This spring I've been having a good time with cabbage raab, or cabbage buds, grown by Nash's Farm. I asked one of the farmers exactly what part of the plant it came from, and she said it grew when the plant flowered, but before it went to seed. Apparently winter veggies get really sweet before they go to seed, while summer veggies tend to get bitter.
Since I discovered these tender greens, I've been seeing them everywhere. They're included in a local organic produce delivery service's box, they're featured on neighborhood blogs, and they're on the menu at fine restaurants.
It's possible that they've been around for years and I just never noticed them, but it's more likely that they've been catching on lately. I've seen this happen with all kinds of products: one farmer will successfully try something out, and before you know it, everyone's doing it.
Not that there's anything new about cabbage raab. People have probably been eating it for as long as they've been growing cabbage, until we rigidly settled into our modern conventions about which parts of the plant are acceptable to eat, and which should be thrown away.
No comments:
Post a Comment