What’s In Your Fridge?
Article and image by Monika Smith
With the festive season approaching, what dishes will you prepare?
I’m a kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes) fan. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s of the brassica or cruciferous family (e.g., kale, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and mustard), which has been cultivated for millennia. It’s a pale green beauty that also comes in a purple-skinned variety.
Also known as the German turnip or turnip cabbage (‘kohl’ is cabbage and ‘rabi’ is turnip in German), it is a biennial vegetable and a cultivar of the wild cabbage. The part we eat is a modified stem, not a root. The flavour is mild, sweet tasting, and crunchy—similar to the delicious, peeled stems of the broccoli. It can be eaten raw or cooked but has a tough skin to peel. You need to select kohlrabi young and of a small size. It gets woody if too large; if you can’t cut it with a kitchen knife, it’s not edible. I love it prepared in the traditional German style: cooked then heated in a white roux lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, a touch of nutmeg and a bit of chopped parsley.
Earlier this fall, one languished in my fridge in a plastic bag. I fully expected something horrific, but no. I put it in water, under regular light and watched it revive. Leaves kept growing and roots formed in this hydroponic setting. The leaves from the kohlrabi 2.0 can be used raw in a salad, adding a pleasant ‘green’ flavour or lightly sautéed. It also produced clusters of little yellow, four-petaled cruciform blossoms that are typical of brassicas. That’s what biennial plants do. Year one, the plant just grows but if left in the ground (in milder climates, not here), it will go into flower and seed production in the spring, just like a radish or carrot. From seed to maturity is only 50 plus days, and you can sow more seeds later for a fall crop.
Kohlrabi grows well in Alberta. Treat yourself to some during the festive season when everything seems to have gone to eleven on the flavour scale with sage and thyme dominating, and maybe you need to balance that with a ‘two’. Wishing everyone in Glendale a very festive season and a happy New Year!
Update on Naturally, Glendale: We are currently applying for a grant from the Parks Foundation to support conceptual drawings. This is a big step to establishing a vision of our grounds with flowers, paths, benches, and much more! For more information, contact Monika at [email protected].
A rescued kohlrabi with flowers that will go to seed for sowing next year.
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