No.36: Kohlrabi

Note: This week's kohlrabi has been requested
by Anonymous!

Kohlrabi can look pretty intimating if you have not been around them much! They are still yummy nonetheless!

1. Kohlrabi has the look of an organic green Sputnik (russian satelite), with a taste like fresh, crunchy broccoli stems accented by radish.

2. The name kohlrabi comes from the German kohl, meaning cabbage, and rabi, or turnip, and that kind of sums it up.

3. Two main types are grown in America, white and purple. The "white," actually light green, is much the more popular although the purple variety is most attractive.

4. Coloration of the purple types is superficial, the edible parts are all pale yellow. In Europe, fancy kinds with frilled and deeply cut leaves are sometimes grown for ornamentation.

5. It's grown more for its bulb-like stem than for its greens leaves, although these can be eaten too if they're attached when you buy it (just like the daikon), they taste similar to Swiss chard or kale. Leaves of the purple variety are better to eat than those of the green kohlrabi.

6. Cut your kohlrabi in half. Your kohlrabi should be solid all the way through, with no spongy or brown spots. Cut these out if you have them, leaving only the firm bulb intact.

7. Smaller kohlrabi are the sweetest and most tender. Bulbs much bigger than the size of a tennis ball won’t be as tasty and often have a pithy flesh. Also, they should be used when the tubers are 2 to 3 inches in diameter, before they become hard or bitter.

Reference: Wikipedia, About.com, BBC, A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook, Plant Answers, Care2


Here's a little something extra:

Helen of Food Stories has this excellently yummy radish and kohlrabi pickles which pair up really well with her Veggie Burgers. grin* I'm getting all hungry again just looking at these pictures! drool*























































Picture Credits:
Helen Graves (Food Stories)






Another equally talented individual is Lucinda of Nourish Me. Her specially adapted kohlrabi remoulade is a superb winter salad! Plus I love her interesting addition of homemade hazelnut mayonaise! very much yums*








































































Picture Credits:
Lucinda (Nourish Me)







Stop salivating and drop by Food Stories & Nourish Me
for these recipes now!

Thank you Helen & Lucinda!! :)