[0 - 2] - Have you ever looked at a Great Dane and a Chihuahua
[2 - 5] and marveled at the fact that they're both the same species?
[5 - 8] And more than that, they're both descendants of wolves.
[8 - 10] The variety of the species is incredible,
[10 - 12] and it's a true testament to humans' ability
[12 - 14] to shape nature into whatever we want it to be.
[14 - 16] Well, if you think that's cool,
[16 - 18] wait 'til you hear that the vegetable world
[18 - 20] has its own wolf-dog situation
[20 - 22] or whatever you wanna call it.
[22 - 26] (playful classical music continues)
[26 - 29] Every brassica that you love or hate to eat
[29 - 30] is the same species.
[30 - 33] The original Brassica oleracea is a wild plant
[33 - 34] that looks like this
[34 - 37] and goes by the common name wild cabbage.
[37 - 38] From that one single plant,
[38 - 40] which is native to parts of Europe,
[40 - 43] we get broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens,
[43 - 46] kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, gai lan, kale,
[46 - 48] broccolini, kalette, and more.
[48 - 49] "How?" you ask.
[49 - 52] The simple, patient process of artificial selection.
[52 - 54] Farmers selected wild cabbage plants
[54 - 56] with attributes that they wanted,
[56 - 57] and here's how that went.
[57 - 58] By selecting for terminal buds,
[58 - 60] they wended up with cabbage,
[60 - 63] which is obviously the English bulldog of the brassicas.
[63 - 64] By selecting for lateral buds,
[64 - 66] they created brussels sprouts.
[66 - 69] These guys, they're the French bulldogs of the species.
[69 - 71] Selecting for stem led to the creation
[71 - 73] of apple head Chihuahuas, I mean, kohlrabi.
[73 - 76] Selecting for stems and flowers led to broccoli,
[76 - 77] which is our verdant poodle.
[77 - 80] And selecting for flower clusters gave us cauliflower,
[80 - 83] which is obviously a bichon frise.
[83 - 85] Finally, selecting for leaves gave us collards,
[85 - 88] AKA basset hounds, and kale, the Portuguese water dog
[89 - 91] Gai lan is clearly an Afghan hound.
[91 - 93] And then, of course, you can take two of these
[93 - 94] and make a hybrid.
[94 - 96] Imagine what would happen if you mixed kale,
[96 - 99] Portuguese water dog, and brussels sprouts,
[99 - 102] French bulldog, and now, check out kalette.
[102 - 104] Am I crazy or does that look a little bit
[104 - 105] like a Portuguese bulldog?
[105 - 107] This stuff just works, people.
[107 - 108] I could honestly do this all day.
[108 - 110] Broccolini, a hybrid of broccoli and gai lan,
[110 - 112] is a tall lean greyhound.
[112 - 113] But I really need to move on.
[113 - 115] Now, if you haven't seen my cauliflower
[115 - 117] and brussels sprouts episodes, you're missing out.
[117 - 119] There's a link below to watch them,
[119 - 122] so you can do a classic brassica back to back to back,
[122 - 122] bang, bang, bang.
[122 - 125] There are many varieties of kale, from curly to colorful,
[125 - 126] and they all feature
[126 - 129] a characteristic bittersweet, pungent flavor.
[129 - 131] How, how that flavor comes to be is pretty interesting.
[131 - 132] Like onions and garlic,
[132 - 135] it is only formed when the veggie is sliced,
[135 - 137] chopped, massaged, or chewed.
[137 - 137] Here's how that works.
[137 - 140] When cells in a leaf of kale are intact,
[140 - 141] an enzyme called myrosinase
[141 - 144] and a sulfur-containing compound, glucosinolate,
[144 - 145] are separated from one another.
[145 - 148] Only when cells are damaged are they able to interact
[148 - 150] and create isothiocyanates,
[150 - 152] the compounds responsible for kale's pungency.
[152 - 155] Now look, we can cook and season kale any way we want,
[155 - 157] but some seasonings happen directly in the field
[157 - 159] before the kale is harvested.
[159 - 160] Kale grown in sulfur-rich soil
[160 - 162] will have a more intense flavor,
[162 - 164] while kale that has survived a frost will taste sweeter.
[164 - 167] How is that possible? Nature's antifreeze.
[167 - 169] When a kale plant feels the change in temperature
[169 - 171] in late summer and fall,
[171 - 173] it starts converting starch to sugar.
