this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2023
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I would have to go with turnips. Incredibly versatile and nutritious root, plus delicious greens to fry up

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (7 children)

People say they hate cabbage all the time, but cabbage is really great. You can make slaw with it, you can ferment it into sauerkraut or kimchi, you can steam it for a side or to put in a sandwich, you can add it to any kind of filling or stuffing, or you can roll other stuff inside it, you can boil it in a soup, it gives a great flavor to vegetable broth, it's really nutritious and it keeps for much longer than other leafy greens.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Seems weird to me to hate cabbage, but I suppose there is a certain association with certain very bland cooking? Idk.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I garnered a very low opinion of pretty much all vegetables during childhood that persisted well into adulthood, because I grew up in a household that only ever prepared them one of two ways: raw, or boiled.

Doesn't matter what it was. Carrots, peas, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, green beans... the two exceptions being onions (which may have been fried on occasion) or potatoes (which culinarily aren't in the same category). If it was boiled, there'd be a half-assed attempt to make it taste like something again by melting a knob of butter on it and salting it. That's it.

When that's the extent of your culinary range, cabbage has no reason to enter the house, so for us it never did. We just assumed it would be shit if you prepared it that way. And we were probably right. Boiled cabbage is what the poor Bucket family was said to have eaten every day in Willy Wonka. Doesn't paint a glamorous picture.

I'm only just now coming around to the concept of vegetables tasting good when you, like, y'know, actually cook them well. Haven't given cabbage a fair shake yet, though.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I used to hate cabbage because my father boiled the crap out of it with corned beef every St. Patrick's Day. Disgusting.

Then I discovered stir fry, okonomiyaki, kimchi. Now it's a favorite.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Cabbage boiled with corn beef sounds legit amazing. Is that an Irish thing?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Irish-American, yeah.

Maybe it'd be better if it wasn't boiled into a limp mess. πŸ™„

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I’ve become a cabbage hater. Cabbage soup smells like cabbage farts and it actually makes me gag.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I love most vegetables, but cabbage isn't one of them. I don't like any of the things you just mentioned.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

If you haven’t tried cabbage and ham pie, you should. It’s the Irish cousin of shepherds pie and it’s incredible.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Raw cabbage is also super interesting as an ingredient, it's actually spicy as fuck.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I quite like Brussels sprouts.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Since the late 90's Brussel Sprouts no longer taste bitter/bad. Some Dutch food scientists were able to isolate the bitter tasting chemical, find older variations of Brussel sprouts that had less of it, cross pollinate it with higher yield variations, and remove the bad taste.

That version is pretty much the only one you'll find to buy anywhere.

So basically it's everyone who had Brussels Sprouts pre 1999 who really universally hated them. The youngins never knew they used to taste like shit, and the old timers haven't tried them in over 25 years because they don't know they no longer taste like shit.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Brussel sprouts. Lots of people hate them because they got them overcooked as children but they are so pretty and so delicious if prepared properly.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Fun fact: Brussel sprouts taste better now because the bitterness was intentionally selectively bred out of them in the '90s. They were, apparently, only bitter for a period of time because the ones that were easiest to mechanically harvest were bitter. Pre-mechanical harvesting, less bitter varieties were more popular.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/do-brussels-sprouts-taste-better-now-yes-here-s-why-01ghed9q8dr8

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Dang. That answers a question I didn't even know how to ask. Thanks!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Went to a friend's house one day, she put salt and pepper on a tray of brussel sprouts, put in broiler for a short time. Changed my mind forever, delicious.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

My dad used to sautee them with bits of bacon or prosciutto. I don't eat pork anymore, but god damn do I miss those Brussels sprouts.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Oh man cauliflower. I used to think cauliflower was broccoli's ugly sister but no way. Cauliflower is cheap, easy to grow, nutritious, and versatile.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Thanks for reminding me there’s half in my fridge I forgot about. I don’t think it’s too late!

Actually on that, a good veg needs to last long in the fridge. Cauliflower hits that brief.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I like beets for the same reason, but cabbage is underrated in its versatility. I'm making Romanian sarmale tomorrow with pork/beef/rice cabbage rolls: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/sarmale/ . Much better than dolmas and the cabbage adds so much body and flavour to the dish.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I had never really used cabbage to wrap things. Thanks for the tip and idea

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

As a couch potato, I agree

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I appreciate your enjoyment of turnips, but those ain't got shit on parsnips. Parsnips are amazing!

If you want a treat, mash chopped and boiled parsnips and carrots together for Thanksgiving instead of potatoes.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Parsnips are the devil's carrot. I have hated them with a passion since childhood.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So I read why they dropped out of popularity in Southern Europe following the arrival of the potato. It's because to be actually tasty and sweet, the parsnip plant needs to be hit by a hard frost - which presumably just doesn't happen in Southern Europe, and is probably why I can't very tasty parsnips these days in England - because we get fewer hard frosts.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Ah, as someone from New England and then Canada, I've certainly had frosty parsnips.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I was with you until you did potatoes dirty.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

I feel like most of them. People hate on broccoli, but I think it's amazing. Zucchini is one of my favorites.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Moringa leaves. The tree's hardy and ecologically sustainable. The drumstick fruits and the pods are edible but the leaves are the most nutritious. It also has the highest protein among leafy greens.

In south and south east asia, we consider it medicinal. But actually, it's just nutritious. We feed them in soup form to malnourished people and nursing mothers.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Spinach. Its amazing. Kale same deal. Its all in how its prepared.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Courgettes / zucchini I can eat them raw, shredded, souped, fried, the lot

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

And you can have them for free in Canada when the season is right. Seriously, there's jokes about people only locking their door to keep unwanted zucchinis out.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wish I liked them. They seem so useful and plentiful, but they taste so utterly interesting to me. Yes, if they are slathered in oil and perfectly grilled and seasoned, they are fine. But then again what isn't.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

That’s a fair point. All veggies are good when oiled and grilled

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Are they underrated though. Most people seem to like them

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Green beans. My wife keeps growing different kinds of beans and I find myself yearning for the perfect green pods. Scarlet Runner was surprisingly fantastic last year, eaten green. This year she grew Yard Long beans and those were wonderful too.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Celery. Chop it up finely and add to sauces and stews; great in bolognaise for added umami flavour.

Also carrots, cooked and blended into sauces and gravy, adds sweetness. And don’t forget carrot cake, which surprisingly does not taste of carrots, but they give it a real moistness.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Jicama is delicious cut up into little strips and eaten raw. Never cooked with it though

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I found some jicama sliced thin like a corn tortilla at Trader Joe’s. They’re surprisingly good for many things. They’d be an awesome basis for a canapΓ©.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Bitter melon. Love the stuff. Stir fry with burned garlic and oyster sauce.

Betel leaves too. Stir fry them with beef slices and black pepper, and maybe some sauce.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Shallots. It’s an onion-garlic but tastes better.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Rutabaga! Buttery and delicious. I can't understand why people don't like it.

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