Cabbages, Spinach, Kale & Spring Greens

Brassicas are a family of plants that include vegetables such as cabbage, kale, turnips, swede, broccoli and sprouts.

Cabbages are leafy vegetables and are the head of the plant. They can be green, white and red, all of which have different uses. White and red cabbage in particular have thick, tightly packed leaves and are best braised or steamed or used raw in coleslaws for a crunchy texture. White cabbages are often fermented for dishes such as sauerkraut. Whereas green cabbages, like savoy, are rarely eaten raw and wilt when cooked. They have a mild flavour and much softer texture than red and white cabbages and are often boiled, steamed and fried.

Kale is the dark green curly leaf of a brassica plant and closely related to cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. The leaves must be cut away from the stems before cooking and has a strong earthy taste and can be eaten both raw and cooked. When raw, kale is dry in texture but soften when cooked becoming tender and chewy. Its flavour is peppery and astringent and is often used in green smoothies, steamed, boiled, stir fried and dried into chips.

Spinach is a relatively small, dark green leaf with a mildly sweet and grassy flavour. Eaten raw, it has a tender crunch and is commonly used in smoothies and salads. When cooked the leaves wilt, becoming soft and mushy and are included in omelettes, quiches and pasta dishes.

Spring greens are cabbage plants that have not fully matured and do not have the hard core of a typical cabbage. Essentially, they are a loose head of thick green leaves, but are often used in dishes in a similar way to kale and cabbage.