My favorite has been a perennial kale (aka tree collards) that gets a purple tinge and sweeter taste after it's hit by frost. But it doesn't do well with much lower temps -- when it got down to 26F one winter, my older plant wilted. I took out my kale forests at 2 community gardens last year because all the brassicas were being hit hard by a new kind of stink bug (bagrada bug). And the one I had growing at home became the favorite snack bar for the green caterpillars of the white cabbage moth, and then when it partially recovered, a squirrel ate some every day until only bare stems were left. Anyway, I still have some cuttings growing in the greenhouse, but I don't know where I can plant them!
I like the perennial kale because of the relatively sweet flavor and the flat leaves, which are less appealing to aphids. The first couple years I grew it, no bugs bothered it at all. It was also very prolific. I would pick a grocery-size bag at a time, then cook it and eat kale every day for a week, or freeze some. Occasionally good for a garden snack, but at its best cooked, especially with peanut sauce.
Didn't work for kale "chips." The leaves are sturdy enough to sub for grape leaves in dolmas!
Second choice is other flattish varieties, particularly Red Russian and White Russian. Those are both great as raw kales, and they cook down to almost nothing.
All the kales get a sweeter, less mustardy bite when frost hits, but these varieties are pretty mild even in the warm season, especially as baby greens.
I had seeds last fall when I was rushing to start my winter garden, so I'm also growing Lacinato/Black/Tuscan. The aphids tend to cozy into the leaf indents, so it gets a little gross as spring approaches. At that point, I wait for the lady beetles to show up. Within a couple days, all the aphids are gone and I can eat kale again. It's tender enough to eat raw, but because of all the aphid niches, I tend to wash it first, and once it's in the house, it ends up being cooked rather than eaten raw.
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