Kale Time: When Is Kale In Season?

Kale is not only very tasty, but it is also full of healthy ingredients. It is therefore worth planting it in your own garden. In the following text, you will find out when it is in season, which variants you can buy in the supermarket and how to store it correctly.

Kale season

When it gets colder outside, kale is in season. While many other types of cabbage are best harvested before the cold weather sets in, kale is in no hurry. Rather, he insists on getting the first frost outside. He is almost impervious to the cold, in fact, he needs it. Only through the frost does it get its typical sweetish taste. If harvested too early, it can taste bitter. In addition, the low temperatures help the green cabbage to become more digestible. So you won’t go wrong if you wait until November to harvest. Depending on when we have the first frost, it can be as early as the end of October. In order to time the harvest well, sowing should be done by June. The season in the garden for kale is therefore from the end of October to the end of December.

Harvest Right

Yes, actually you should know one thing when harvesting: Kale is a biennial. If you have grown it in your garden, it is advisable not to remove it completely from the ground after the first year. Rather, it makes sense to pick off the leaves of the cabbage from the outside inwards. The advantage of this is that the outer leaf layer grows back and you can use it for longer. During kale season, you can always prepare fresh kale. What’s better? In the second year, the kale begins to flower. Although its time as a useful plant is then over, it will bring you joy in a different way with its yellow flowers. In the spring, however, you should harvest it completely and, ideally, compost it.

Kale time in the supermarket

The green cabbage is available in the supermarket around the corner

• packed loosely
• frozen
• or in the glass

to buy. You can often find fresh cabbage loose in bags directly in the fruit and vegetable department. Don’t be surprised by these huge bags! Kale collapses as it cooks, leaving not much of it at the end, similar to spinach. This fresh kale is available in supermarkets during the kale season, i.e. between September and early March. Frozen, it still contains most of the nutrients and is often already chopped. This saves your work. In addition, it is easier to portion. You have the least work with it in the glass, since it is already seasoned. Unfortunately, this cabbage in the jar contains the fewest nutrients because it has been heated several times.

Storage made easy

It is best to store fresh kale in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator. It can be kept there for up to a week.

A little tip: put a damp cloth over it to extend the shelf life by a few days. If you want to use it later, you can easily freeze it. Note the following procedure:

1. Wash cabbage thoroughly
2. Remove leaves from the stem
3. blanch briefly
4. rinse in a bowl of cold water
5. Drain
6. place in a freezer-safe container
7. freeze

Kale in a jar has a very long shelf life. Once opened, you should put it in the fridge and use it up completely after three days.