The other day I traveled to Arkansas to visit family and I stopped into a cafe to grab something to eat for lunch. I ordered a salad which had kale. At this point in life, I had never tasted kale. So when I got my salad, the first thing I tried was the kale. When thinking back through life, I never had ANY large leaf vegetable. I had heard of collard greens, but was told they were bitter and had to be cooked. Collards were a large green from the south. This is all I knew. My mom never bought these vegetables. So looking at this kale on the end of my fork was new to me. Wasn't sure what to expect. I took a deep breath and popped it into my mouth. The leaf was rough and very curly. I chewed and to my surprise, it tasted like broccoli. If I didn't know better I would have thought it was broccoli. I loved it. It was chewy and was tasty. From this moment on I would eat kale and not be scared to grow this mysterious leafy green in my garden. So if you haven't tried kale, and you like broccoli; you've got to try this vegetable. I think you'll be pleased.
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I was scared of kale for a long time because anytime I read about it people were offering recipes that seem to cover the taste,like kale chips when you season them don't taste like kale.
I tried kale chips. Not a fan.
Like you, my first taste of fresh kale was in a salad. I think eating kale fresh is the best way to eat it.
I remember when I had to plan my kale purchase a week in advance (back in 2012) because no green grocer really stocked It back then. Since then you can find it literally everywhere.
I’m glad you took the plunge and tried it, especially as your first mouthful - very brave move indeed!
The best way to prepare kale for a salad - and you can take my word for it - is to "massage" the leaves with olive oil! It makes them so tender and delicious so they lose all that frilly hardness to them but none of the fiber!
The easiest way to do it is to chop up all your kale, put in a large bowl, drizzle a small bit of olive oil on top, and knead it with your hands until all of it is rubbed and mixed in.
I totally love kale, and am looking forward to growing the heirloom purple "Scarlet" variety this year :)