[173 - 174] As we learned when we talked about ice cream,
[174 - 177] sugar lowers the freezing point of water.
[177 - 179] Kale floods its fluids with sugar
[179 - 181] to lower the temperature at which it will freeze.
[181 - 183] This prevents ice crystal formation
[183 - 185] that would otherwise cut through cell walls
[185 - 186] and cause massive damage.
[186 - 188] The kale survives the frost
[188 - 189] and we get a sweeter green.
[189 - 191] The three most common types of kale
[191 - 193] you're likely to find at the market are green curly leaf,
[193 - 195] red kale, and lacinato.
[195 - 197] Lacinato kale, also known as dinosaur kale,
[197 - 200] Tuscan kale, and by its Italian name, cavelo nero,
[200 - 202] features thicker, deep green-blue leaves
[202 - 204] and a earthier flavor.
[204 - 207] It was first cultivated in Italy over 300 years ago.
[207 - 209] And it's my top kale choice at the market,
[209 - 210] especially for braising.
[210 - 212] But it's pricier than its curly friend,
[212 - 213] also known as its curl friend.
[213 - 215] Okay, let's talk kale prep.
[215 - 218] Kale stems are a lot harder than say Swiss chard stems,
[218 - 220] so they are normally separated from the leaf and discarded.
[220 - 223] I find the easiest way to do this is to strip off the leaves
[223 - 224] with my hands.
[224 - 226] But you don't need to toss them.
[226 - 226] You can pickle 'em.
[226 - 228] These stems were quickly blanched
[228 - 230] and then combined with a hot brine and left to cool.
[230 - 233] They're crispy, pickley, and delicious.
[233 - 236] Okay, so you wanna make kale, a truly hearty tough green,
[236 - 237] into a salad?
[237 - 239] Well, you've got a lotta options for turning kale tender.
[239 - 241] Let's take a visit to the kale spa.
[241 - 243] The technique that has gotten the most attention
[243 - 245] and definitely suffered the most teasing
[245 - 247] and ridicule is massaging.
[247 - 248] Here, we grab handfuls of kale leaves
[248 - 250] and physically break down the leaf structure.
[250 - 253] Think of pre-chewing, but with your hands.
[253 - 255] It absolutely works and honestly doesn't take
[255 - 256] that much time and effort,
[256 - 257] but it's not your only option.
[257 - 260] We can also let it hang out in the hot tub.
[260 - 262] Soaking kale in a bath of hot tap water,
[262 - 265] about 110 to 115 degrees, helps them wilt slightly,
[265 - 268] creating a tender, yet still crunchy texture.
[268 - 270] Think of the hot water as a very mild form of blanching.
[270 - 273] The elevated temperature speeds up enzymes
[273 - 274] that break down cell walls.
[274 - 277] The enzyme in question, polygalacturonase,
[277 - 279] also breaks down cell walls in fruits like tomatoes
[279 - 280] as they ripen.
[280 - 281] Todd strikes again.
[281 - 282] It's dead simple.
[282 - 285] Just soak stemmed and cut leaves in hot tap water
[285 - 286] for 10 minutes.
[286 - 289] Your third option is to let the kale rest.
[289 - 291] Dressing kale leaves with some of the dressing
[291 - 293] and refrigerating them for at least 20 minutes
[293 - 295] or up to overnight has a softening effect.
[295 - 298] The oil in the dressing wets the waxy,
[298 - 300] water-repelling surface of the kale leaves,
[300 - 302] which causes them to soften.
[302 - 305] This treatment also unlocks make-ahead kale salads.
[305 - 308] It's one of the few salads that actually improve with age.
[308 - 311] But no need to stop at just one spa treatment. Treat yourself.
[311 - 312] You can combine and mix and match.
[312 - 314] For instance, you can massage the leaves
[314 - 317] before dressing and resting for even more tender results.
[317 - 320] Okay, so now we have to talk about order of operations.
[320 - 322] I'm gonna guess that when you prep kale,
[322 - 323] you rinse the leaves to get rid of any dirt,
[324 - 326] cut them to the desired size, massage them, et cetera.
[326 - 328] Well, I'm here today to tell you
[328 - 331] that you should rinse after prepping too.
[331 - 333] We just talked about how damaging cells leads
[333 - 336] to the creation of pungent isothiocyanates.
[336 - 338] All of your prep creates more pungency.
