Super Kale - Brassica oleracea

I have just planted 3 varieties of Kale (known also as Borecole). It is a wonderful Winter plant, & I think we have some more serious cold weather to come to benefit planting now. Like all brassicas (ie cabbage) it is prone to bug attack, so keep your snail & slug traps primed.

You might have heard of kale – proclaimed to be a ‘superfood’, this leafy green vegetable has some pretty impressive health benefits that you should be taking advantage of!

Kale is a fantastic source of a variety of different vitamins, all of which serve important purposes in keeping you fit and healthy. Starting at the beginning of the alphabet, kale contains impressive levels of vitamin A, which is important in helping to ward off infection. It’s also a great source of folate (a B vitamin). Folate is important in the diet, as a deficiency can lead to increased risk of stroke, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and depression – and who wouldn’t want to minimize their risk of developing these conditions!

Vitamin K is important for regulating blood clotting – and you guessed it, kale is a fantastic source of this important vitamin. It’s also a great source of alpha-lipoic acid, which is impressively versatile in it’s ability to be of benefit to a variety of different cells. 

If you’re worried about the health of your eyes as you age, kale may just be your new best friend. This is because kale contains lutein and zeaxanthin, which is important in lowering the risk of age-related eye diseases. Kale is a MUST superfood if you are pregnant. Below is a more comprehensive list of health benefits.

Why Grow Kale?

• Easy to grow. Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 8°C and 30°C. 
• • Space plants: 40 - 50 cm apart
• Harvest in 7-9 weeks.
• Compatible with: Dwarf (bush) beans, beets, celery, cucumber, onions, marigold, nasturtium, rhubarb, aromatic herbs (sage, dill, camomile)
• Avoid growing with: Climbing (pole) beans, tomato, peppers (chilli, capsicum), eggplant (aubergine), strawberry, mustard

 Kale is a good addition or substitute for cabbage varieties. There are 4 main varieties grown, but the varieties include: Red Russian, Siberia, Red Ursa, White Russian, Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch, Konserva, Redbor, Winterbor, Premier, Hanover Salad, & Stanbor.

Very winter hardy. Flavour is improved by frost. Ornamental varieties are colourful, and edible. Rotate with other crops to avoid clubroot infection. Most good nurseries carry some varieties of Kale, but it can be hard to find. I bought mine from the wonderful Woodend Nursery.

Tuscano - milder taste, great in salads

Savoy - tough & harsher taste

Curly Winterbor

Red Russian - mildest

Tuscan Black Palm Kale

Health Benefits of Kale:

1. Kale is a good source of calcium, vitamin C, Vitamin K and carotenoids.
2. In Japan kale juice is a dietary supplement.
3. Supposed to be loaded with substances that can help protect from cancer, cataracts, emphysema and rheumatoid arthritis.
4. All the natural phytochemicals like suforaphane and indoles are present which protect against cancer. It is said to help by detoxifying cancer causing chemicals. It was reported in the Journal of Nutrition (2004) that sulforaphane stops breast cancer cell proliferation.
5. The carotenoids that are present in it are good for vision improvement. Kale has 7 times the beta-carotene of broccoli and 10 times more lutein.
6. Vitamin C is good for cold prevention.
7. Minerals such as iron, manganese, calcium and potassium add to the health benefits of kale.
8. Kale is also rich in fiber which is absent in most of the American diet which has steered to frozen and processed foods.
9. Though a small portion of kale has only 36 calories, it has about 192% of Vitamin A . 
10. Cholesterol lowering benefits are also present due to it fiber related compounds.
11. Kale’s cancer lowering Isothicyanates (ITC’s)made from glucosinolates are said to play the role in cancer reduction.
12. The Isothicyanates also help detox at genetic level.
13. Kale has plenty of the antioxidant Vitamin E.
14. Over 45 different flavonoids are found in Kale with kaempferol and quercetin topping the list. The flavonoids have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Kale is used commonly in soups, salads, omelets, sautéed with onions and garlic or can be used as a pizza topping. Its health benefits can't be ignored.

Kale Chips

Ingredients

• 10 kale leaves (on a stalk)
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 2/3 tsp ground cumin powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Tear the leaves away from the stalks and cut into 2-3 cm pieces with scissors or tear with your hands.
3. Wash and dry the leaves in a salad spinner or pat dry with some paper towel. You can also shake off the excess water before cutting the kale.
4. Toss kale leaves with olive oil, spices & sea salt. Scatter in a large oven tray and bake for 15 minutes tossing them around every 5 minutes to prevent burning and to make sure they dry out and roast evenly on all sides. Depending on your oven and the amount of leaves you can fit in your tray, you might only need 12 minutes to roast the chips. You can also do them in two batches.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes