Posted on 02/19/2021 6:07:57 PM PST by nickcarraway
*Kale is celebrated as a superfood and has been a trendy must-have for a number of years *But there is a new contender: broccolini, a Chinese broccoli hybrid, is all the rage
Is broccolini the new kale?
Produce and ingredients are not immune to the whims of fashion. Foods also go in and out of style, changing every few years. If you think vegetables are evergreens – pun intended – you’d be wrong.
For a time, kale was the must-eat food that was on every shopping list. It was no longer solely for vegan yogis and detoxing tai tais – the trendy green crossed over from being a healthy superfood to a grocery luxury that anyone could incorporate into salads and cooked dishes.
It’s so ubiquitous now, I had a Lunar New Year takeaway poon choi (a “basin meal” comprising layers of different foods, a southern Chinese tradition) from a hotel in Hong Kong and it included kale among the vegetables we could cook in the remaining broth. I guess kale instantly makes anything healthy, even if the rest of the dish consists of meat and fat.
Growing up, I never even knew this green existed. When I first heard about kale, I assumed it was just another vegetable that granola-munching hippies ate in communes. Little did I know it was often used as a green decoration on Pizza Hut salad bars. It’s ironic now to think that the kale was there for display while the nutrition-free iceberg lettuce was served for consumption.
But in the past decade, it’s become a precious commodity, and 2012 was the height of its popularity. The US Department of Agriculture noted that year that kale production had increased 60 per cent since 2007. Bon Appétit magazine anointed 2012 as the “year of kale” and
(Excerpt) Read more at scmp.com ...
And green beanie weenies...
“ a Chinese...”
No thanks
I’d just be happy with a plain every day white cauliflower. Our only grocery here hasn’t stocked any for at least a decade.
*** blech***
WTH?
It’s pretty good in a pureed vegetable soup, with zucchini, spinach, onions and celery (season with basil.)
I don’t like stewed ‘greens’ as many Southerners do; but I like kale in soup this way.
Broccolini looks like broccoli that has begun to bolt.
and the Chinese genetic engineers swear that it was not..
these are the same people who enjoy 100% healthy sewer oil
https://grist.org/article/food-2010-10-25-a-close-encounter-with-chinese-sewer-oil/
Yum Yum
I’ve always been intrigued by this ‘fractal-y’ one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesco_broccoli
Never see it in a store, though.
Come on Man!!
Sicilians have been eaten “broccolini” for years..
In Sicilian Dialogue it’s called Broccoli Rabe, or Rappini
https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.bIVVRSSUwEjLlwq-a0pVTAHaEj&pid=Api&rs=1&c=1&qlt=95&w=200&h=123
You are more likely to see it at a farmer’s market. Or you can grow your own.
Rapini is great, if you like the bitter flavor, which I do.
battle of the inedible green things.
So do I, But I haven’t seen it in North Carolina...and I miss a luchen sandwich of braised chicken with steamed Broccoli rabe, Garlic and olive oil.
That makes my day...
I’ll try Broccolini when it’s available...
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Broccolini is delicious sauteed with some good olive oil, salt and pepper. I’m growing some right now on my roof garden and have been picking and eating it for weeks now. Italians have been eating this for years - no big deal. Gotta love how the media makes a big deal about foods people have been eating for millenia. Ugh.
Honest to goodness true. Can’t get half of a super basic cook from scratch boring grocery list. I’ve posted many times we’ve had Venezuelan grocery shelves for years less than 2 hours outside the city. It’s a real HEB chain grocery store. The excuse is usually the truck didn’t come or it wasn’t on the truck. The best excuse was “The truck will deliver some tortillas tomorrow... Ok, exactly how many tortillas?... One... Is that one case or what?... One 8 count package.” How the heck can a store order ONE package?!? But that’s the norm. When you’re the only game in town and for miles around, you can treat your customers like dirt.
A life time of shopping there ended the first of March and covid making the shelves more empty. Now, we’re driving a few towns over to the nearest grocery at Wallyworld. It’s still difficult trying to get items but not so bad. Even Wallyworld has had zero Lysol, Clorox, tech stuff, ginger of any type and had to holler at them to get one little 3 pk of yeast since March.
How’s your shopping? Are things difficult or fairly easy?
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