Where did collard greens originate?
The two friends were leading the youth department at Bethel Community Baptist Church when they decided to sell collard greens in the church lobby as a fundraiser. It was such a success that the two friends looked into getting a permit to sell greens at the ...
Were do collard greens come from?
Their origin is usually erroneously stated as being African, but they were a Mediterranean dish long before they were popular in Africa. That’s not to imply that there is no African connection, however. How were collard greens introduced to America? Greens originated near Greece, but it wasn’t until the first Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in the early 1600s that America got its first taste of the dark green, leafy vegetable.
Do collard greens make you gain weight?
Yes, you feel free to add collard greens to your diet menu, as this veggie is one of the staples in helping you lose weight. The reason is collard greens, or any other kinds of dark leafy green vegetables are a rich source of calcium, which will allow burning fat rather than storing it, by speeding up metabolism.
Why collard greens are important to the black food tradition?
Collard greens and black-eyed peas have long been hailed as symbols of prosperity and good luck; the tradition being that black eyed peas represent money in the form of coins and collard greens represent paper money. Black eyed peas (which are actually beans by the way) were a food staple that was grown in Africa over 5,000 years ago.
Why are collard greens called collard?
American collard cultivars are more correctly placed in the Viridis cultivar group due to a high genetic similarity with cabbage, although older publications often include them within the Acephala Group (kale). The name "collard" comes from the word "colewort" (a medieval term for non-heading brassica crops).
What is the English name for collard greens?
What is the English name for collard greens? The English name of these green veggies is collard greens. Spring greens are the closest to collard greens in the UK.
What is the history of collard greens?
Collard greens date back to prehistoric time and one of the oldest member of the cabbage family. What some of you may not know is that Collard greens is also known as the tree cabbage. Some may think that Collard greens originated in Africa but they were originated in Eastern Mediterranean.
What does collard greens stand for?
Collard greens is the American English term for various loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea, part of the Acephala Group which contains cabbage and broccoli.
What are collards called in Australia?
BorekaleGrowing Collards (Collard greens, Borekale) in Australia - temperate climate.
Which is healthier spinach or collard greens?
Collard greens are frequently eaten in the Southern U.S. regions, but deserve attention everywhere for their health benefits. Collard greens provide nearly twice the amount of calcium as spinach and are high in potassium and magnesium, too.
Why did slaves eat collard greens?
During the antebellum period enslaved Africans only had time to make sides dishes such as collard greens on Sundays. Masters gave their slaves off on Sundays and on few holidays and religious days. Collards are a fibrous greens which required extensive cooking to make them tender and easy to digest.
Who first discovered collard greens?
How were collard greens introduced to America? Greens originated near Greece, but it wasn't until the first Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in the early 1600s that America got its first taste of the dark green, leafy vegetable.
Why do Southerners eat collard greens?
Classic slow-cooked Southern-style greens originated in the South during slavery. African slaves brought to America had to feed their families from precious few foods. Because greens such as collards grew abundantly, they often used them as the basis for one-pot meals.
What does eating black-eyed peas on new year's mean?
luck and prosperityToday, the tradition of eating black-eyed peas for the New Year has evolved, as many traditions do, into a number of variations – but most hold the theme of luck and prosperity that harkens back to the Civil War days when people felt lucky to have black-eyed peas to eat and help them survive through the winter.
What are two interesting facts about collard greens?
Collard greens are the oldest leafy green within the cabbage family dating back 2000 years, originally grown by the ancient Greeks and Romans. In 1975, Ayden, North Carolina named their town's annual festival The Ayden Collard Festival. The festival still continues today over 45 years later!
Which state produces the most collard greens?
South CarolinaProduction. The southern states are primarily responsible for the bulk of production of collard greens in the United States. In fact, South Carolina chose collard greens as its state vegetable and Georgia is the second top producing state for collard greens.
Description
The term collard has been used to include many non-heading Brassica oleracea crops.
Cultivation
The plant is commercially cultivated for its thick, slightly bitter, edible leaves. They are available year-round, but are tastier and more nutritious in the cold months, after the first frost.
Culinary use
Collard greens are known as sukuma in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Sukuma is mainly lightly sauteed in oil until tender, flavoured with onions and seasoned with salt, and served either as the main accompaniment or as a side dish with the preferred meat (fish, chicken, beef, or pork).
Pests
The sting nematode Belonolaimus gracilis and the awl nematode, Dolichodorus spp. are both ectoparasites that can injure collard. Root symptoms include, stubby or coarse roots that are dark at the tips. Shoot symptoms include, stunted growth, premature wilting and chlorosis (Nguyen and Smart, 1975).
Fun Facts about Collard Greens
In Brazil, where they’re known as couve, collards figure into feijoada, the pork and bean stew that is the national dish. In Portugal, you might find them greening up a bowl of caldo verde, a potato and sausage soup, that country’s national dish.
