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Old April 13, 2012   #30
Tracydr
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7
Posts: 3,207
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nctomatoman View Post
The like or dislike of greens could be one of those genetic taste things - I think Cilantro tastes like soapy water, my wife and daughter craves it. My wife and I think the cabbage family is very sweet tasting - many find them as bitter. All due to each of our genetic make up....there is a gene for the cabbage family tasting horribly bitter - if one finds that, they have the gene from both parents - if slightly bitter only one.

Fascinating!

I like the flavor of beet greens far better than chard - more tender, a sweeter taste to my palate - but I love them all. We've started eating loads of collards and kale - all depends upon how you prepare them, in my view. We do Collards with sesame oil, ginger, garlic, hot pepper flakes and pineapple and use them as a bed for grilled fish. yum!
Very fascinating! I haven't tried beet greens. I find chard taste a bit like " dirt" but continue to grow it because it's the only green other than malabar, new Zealand and amaranth that I can get to survive through summer in AZ. I do like it in smaller quantities, usually in a soup or omelette. Mainly, it's so darn pretty in the garden that I plant a lot as a foliage backdrop and feed extras to the chickens.
I'll have to try beets instead, since I really love pickled and roasted beets as well. I've actually not tried growing them yet. I just noticed one of my chards was growing a "beet"!
My husband and I really prefer spinach, kale or cabbage but it just won't grow in the heat. I need to give collards another try. I think it may handle a better part of the year here, at least in the shade. Sometimes kale will hang on but it gets bitter when the weather heats up.
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