[338 - 340] By rinsing after prepping,
[340 - 342] you can remove some of it for milder kale leaves
[342 - 344] that needs less dressing to taste good.
[344 - 345] Now, if you think you might forget
[345 - 348] this simple additional step, have no fear.
[348 - 351] Because I've created an easy to remember jingle.
[351 - 355] ♪ So you want your kale to taste really great ♪
[355 - 358] ♪ You gotta rinse away those isothiocyanates ♪
[358 - 362] ♪ For kale that's nice you gotta rinse it twice ♪
[362 - 364] Okay, we've got our prepped kale,
[364 - 366] our brand new kale jingle.
[366 - 368] It's time to go to the kitchen.
[368 - 370] First up, that salad we've been talking about.
[370 - 372] This recipe by "Cook's Illustrated"
[372 - 374] associate editor Erica Turner
[374 - 377] is perfect for dinner parties and holiday gatherings
[377 - 380] because it feels special and is made entirely ahead.
[380 - 381] It's also perfect for meal prep.
[381 - 384] Make it, stash it in the fridge, and eat it for days.
[384 - 386] This recipe combines two spa treatments,
[386 - 388] massaging and resting.
[388 - 390] For our dressing, we'll whisk together oil, vinegar,
[390 - 392] pepper, cardamom, and salt.
[392 - 394] Then we'll pop our double-washed kale
[394 - 397] in a large bowl with oil and work it into the leaves.
[397 - 400] Next, we add grapefruit segments, radishes, parsley,
[400 - 402] and our vinaigrette and toss to combine.
[402 - 404] You can let this salad hang at room temperature
[404 - 407] for three hours or refrigerate for up to two days.
[407 - 408] When it's time to serve,
[408 - 411] we'll add candied pepitas for sweet, savory crunch.
[411 - 414] Mm mm mm, now that is a good salad.
[414 - 416] This salad is ideal for a party.
[416 - 418] Party of one.
[418 - 419] (playful music continues)
[419 - 420] That salad is great,
[420 - 424] but my top kale recipe is Annie Petito's roasted kale
[424 - 426] with garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon.
[426 - 428] Roasting is a surprisingly great way to cook
[428 - 429] these leafy greens.
[429 - 432] We simply combine oil, lemon zest, garlic,
[432 - 434] salt, and pepper flakes in a small bowl
[434 - 436] and then drizzle it over our kale.
[436 - 438] We'll gently knead and squeeze the kale
[438 - 440] until the leaves are evenly coated in the mixture
[440 - 442] and they've started to soften,
[442 - 443] which only takes about a minute.
[443 - 445] Now, quick sidebar, while we are massaging,
[445 - 447] I'm not worried about doing a post-rinse,
[447 - 448] because the kale is being cooked.
[448 - 451] That pungency mellows significantly with cooking.
[451 - 454] Now, we just roast the kale until the leaves are tender
[454 - 456] and some edges of leaves are crisp and brown.
[456 - 457] It takes 10 minutes.
[457 - 459] What makes this dish so special
[459 - 461] is that it features a huge variety of kale textures
[461 - 463] in one easy preparation.
[463 - 465] Leaves closer to the middle of the baking sheet
[465 - 467] are lusciously soft and tender,
[467 - 470] while at the edges, we have a mix of delicately crispy bites
[470 - 472] and sturdier crunchy bites.
[472 - 474] If you have never cooked kale this way,
[474 - 475] you have to give it a shot.
[475 - 476] It's a true crowd pleaser,
[476 - 478] as there is something for everyone.
[478 - 481] And honestly, it's great for a crowd of one.
[481 - 485] And that is why this is how to eat kale.
[485 - 489] (playful music continues)
[489 - 494] ♪ For kale that's nice you gotta rinse it twice ♪ Oh, hey.
[494 - 496] Thank you all so much for watching and listening.
[496 - 497] I hope that song is stuck in your head
[497 - 499] for the next 15 years.
[499 - 500] I know it will be in mine.
[500 - 502] Now, so here's what I wanna know from all of you.
[502 - 504] What is your dog's name and breed
[504 - 506] and which brassica does it look like?
[506 - 509] Now, I have a cat, so I'm not allowed to play.
[509 - 511] But I can enjoy this song.
[513 - 516] ♪ So you want your kale to taste really great ♪
[516 - 520] ♪ You gotta rinse away those isothiocyanates ♪
[520 - 524] ♪ For kale that's nice you gotta rinse it twice ♪