could you please explain what collard greens are? Not a plant I'm familiar with in Australia.
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I'm not sure how to describe them! We cut them at the base of the leaf and wash them. We remove most of the stem and boil the leaves in a pot on the stove top. It takes a couple hours to simmer. I put the stems in my compost bin to break down.
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I bet the minerals in your soil are different- plus it’s fresher. Those are my guesses.
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It depends on your soil. Most all brassica greens emit Sulfur gasses when cooked. Always cook them uncovered, so sulfuric acid does not brown the the greens. After the asses escape, the leaves appear more vibrantly green - that is what you want. Morris Heading Collards are sweeter than Georgia collards, but it really does depend on your soil. The emerald green color of properly cooked collard greens means that all the good nutrition and flavor has been not only preserved, but made more available for digestion. If you are served olive/drab/brownish greens, you know they have been cooked covered and were prepared the wrong way!
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@jodienancarrow Collards are a loose leaf member of the Brassica genus, like a wild cabbage, from the old word colewort. Sometimes called tree kale or borekale. Use like turnip greens or kale.
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There is definitely a big difference from homegrown and store brought. I made some this past Sunday, which were locally grown and the were really good!
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I love making things from scratch and growing my own food! It feels so wonderful!
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I learned a lot from the posts and comments. Planning to have some in next year's gardens.
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There's a BBQ place near us that makes really delicious collard greens! We joke that they must be cooking them in bacon grease, but I think it's some sort of broth. Collard greens can be surprisingly good.
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Are these tree collars?
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@Cornelius mine are from seeds and the leaves grow right out of the ground. I have only seen the trees in a video from the biodiverse course!? I may not have that name correct sorry!
@stephanie447 my husband cooks them with bacon grease.
@John I just planted a fall crop a couple weeks ago and they are doing well!
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Is the traditional way to prepare collards simmering and then draining to cook in grease (I would use a healthy fat.)? I grew them for health benefits, but now I need to know how to prepare them properly, and yummily. =)
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If you grew them for health reasons there are a few ways to use them you may not be familiar with. They make great replacement for tortilla in a wrap I just cut out the stem, I've also subbed them for kale in making "chips" I took them to a potluck and people loved them. I have a dehydrator but if you don't you could also crisp them in the oven. They are also a good green to use in smoothies or for juicing if you do either of those.
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I'm also curious how people cook them! Would love recipes if anyone is willing to share! :)
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I raised Kale this year and have eaten several meals with Swiss Chard and Kale. Usually I like to make Kale Chips but I didn't do that this year. The ash just ruined my Swiss Chard because I didn't take care of them soon enough but the ash didn't bother the Kale at all. I picked most of the Kale yesterday and gave it away to a friend. I still one patch of Kale in my garden.
Is it possible to grow Kale over winter inside without a grow light? Does anybody know?
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