What to Look for When Buying Collard Greens
No yellowing, spots or wilted leaves. We want firm leaves and stems. Do not wash until ready to cook. When shopping at the farmers’ market or farm stand, ask the growers about their production methods.
Sustainability of Collard Greens
Conventionally grown collards are a cause for concern, according to The Environmental Working Group. Due to pesticide use on leafy greens, collards show up as #19 in their Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. Whenever possible, buy organic, particularly at the supermarket, to avoid insecticides.
Eating Collard Greens
Stored in a kitchen towel in the refrigerator (away from fruit that continue to ripen after picking), collards will keep for at least three days.
Description
Collards, Brassica oleracea var viridis are herbaceous annual or biennial plants in the family Brassicaceae grown for their edible leaves which are consumed as a vegetable. Collards are erect, branched plants with thick stems and irregularly lobed dark green leaves with long petioles. The plant produces clusters of small yellow flowers on racemes.
Uses
Collards leaves are usually consumed after cooking and are eaten as a leafy green vegetable.
Propagation
Basic requirements Collard greens are a cool season crop that grow best in cool, moist conditions. The plant will grow best at temperatures between 4 and 21°C (40–50°F) allowing it to be grown in both Spring and Fall. Collards are very hardy and will tolerate frost.
Buying, Cooking, and Recipes
Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.
What Are Collard Greens?
Collards have dark green, fanlike leaves with tough stems. They're a member of the same group of plants that includes kale, turnips, and mustard greens.
How to Cook With Collard Greens
These greens need to be washed thoroughly before cooking them, as they can carry a lot of grit. But you don't typically eat the stems, so remove those first.
What Do They Taste Like?
On their own, collards are pretty bitter and the texture is tough. But once you add some moist heat, their flavor softens and becomes milder the longer you cook them.
Collard Greens Recipes
Yes, they're popular in the southern U.S., but think beyond geography. Anywhere you'd use a dark, leafy bitter green, you can use collards. Toss chopped collards into a soup, slice the leaves into ribbons for pasta, or sauté them with a cruciferous cousin such as kale—it's all good.
Where to Buy Collard Greens
Collards are not usually hard to come by, as they're available all year round in most grocery stores or in markets that serve African-American populations. They're stocked in bunches in the produce section, chilled, near the kale, Swiss chard, and other leafy green veggies. The leaves are so big, they're hard to miss.
Storage
Collard greens are best kept in the fridge in a plastic bag, unwashed, to help preserve their crispness. You don't want to wash them and then put them in the fridge, as introducing excessive moisture will accelerate the spoiling process.
Overview
Collard is a group of certain loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea, the same species as many common vegetables, including cabbage (Capitata Group) and broccoli (Italica Group). Collard is a member of the Viridis Group of Brassica oleracea. American collard cultivars are more correctly placed in the Viridis cultivar group due to a high genetic similarity with cabbage, although older publ…
Description
The term collard has been used to include many non-heading Brassica oleracea crops. While American collards are best placed in the Viridis crop group, the Acephala cultivar group is also used ("without a head" in Greek) referring to a lack of close-knit core of leaves (a "head") like cabbage does, making collards more tolerant of high humidity levels and less susceptible to fungal diseases. The plant is a biennial where winter frost occurs; some varieties may be perennial in …
Cultivation
The plant is commercially cultivated for its thick, slightly bitter, edible leaves. They are available year-round, but are tastier and more nutritious in the cold months, after the first frost. For best texture, the leaves are picked before they reach their maximum size, at which stage they are thicker and are cooked differently from the new leaves. Age does not affect flavor.
Nutritional information
Raw collard greens are 90% water, 6% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and contain negligible fat (table). Like kale, collard greens contain substantial amounts of vitamin K (388% of the Daily Value, DV) in a 100-gram (3.5 oz) serving. Collard greens are rich sources (20% or more of DV) of vitamin A, vitamin C, and manganese, and moderate sources of calcium and vitamin B6. A 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) reference serving of cooked collard greens provides 137 kilojoules (33 kilocalories) of fo…
Culinary use
Collard greens are known as sukuma in Swahilli and are one of the most common vegetables in East Africa. Sukuma is mainly lightly sauteed in oil until tender, flavoured with onions and seasoned with salt, and served either as the main accompaniment or as a side dish with meat or fish. In Congo, Tanzania and Kenya (East Africa), thinly sliced collard greens are the main accompaniments …
Pests
The sting nematode Belonolaimus gracilis and the awl nematode, Dolichodorus spp. are both ectoparasites that can injure collard. Root symptoms include, stubby or coarse roots that are dark at the tips. Shoot symptoms include, stunted growth, premature wilting and chlorosis (Nguyen and Smart, 1975). Another species of the sting worm, Belonolaimus longicaudatus is a pest of collards in Georgia and North Carolina (Robbins and Barker, 1973). B. longicaudatus is devastating to se…
See also
• Collard liquor
External links
• Media related to Brassica oleracea var. viridis at Wikimedia Commons