View Full Version : Kale leaves turning white
QLP
Jul 14, 2011, 09:33 AM
I have a fair crop of kale in the garden. It is growing well but quite a few of the leaves are losing their colour and turning a creamy white colour. They don't actually look sick, and are still growing. It looks quite like the effect you get when ornamental cabbages lose their chlorophyll but these are definitely just normal green edible kale plants.
Stumped. Any ideas anyone please?
tickle
Jul 14, 2011, 01:36 PM
Haven't had kale growing in a long time, but what it sounds like is a fungus. You best pick what you can't and cook it and enjoy it. I don't know if freezing is an option for kale, but you could Google recipes.
Tick
tickle
Jul 14, 2011, 03:22 PM
Love those tender leaves, the ones that are there just after the ones that started the whole plant. Do you have any recipes for cooking kale. I only have one for baking.
Tick
QLP
Jul 14, 2011, 04:28 PM
I don't do anything fancy with it.
I eat some raw mixed in salads, steam some as a side vegetable, put some through my juicer with other veg and fruit, toss some into stir-fries, and make kale snacks in the dehydrator - I rub in some olive oil then add seasonings/herbs/spices and just dry them out. I guess you could do a similar thing in the oven. What do you do for your baked kale? Never tried that.
The guinea pigs love it too so it's a useful crop for me.
If I have to freeze a lot that will probably just get used as a steamed veg.
tickle
Jul 14, 2011, 04:37 PM
I don't dry herbs anymore. I freeze then bag, squash all air out, so I can have them in soups, salads and stews, whatever. Kale, sold here in Ontario know in grocery stores never sold 25 years ago. It was an old world vegetable. I only use it for a pretty garnish for salad. Not exactly nongormet here, just made a lovely quiche with fresh herbs, basil, lemon tyme and parsley, eggs, cheese. It was such alovely treat. If I had had kale, I probably would have popped the quiche slice on top of a kale leaf. So there you go. Thanks for the input.
I just froze and bagged a lot of fresh herbs from my sundeck garden (rather then let them go to seed). They will be use in sauces and soups.
It was an alternative, to keeping them, from an old french way of salted herbs in jars.
Tick
QLP
Jul 14, 2011, 04:49 PM
Yeah I used to have bunches of herbs hanging up to dry a few years ago but I too just pop them in the freezer now.
I love quiche, though I tend to make it without any pastry as I can't eat wheat/gluten and gluten free pastry just isn't worth the effort in my opinion. Though gluten free cakes and cookies are easy and work great. Bread isn't much good gluten-free either. I sometimes use kale leaves or other green leaves for making wraps too as tortillas usually have some wheat in them.
Teka8
Nov 17, 2011, 11:36 AM
The kale leaves turn white, pink or red depending on the variety you have in response to the cooler fall temperatures. Mine are a nice creamy white right now and they're more delicate than the outer green leaves; great for soups! Enjoy!