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Kale is nasty. Change my mind. Or not.


XRay
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My mom brought some kale home. She wanted me to make a smoothie with it, although I am skeptical about it, I did. Kale, soymilk, frozen cherries, and frozen mangoes into the blender they go. I gave it a taste test and it tastes freaking HORRIBLE. The bitterness and tannins is just plain nasty. I added a banana, a can of mixed fruits, and several spoons of honey to try to mask and dilute the taste, but the taste is still there. Blegh...

At least my mom can handle the taste though and seems to enjoy the smoothie. I forced myself to drink a cup since it is technically healthy. The extra honey did help, but I can still taste the full blast of the strong kale flavor.

I tried kale before, but in the form of kale chips and not raw kale. Kale chips did not taste great either.

What do you do with kale? Like, how do people even eat that stuff? It is like watching my parents and other Asian boomers eat bitter melons. In my opinion, I think kale is about as nasty as bitter melons. I think still rather eat kale and bitter melons than offal and shiitake mushrooms though, so I guess they are not that bad. Shiitake and offal not only taste nasty, they have a nasty texture too.

Anyways, yeah, try to change my mind about kale. Or tell me about your horrible experiences with kale. Is there a way to make kale delicious or is it plain nasty no matter what you do with it?

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kale chips like what you get as the store suck

 

raw kale is weird and chewy and does a great job of ruining whatever it's in

 

homemade baked kale chips are the shit though

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Kale with beef brisket in oyster sauce is awesome. I refuse to eat it in any other form.

I'd eat bitter gourd/bitter melon more than kale--hell, I chop them up and add them in a frittata.

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3 hours ago, Integrity said:

kale chips like what you get as the store suck

 

raw kale is weird and chewy and does a great job of ruining whatever it's in

 

homemade baked kale chips are the shit though

Yeah, the kale chips I tried were from a store. It took me a while to finish it cause it just does not taste good.

I guess if my mom brings home kale next time, I will try to bake it instead.

Do you bread your kale chips? The kale chips I tried from the store seems to have some sort of breading/crispy starch on it. Or do you just throw your kale into the oven and it becomes crispy on its own without the breading?

3 hours ago, Dragoncat said:

"Kale chips smell like fart." - Some lady in a cooking group I was in once

The kale chips I tried tasted a bit bitter and sour, so maybe that is what poo tastes like.

3 hours ago, Karimlan said:

Kale with beef brisket in oyster sauce is awesome. I refuse to eat it in any other form.

I'd eat bitter gourd/bitter melon more than kale--hell, I chop them up and add them in a frittata.

Does bitterness and tannins go away when you cook kale?

I do not think I can eat bitter gourd/melon in any form. Every cooked variation I have tried tastes plain old bitter and yucky.

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10 minutes ago, XRay said:

Do you bread your kale chips?

no

 

i'll ask my mom for the recipe if you're curious (it's not something i'm habitual about making) but i'm pretty sure it's just brushing oil and salt and throwing the shits in the oven at a certain temperature for a certain time

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1 minute ago, Integrity said:

no

 

i'll ask my mom for the recipe if you're curious (it's not something i'm habitual about making) but i'm pretty sure it's just brushing oil and salt and throwing the shits in the oven at a certain temperature for a certain time

Cool, I am curious. Sounds like making regular baked chips too.

I am bored at home, so trying to make kale edible sounds like a fun challenge.

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38 minutes ago, XRay said:

Does bitterness and tannins go away when you cook kale?

The last time I had beef and kale in oyster sauce, I blanched the kale briefly in boiling water (1-1 1/2 minutes), then shocked it by submerging in ice water. Most of the bitterness was gone, and whatever was left got lost in the mix of the flavors of the stir-fry (oyster sauce, ginger, garlic).

A similar prep can be done for bitter gourd to become more palatable (submerge chopped bitter gourd in water and add a teaspoon of salt; how much more depends on how much bitter gourd you have to begin with).

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2 minutes ago, Karimlan said:

The last time I had beef and kale in oyster sauce, I blanched the kale briefly in boiling water (1-1 1/2 minutes), then shocked it by submerging in ice water. Most of the bitterness was gone, and whatever was left got lost in the mix of the flavors of the stir-fry (oyster sauce, ginger, garlic).

A similar prep can be done for bitter gourd to become more palatable (submerge chopped bitter gourd in water and add a teaspoon of salt; how much more depends on how much bitter gourd you have to begin with).

Cool, I can try that.

1 minute ago, Integrity said:

i have literally no idea what tannins are but i know the kale chips my mom makes are not bitter

Not really sure what the proper term is for vegetables, but at least in wine, tannins refer to compounds in the wine that give it a slight sour taste and an astringent effect in the mouth.

If you try eating grape but eating only the grape skin, I guess that is what tannins sort of feels like, although not all grape skins have the same amount of tannins though.

A super green/unripe banana also has a strong tannin taste. It tastes slightly sour and it makes your mouth pucker up.

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5 hours ago, Light Strategist said:

Wanted to make a Dragon Ball joke when I saw the title but I'm reconsidering now...

I want to hear it. Is there are character named Kale or something?

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I used to eat kale by sauteeing it with a bit of oil and salt and a lot of garlic.  Turned out almost sweet that way.  Or it could be because I really liked garlic.

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I'm also not a fan but it's a pretty common ingredient in Germany. Traditionally cooked for a long time with onions in broth, together with a big slab of smoked pork and sausages. Served with potatoes. Passes as comfort food in the north. 

The only way I made Kale semi-tasty is by turning it into a pesto, adding lots of garlic cloves (hi eclipse!).

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6 hours ago, eclipse said:

I used to eat kale by sauteeing it with a bit of oil and salt and a lot of garlic.  Turned out almost sweet that way.  Or it could be because I really liked garlic.

4 hours ago, know_naim said:

I'm also not a fan but it's a pretty common ingredient in Germany. Traditionally cooked for a long time with onions in broth, together with a big slab of smoked pork and sausages. Served with potatoes. Passes as comfort food in the north. 

The only way I made Kale semi-tasty is by turning it into a pesto, adding lots of garlic cloves (hi eclipse!).

Cool! I like garlic too. That is a good way to mask the kale taste. But yeah, I will probably need lots of garlic since kale tastes really strong.

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10 hours ago, know_naim said:

The only way I made Kale semi-tasty is by turning it into a pesto,

oh yo this sounds amazing

 

@XRay my mom says she dresses the kale in apple cider vinegar and a little salt, then cuts and tosses it all in a baking sheet at 425 F until they get crispy, i forget the time already

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1 minute ago, Integrity said:

oh yo this sounds amazing

 

@XRay my mom says she dresses the kale in apple cider vinegar and a little salt, then cuts and tosses it all in a baking sheet at 425 F until they get crispy, i forget the time already

Nice. I think I can figure out the time if I stay near the oven and check on it once in a while. Apple cider vinegar is interesting. I never would have thought to put that on kale chips.

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10 hours ago, know_naim said:

I'm also not a fan but it's a pretty common ingredient in Germany. Traditionally cooked for a long time with onions in broth, together with a big slab of smoked pork and sausages. Served with potatoes. Passes as comfort food in the north. 

Northern German here, can confirm. Going on a "Kohl-tour" is a very common winter pastime here - group of neighbors/collegues/friends takes a long hike together, during which vast amounts of schnapps are consumed (and sometimes silly party games are played), ending up at a restaurant serving what you're describing. At the start of the year, you'll reliably pass large groups of drunks on the road every weekend.

Needless to say, I was rather surprised when I learned that kale is considered a fancy health food in other regions of the world.

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