New use case for Kale! Re: Kale varieties, as seen by chefs...

[Chacha Sikes]

I spoke with my friend Booka Alon, who is a professional Lemon Ambassador for Just One Tree in San Francisco (a project to make San Francisco sustainable in lemons), a very active member of the Hayes Valley Farm, and, most importantly, our Brassica Captain.

She had a great idea about Kale -- and explaining why different varieties of kale matter --

Kale chips. 

If you want flavorings to stick to kale chips when you dehydrate them in the oven, what kind of shape or texture do you want the leaves to have?

Also, here is a list of Kale that is currently in my database of foods. (Which i just mentioned on a different thread.)

(see screenshot)

On Mon, Mar 19, 2012 at 8:26 AM, Anthony Nicalo <ant...@foodtree.com> wrote:

Hey Chacha, 

Bob makes good points here. I've also seen Cavolo Nero referred to as Tuscan Kale and sometimes Black Kale. 

Flavour is the most important- with texture being an element of flavour. Heritage gives it some context and helps me understand how it may have been used in the past, what techniques it makes sense to apply, etc. Essentially, heritage creates a sense of what is possible.

On Sat, Mar 17, 2012 at 12:52 PM, Chacha Sikes <chach...@gmail.com> wrote:

Anthony,

I am writing a blog post about Data Captains, and I am curious about your culinary feelings about the varieties of Kale.

In our panel, you mentioned that Calvolo Nero kale is totally different from other kales. 

You were saying that in searching for recipes, you want recipes for cavolo nero -- do you have examples?

What kinds of distinctions matter for you, as a chef. Texture, taste, heritage?

Nutrition? -- ex. iceberg lettuce vs. red leaf, or even some organic vegetables vs. conventional (link) -- however the care and growing methods can effect the food in addition to the variety. If plants are picked early, if the nutrient content in the soil is not high, if grown for size over density of flavor...

- Chach

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- Anthony Nicalo

CEO | co-founder | chef

Foodtree 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/tonynicalo

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Chacha