Store collards in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use them.
Collard greens are available from late June through October or early November, but we usually reserve them for eating in the fall. Collards are in the Brassica family and thus are related to vegetables such as kale, cabbage, broccoli and turnips. Collards get sweeter as the temperatures cool off. They are also more frost tolerant than most other greens, so we can keep them in the field longer. They feature large, paddle-shaped leaves that are blue-gray in color and slightly wavy around the edges. While they are related to cabbage and have a mild flavor similar to cabbage, they never form a head.
Before using collard greens, wash them in a sink of water and then remove the thick, white center stem and rib. Either cut into bite-sized pieces or stack the leaves on top of each other, roll them and then thinly slice the roll. Collard greens have a thicker leaf than some other greens we grow such as spinach or chard. They usually require a longer cooking time to soften and tenderize the leaf. In southern cuisine, collards are often cooked with some sort of pork cut such as salt pork or a ham hock. The meat is the flavoring agent used to cook the greens, which are cooked for quite a while until they become dark green and very soft. The remaining liquid is called pot likker and is seldom discarded. Rather it is soaked up with a biscuit or cornbread or some may even drink it. While collards do require a little more cooking, you don’t have to cook them until they are super soft to enjoy them. You can also stir-fry or lightly sauté them just until bright green. They’ll have more texture to them and not be quite as soft, but are still quite delicious. Because of the broad leaf, collards may also be steamed and then the leaf can be used as a wrap to hold a filling. You can also use them as you would use a grape leaf to make Middle Eastern dolmades (stuffed grape leaves).
Collard greens obviously pair well with all salty, fatty pork products. They also go well with garlic, ginger, chiles, coconut and spices including coriander, cardamom and turmeric, lending to some of their uses in Asian and Indian cuisine. Of course, they also pair well with black-eyed peas, white beans, corn, potatoes, and roasted peanuts. Slice them thinly and use them to make a creamy coleslaw to accompany BBQ pork sandwiches. Use them raw in salads, cook them into flavorful bean soups, use them to make collard kraut, or cook them in more of a traditional southern way. Collards can stand up to other more bold flavors and ingredients including hot peppers, onions, curry & other pungent sauces, soy sauce, and cream.
Health & Nutrition: Collard greens, as with many other leafy green vegetables, are packed with nutrients including Vitamins A, C, E, K and B6 as well as riboflavin, calcium, iron, manganese, thiamin, niacin, magnesium and potassium.
Cultural & Historical Background: In this country, many associate collard greens with southern cooking where this green is considered more of a regional staple ingredient. In fact, South Carolina voted to make it the official state vegetable in 2011! Collard greens are thought to have originated in Asia, a descendant of a wild cabbage. This vegetable then spread to other parts of the world and likely made it to America by way of ship and European settlers. Collard greens are now eaten in many other parts of the world including India, Brazil and throughout Europe.
