With so many varieties of organic leafy greens coming from our local farmers each week, it can be challenging to figure out which is which. After all, they are all green and leafy!
At a glance many greens may appear quite similar; in reality they're each unique. To help you celebrate these special greens in all their delicious, nutritious glory, we've put together this quick visual guide to help you identify the common greens in your produce box.
Quick Leafy Green Terminology:
- Spine: the large stem that runs through the center of the greens
- Rib: small stems that come off of the spines and run through the leaves
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- Many recipes call for the greens to be "stemmed". This means to remove the thick spine, in general the ribs are more tender and can be readily eaten. The easiest way to do this is to fold the leaf in half along the spine and use a sharp knife to remove the spine. In the case of chard the stems can be cut into 1-2" lengths and cooked in boiling salted water and then added to the preparation for the leaves.
Curly Kale
Light green spines and ribs with rough, curly leaves.
Red or Russian Red Kale
Purple spines and ribs with flat, green leaves that protrude like fingers.
Lacinato or Dinosaur Kale
Off-white spines and ribs with slender, bumpy leaves.
Click here for kale storage tips and recipes!
Light green spines and ribs with large, broad leaves.
Click here for collard greens storage tips and recipes!
Green Chard
Light green spines with small tender ribs and large paddle-shaped leaves.
Red Chard
Red spines and tender red ribs with dark green paddle-shaped leaves.
Rainbow Chard
Multicolored spines and ribs with dark green paddle-shaped leaves.
Click here for chard storage tips and recipes!
Long, slender spines with quill-like leaves, usually packed in small bunches.
Click here for arugula storage tips and recipes!
We hope this guide will help you differentiate between the many greens that we get from our farm partners throughout the year.
Don't forget - if you're ever stumped, you can always snap a picture and send it to our leafy green experts at service@bostonorganics.com, and we'll help you out!