MEET THE COLE FAMILY

Cole crops, are also cold crops, in that they grow well in colder weather sometimes even through the winter. There are other vegetables considered cold crops but here we are going to talk about the family of veggies called Cole. You know them well… and the word Cole, or similar is often used in their name or in dishes prepared with them. Cole slaw, kale, cauliflower, collards, and colcannon are some examples. I’m talking about some of my favorite vegetables… 

     Cabbage and its various cousins, are vegetables for this time of year. There are “winter cabbage” varieties of plants which are best grown even right through the winter season, but in fact most all varieties of  cabbage and Cole veggies do better grown in cooler even cold weather with less hours of direct sunlight. And as well, they also have a better taste grown in the fall and winter of the year. I have heard people conjecture that the word Cole is related to the fact that they are grown in the cold, but that’s an unrelated coincidence, in fact Cole comes from the Latin caulis, which means stem. All of these vegetables no mater how big or ornate a plant they make, grow from one core thick stem.  I’d like to elaborate about each vegetable in its own article and I will as well as be cooking with them.  But allow me to list these wonderful versatile winter delights.

Cabbage is probably the largest, plant wise and probably the most commonly eaten through out the world. There are two main kinds, regular and red or purple.

Other types of cabbage are Chinese cabbage and bok choy, which are wonderful in stir fry and egg roll filling just to mention a few uses. Savoy cabbage, (I have also heard called German cabbage) is excellent eaten raw.

It has an interesting look, and it’s lighter and crisper with a sweeter taste.

And lets not forget my little happy Brussels sprouts, which are little buds that grow along a thick stem amongst cabbage like leaves.

 And next there are the sorts of plants we simply call greens. Kale is an excellent nutritious vegetable, not to

mention it is curly and pretty, and tasty with a great texture. And as we are discussing greens, ahh wonderful collards, probably my favorite green, is great alone or even in casseroles and soups. This being about winter foods let me just mention that the next two greens don’t completely fit here. Mustard greens are actually not as good grown in the cold. They are more hearty, able to stand the summer sun, and they have a strong flavor which can get too concentrated in later autumn. They are best eaten while the leaves are small and grown in the summer with their unrelated friends lettuce and spinach. And turnip greens as well are best eaten young and in late summertime. Turnip leaves can be taken sparingly from a turnip plant without hurting the turnip. Turnips however can be left in the ground into the cold as long as they don’t get too large, tough and woody. But they are a good food for winter as they also hold well in the root cellar (unwashed) to last through the non growing season. 

Rutabagas, turnips big brother, last even longer in the ground and in the cellar, and are bigger and better grown in colder temps.

     Next let’s talk about broccoli, which is good raw or cooked, and an excellent addition to so many soups and casseroles. And there’s sister cauliflower which is often discounted because folks do not know just how many ways it can be fixed. It does have a strong taste and smell, which also makes folks shy away from it, but its well worth learning to cook and enjoy. Some new varieties were bred in red green and orange colors, by botanists at a university, which are really pretty and can make a nice presentation.

The flavor is no different. There are a few colored naturally occurring varieties which were taken and reproduced from flukes that happened in maybe just one plant in the field, like a lavender, or gold. These do have a slight difference in taste. We also have here broccoli rabe (pronounced ROB) and sometimes just called rabe. It almost seems to be a cross between kale and broccoli, having both small crowns of buds and lots of leaves. It is more popular in Europe than here. I’ve not tried it but looking at it, the crowns of broccoli are the best part and in these they are very small, the veggie seems to be all leaves and stalk Then there actually is the hybrid cross of broccoli and kale developed by a seed company and called broccolini. 

And my honest appraisal here is why? I have tried cooking with it a few times. It’s not very tasty, the texture is wimpy, and the buds compared to broccoli are not crowns of delicious tenderness, but sad little loose bundles of pointlessness. Not to mention it usually cost more per ounce so why bother.  That’s just my opinion… now lastly in this group is what is sometimes called romanesco broccoli but is actually cauliflower, and is more correctly just called romanesco. This is for sure the most beautiful of vegetables. Not something you will see in the corner grocery, which is why I have yet to cook it. I here it’s very delicious, and I have seen it at some pricey markets, but at the time I wasn’t shopping for it. I do plan to get some and try however if not just for the novelty of its beauty. Some folks here in the US think this is a new hybrid but it’s a rather old plant. And it too is a cold weather plant from Italy.

And so it goes with the Coles.

     And well, even though this is a long post I can tell you much more about each one of these wonderful foods and the cooking and eating of them, I may not even get it all written this winter, but there’s always next year. so until then adieu. 

Blessings mes amis