I like watching how the flavors and textures of winter vegetables change subtly over the course of the colder months. Kale is kale, but October's kale tastes different than December's kale, which is still different than February's kale. The colder it gets, the sweeter the leaf and root crops become. Cold weather causes plants to increase the amount of sugars in their tissues in an attempt to keep themselves from freezing. We had our first hard freeze of the season this weekend, which means all those veggies are suddenly a touch sweeter. A few of the more delicate crops like broccoli and celery need to be protected from 20-degree weather. I like to let the frost work at improving the rest. Just like many of you like to wait until after the first fall frost to put the collards on your dinner plate, there are a few crops that I prefer not to harvest until after a good hard freeze.
Escarole looks a lot like a head of light green lettuce. It has thicker, sturdier leaves than lettuce, and you can use it as a salad green or a cooking green. But it's bitter. I like bitter greens, but escarole is usually unpalatably bitter until after a hard freeze has worked its magic on the leaves. And it's the same story for Black Spanish radishes. In warm weather, these are strong and spicy enough to clear your sinuses. In the cold of winter, they're still a little more assertive than your average red radish, but that freeze transforms it into something utterly different than it was a few weeks ago. Was September's arugula too spicy for you? It is still peppery, but the cold has mellowed it. Winter carrots get sweet as candy. And the flavors of these veggies just continue to get sweeter, crunchier, and more complex as winter wears on.
Escarole looks a lot like a head of light green lettuce. It has thicker, sturdier leaves than lettuce, and you can use it as a salad green or a cooking green. But it's bitter. I like bitter greens, but escarole is usually unpalatably bitter until after a hard freeze has worked its magic on the leaves. And it's the same story for Black Spanish radishes. In warm weather, these are strong and spicy enough to clear your sinuses. In the cold of winter, they're still a little more assertive than your average red radish, but that freeze transforms it into something utterly different than it was a few weeks ago. Was September's arugula too spicy for you? It is still peppery, but the cold has mellowed it. Winter carrots get sweet as candy. And the flavors of these veggies just continue to get sweeter, crunchier, and more complex as winter wears on.
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