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My farmshare vege box is forcing me to confront my least favourite vegetables. I have disliked kale and collard greens when I had them previously because of their bitterness and tough texture. Are there ways of cooking which minimizes these? I have previously tried:

  • Raw in salad (too bitter, too tough)
  • Sauteed (still too bitter and too tough), maybe I did it wrong?
  • In soup, I tried kale as a substitute for spinach in a beef-noodle soup. Toughness decreased after I boiled it for an hour+, but my entire soup became bitter, which I resented.

I've heard kale chips is a possibly promising option -- does baking get rid of the bitterness? I would prefer other suggestions as I was hoping to have them as part of a meal (instead of as a snack).

In general I love a variety of different vegetables, and these two are the only ones I've struggled with, so I was wondering if it ultimately came down to my preparation method.

The Hagen
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Wondering if some folks just taste more of the bitter, I came upon: https://www.wired.com/2016/11/edible-science-heres-secret-perfect-kale-salad/

"crushing the leaves breaks down the cell walls of two important chemicals naturally present in kale---the myrosinase enzyme and glucosinolates. When those walls deteriorate, the two chemicals interact and create a new, bitter compound that's biologically designed to fend off hungry enemies."

So there's something to avoid.

Caramelizing might disguise some bitterness.

Pat Sommer
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Freeze the kale before preparing, as it gets sweeter from that. It will come out looking like before. Overnight is long enough.

Look for more recipes. I grew up eating kale regularly through the winters and where I live it is ripped off its stalks, cooked, cut more finely after cooking, vineger added and then mashed with/through potatos.

Not bitter but rather a lot of work. (Look for Dutch 'boerenkool' recipes, but check if they add vinegar as that makes a difference in the taste.)

I am sure there will be more 'foreign' recipes that will work for you.

Willeke
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