I’m making collard greens for New Year’s Day. My wife unexpectedly bought some yesterday. They’re in the plastic produce bag, unrefrigerated. (Not much room in the fridge right now.)
Would there be any problem if I de-stemmed them and cut them now, washed them, and then put them in a zip-top bag in the fridge until Wednesday? Will they keep?
Who knows how long ago they were picked? It’s probably best to leave them intact until you’re ready to cook them.
Signed, a fellow collard green lover.
Agreed. Keep them dry and out of the light, and intact until it’s time to cook them.
What are collard greens, please? Do you eat them with grits?
signed Puzzled Canuck
Related to kale. Larger and heavier leaves and stems. Milder flavor than kale. Traditionally cooked with some smoked pork. Takes much more time to cook than kale. Right thinkin’ folks strip out the stems.
No, you don’t usually eat grits with collard greens. Grits are a breakfast food, collard greens are for dinner or supper.
Getting back to OP’s question: Can’t you just put them in an unheated garage in place of a fridge? That’s my go-to in the winter when the fridge is full.
I parboil them if we’re gonna cook a big pot.
Stem, chop, salt. Cover with water and barely cook.
Let cool and put in stand up zip lock bags. Freezer or 0° refridge.
Then thaw, boil til very tender with hog meat.
My grocery store often sells collard greens already stemmed and washed in big sealed plastic bags. It’s very convenient, since I’ve also bought whole collard greens and done the triple-wash and destemming, and it’s a lot of work.
So you probably could get away with doing it beforehand if you dry it very well, though I have no idea what the company selling the stemmed and washed collard greens does to keep it shelf-stable. Hopefully they don’t preserve it with a bunch of potassium benzoate or something- I’ll have to check out the ingredient list next time I see it in the store.
I would imagine that’s ok, so long as they don’t freeze, and they’re relatively cold. I imagine (haven’t actually tried it), that you could do the herb trick and cut the ends of the stems off and put the stalks in water and hydrate them that way as well.
Here’s a good recipe from someone who knows what he’s talking about:
Yeah, that’s what I would do. Cook them now plain and freeze them. Continue your cooking with the meat and spices when you need them later. It’s not like you’re looking to preserve a crunchy texture or anything. All the collard greens I’ve ever had have been quite tender.
That’s close to how I make mine, but cooking the greens dry and relying on them to cook out all of their own liquid to make the ‘pot liquor’ seems wrong. Is that how any of you do it? I add a little bit of good chicken stock or bone broth to the pot when starting out. Am I just diluting the ‘pot liquor’ by doing that?
And red wine vinegar, I dunno, might be good, but I always use apple cider vinegar.
Bagged produce is packaged in nitrogen. That’s why it keeps as long as it does, until the package is opened.
My in-laws here in NC have three different types of greens at big family dinners: collards, turnip, and mustard. (And I mean that they are all present on the same table, not at different dinners.)
My people!
I’m surprised they didn’t combine them into one dish–you can even get mixed greens in can (Glory brand)
We’re not cooking a NY dinner this year, so if the one we’re attending isn’t sufficiently symbolic, I’ll whip up a dish of greens, black-eyed peas, and ham for our next meal.
Not even related to, two different varieties of the same plant species. Like how chihuahuas are just wolves. Broccoli and cauliflower and Brussels sprouts are the same too.
You’d better! I didn’t make black-eyed peas and collard greens in 2020, and look what happened.
As I posted then:
You’ve convinced me.
Right. That’s what related means.
