Kohlrabi The Unappreciated And Underrated Vegetable

Kohlrabi is one of the least known vegetables on the planet earth. However it is so interesting that it requires reviewing in the vegetable line. The kohlrabi plant itself has a peculiar appearance. It actually resembles a flying object from outer space with an above ground bulb with stem like tentacles coming out of the bulb from all sides. The bulb can be green or can be purple and has green foliage that gives the appearance of broccoli leaves. It is often referred to as a root vegetable but with the bulb growing above the ground the Kohlrabi is not in that family.

This vegetable on the left was once a popular vegetable with both the uppercrust of Europe and also the peasants. You can find this at times in the produce area of your grocery store. The vegetarians of the world have declared that kohlrabi will have a tremendous resurgence as a popular vegetable but I have not seen that at present. However if we talk about it,it may have a better position in the vegetable world.

There seems to be a debate about whether it is a cross between a cabbage and a turnip. It is,however, I believe after much research a member of the cabbage family. The German word Kohl means cabbage and rabi or turnip kind of leads me to believe that it is close to the cabbage. However don't be fooled by all this because the flavor of kohlrabi is mild and even somewhat sweet and the consistency is crisp and moist. It has more of a taste like crunchy broccoli stems with hint of a radish flavor. I guess you have to try it yourself to see what flavor you think it most resembles.

Just Look At These Nutritional Values

It is very low in calories with only nineteen for half cup sliced and raw. It is very high in dietary fiber approximately 2.5 grams for a half cup. The Potassium content is excellent at 245 grams for a half cup. The vitamins for a half cup includes 25 I.U. vitamin A,43.4 mg.vitamin C,11.3 folic acid,and 16.8 mg.calcium. kohlrabi also claims to be a potent anti-cancer vegetable. The recent hybrids available in seed form are hardy,grow rather quickly and result in crunchy tubers without being stringy or spongy that occurred in older cultivars.

GROWING KOHLRABI IN THE GARDEN

However I feel the best method,if you have the area to do so, would be to start the seeds indoors about five to six weeks before the last frost. These plants are very susceptible to slugs and snails as holes in the leaves can be seen in some of these pictures. This provides a healthy and strong plant better able to ward off the pests if started indoors. Since it is a kin to the cabbage family,the tubers can deal with some frost. You can also make late plantings in mid-summer similar to late cabbage. If the weather is hot the plants will benefit from some shade when they are small and so take this into consideration in any mid-summer planting.

If you are sowing your seeds outdoors,do them in rows and cover with one-quarter to one-half inch of garden soil. The seedlings should be thinned to two to five inches apart when several inches tall in the garden. If you are extemely careful with the thinning of your plants,you can transplant them where spaces exist in the rows or start additional rows with these seedlings.

Let's Start Your Kohlrabi indoors

Sow your seeds at a depth of one-half inch and an inch apart in a flat seed starting tray using a starting mix found at your local nursery. Another method is to purchase one of those dome seed starting trays and using plugs that fit into the already provided holes drop seeds into the plug. You can find the best of these at parkseed.com and they work very efficiently and are not as messy as dealing with starting mix or potting soil.

You have to maintain an even moisture and good lightning and they will germinate in about 10-14 days. You may want to review seed starting found at How to start your seeds indoors. When you have one set of very strong true leaves and if started in a seed lat,then thin seedlings three to four inches apart. If you have utilized the bio-dome method, then no thinning is necessary. They should now be transplanted into deeper pots such as jiffy peat pots which makes it easy later on when transplanting into the garden. These pots can be completely buried because the plants grow through the wall of the pot.

Kohlrabi Planting Time

When your outside temperatures have reached 50 degrees or more,you can move your tender plants to an outside protected area and condition them for at least four or five days. Then plant in your garden five to six inches apart. There is a word of caution here don't wait too long before moving your kohlrabi outside and transplanting them. If the plants become stressed or even become root-bound, they will not provide you with good tubers.

Kohlrabi Harvest Time

You can begin harvesting the bulbs when they are two to three inches in diameter. If you let it remain on the plant too long it can develop a tough and woody texture and may have an off flavor. There are some newer varieties such as Gigante or Kossak which don't develop wood fibers in the enlarged stem. So if you desire a larger bulb, these will give you that without the woody and tough texture.

Now What To Do With It After Harvest

Let's Talk about the tubers

Raw
Just remove the stems and leaves which as we pointed out earlier can be used in your salad. If your tuber is small,like two to three inches in diameter,it will not be necessary to peel. However,it would be a good idea to remove the base end of the tuber which is fairly tough. If your tuber is large, then peel it and also cut off the base end. You can the slice it or julienne it and serve on a tray with dips. Another way to use it raw would be to grate it and drop into a toss salad. It will absorb the salad dressing because of its porous nature. You can also dice it and combine with some vegetables and dressing for a delicious chopped salad.

Steamed
Kohlrabi should be sliced into very small pieces and placed in a sauce pan with about one-half inch of water. You may want to add some salt and bring it to a boil and also cover the pan. Now put the heat on low and steam for five to seven minutes. I would steam them just as spinach is steamed.

Barbecued
Here we can employ your grill by slicing or chopping the tubers and mix with some olive oil then wrap them in some foil with the shiny side out. Put it on your grill and cook for about ten to twelve minutes. You have a great finish to a great vegetable.

A Receipe

• four medium kohlrabi
• one tablespoon olive oil
• one tablespoon butter
• one medium onion,minced
• one glove,minced
• two tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
• one tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• two tablespoons fresh low-fat sour cream
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

First peel the skin from your kohlrabi then coarsely grate the tubers. In a pan heat the butter and olive oil. To this mixture add the garlic,onion and kohlrabi,and stir until kohlrabi is tender and crisp. At this point stir in the lemon juice and parsley and season well with salt and preferably fresh pepper. Then add the sour cream and serve hot.

I am quite positive you can find many more receipes using this tuber but in order to show how this unique vegetable can be used,I thought it necessary to give you an idea of how to use this vegetable. Now below I would like people to contribute to the uses and receipes for this vegetable if you have experience with growing and cooking it. Growing ideas would also be welcome.

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