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Most people living where I grew up ate very little of the greens. Salads were rare at a dinner table and cooked greens were even more uncommon. I imagine the diet reflected that of the cold climate immigrants who had settled there. It was heavy on proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Mostly root vegetables with a long shelf life.
Sometimes Mom would serve a can of spinach with a meal but it was overcooked, slimy and unappealing in both appearance and flavor.
I remember when my dad grew Swiss chard in his garden and that was our first introduction to fresh cooked greens. They were unremarkable as I remember.
In their later years they called and said they were going to try eating their beet tops. But that proved an unfortunate experiment as the result was too laxative.
I've always been a salad lover and interested in any fresh things you can put in a vegetable salad. It took years of coaxing but I taught DH to enjoy cold salads also. And we love the warm spinach salads.
I've never had collard greens but they are on my bucket list with some southern BBQ. If they have bacon in them they are a shoo-in.
Kale I've tried to like but - this is odd - I don't like the way it feels in my mouth!
Where I grew up everyone eats greens, of all types. Me too. They're all a bit different, of course, from spinach on the softest end of the spectrum to collards on the toughest end.
Kale, spinach, collards, mustard greens, polk, swiss chard, turnip, dandelions - had all of these growing up. Generally hated them as a child, but as an adult really like them if made properly.
Don't like cooked collards, kale, spinach unless in soup. I like kale and spinach raw in a salad w/ other things. Dandelion greens and endive I like the bitterness of them. I think it's just looking at a large cooked blob of green stuff that gives me the creeps.
I like collard greens more, but they are traditionally cooked long and slow to break down the fibers, while I don't think that's how people are cooking kale. As noted already, some people put it in salad, but I think it's too tough for that.
I can put up with spinach, if it's tucked inside a lasagna.
Thinking along the same lines, I started consuming nutritious collard greens
by discarding the stems, chopping the leaves fine, and putting them into a stew with beans,
potatoes, etc. That was fine flavor-wise, but the collards' color leached out and turned the stew
dark green... not very appealing to look at.
Filipino cooks have a different way of making greens appetizing --
they cook them with coconut milk and spices (the dish is called laing).
So, I’ve lived in GA for 10 years now, and I know that collard greens are a staple in southern cooking. Around the holidays, fresh collards are abundant in the grocery stores.
Dh and I bought some frozen ones to try, since we are big spinach fans.
I cooked them according to package instructions with a couple of pieces of bacon, but really...we do not see the appeal, at all.
HATE. Can't stand the smell either. My mom LOVED collards, as does my boyfriend. Good thing his mom cooks for him as I sure won't ever be cooking them.
That is funny, because I like most leafy greens...except kale. I just always feel as if I'm chewing on it but it remains so tough that it never breaks down. Maybe it needs to be cooked longer like collard greens instead of thrown into a salad or steamed like spinach, which is how it most often seems to be prepared.
I like kale in salads, as one of several in mixed greens. I didn't even know kale existed, until my co-op turned me onto it, with their in-house salads.
Just a heads-up to thyroid patients: kale is a cruciferous vegetable, a class of veggies that interfere with thyroid (for those who are challenged in this respect, not for healthy folks). But I think small amounts of cruciferous veggies are ok. They're good for colon health, so I strike a compromise, and just put small amounts of whatever (broccoli, or sliced red cabbage, or kale, or watercress) in salads.
Collard greens--I don't think I'm adventurous enough to try those.
The Glory brand canned collard greens are delicious, the same brand turnip greens even better.
None of them are as good as greens made by someone with southern roots in their own kitchen, though. I suggest you befriend such a person!
I keep a can or two of Glory turnip greens in the pantry. Sometimes I grab collards by mistake. I like the turnip greens best but collards are tolerable. I just heat up the turnip green and cook the collards til they are tenderer.
Also buy Glory brand black eyed peas for New Years
I keep a can or two of Glory turnip greens in the pantry. Sometimes I grab collards by mistake. I like the turnip greens best but collards are tolerable. I just heat up the turnip green and cook the collards til they are tenderer.
Also buy Glory brand black eyed peas for New Years
I never had the black-eyed peas but I bought the butter beans. Yum. I also like turnip greens best.
I was a vegetarian for a while, and my daughter is vegan. I'm not vegetarian anymore but I still have meatless days and I learned a whole new world of food not eating meat that I still like. A restaurant in Albany, NY, where my daughter lived had this meal that was black beans and rice, sweet potatoes, and collard greens. It's a huge plate of food, all plant-based, and I crave it every so often. I use the canned Glory turnip greens instead of making collard greens just for me.
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