Collard is a group of loose-leafed of Brassica oleracea (the same species as many common vegetables like cabbage and broccoli). Part of the acephala group (or kale group), collard is also classified as the variety B. oleracea var. viridis.
The plants are grown as a food crop for their large, dark-green, edible leaves, which are cooked and eaten as vegetables. Collard greens have been cultivated as food since classical antiquity.
Nomenclature
The term
colewort is a medieval term for non-heading brassica crops.
The term collard has been used to include many non-heading Brassica oleracea crops. While American collards are best placed in the Viridis crop group,
In Africa, it is known as sukuma (East Africa), muriwo or umBhida (Southern Africa). In Kashmir, it is known as haakh (Kashmiri cuisine).
Description
The plant is a
Biennial plant where winter frost occurs; some varieties may be
Perennial plant in warmer regions. It has an upright stalk, often growing over two feet tall and up to six feet for the Portuguese cultivars. Popular cultivars of collard greens include 'Georgia Southern', 'Vates', 'Morris Heading', 'Blue Max', 'Top Bunch', 'Butter Collard' (
couve manteiga),
couve tronchuda, and
Groninger Blauw.
Taxonomy
Collard is generally described as part of the
Acephala group (
kale) cultivar group,
but is also classified as the variety
B. oleracea var.
viridis.
Cultivation
The plant is commercially cultivated for its thick, slightly bitter, edible leaves. They are available year-round, but are tastier and more nutritious in the cold months, after the first frost. For best texture, the leaves are picked before they reach their maximum size, at which stage they are thicker and are cooked differently from the new leaves. Age does not affect flavor.
Flavor and texture also depend on the cultivar; the couve manteiga and couve tronchuda are especially appreciated in Brazil and Portugal. The large number of varieties grown in the United States decreased as people moved to towns after World War II, leaving only five varieties commonly in cultivation. However, seeds of many varieties remained in use by individual farmers, growers and seed savers as well as within U.S. government seed collections.
Pests
The sting nematode,
Belonolaimus gracilis and the
Dolichodorus,
Dolichodorus spp. are both
that can injure collard. Root symptoms include stubby or coarse roots that are dark at the tips. Shoot symptoms include stunted growth, premature wilting, and
chlorosis (Nguyen and Smart, 1975). Another species of the sting worm,
Belonolaimus longicaudatus, is a pest of collards in Georgia and North Carolina (Robbins and Barker, 1973).
B. longicaudatus is devastating to seedlings and transplants. As few as three nematodes per of soil when transplanting can cause significant yield losses on susceptible plants. They are most common in sandy soils (Noling, 2012).
The stubby root nematodes Trichodorus and Paratrichodorus attach and feed near the tip of collard's taproots. The damage caused prevents proper root elongation leading to tight mats that could appear swollen, therefore resulting in a "stubby root" (Noling, 2012).
Several species of the root knot nematode Meloidogyne spp. infest collards. These include: M. javanica, M. incognita and M. arenaria. Second-stage juveniles attack the plant and settle in the roots. However, infestation seems to occur at lower populations compared to other cruciferous plants. Root symptoms include deformation (galls) and injury that prevent proper water and nutrient uptake. This could eventually lead to stunting, wilting and chlorosis of the shoots.[Crow and Dunn, 2012.]
The false root knot nematode Nacobbus aberrans has a wide host range of up to 84 species including many weeds. On Brassicas it has been reported in several states, including Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Kansas (Manzanilla-López et al., 2002). As a pest of collards, the degree of damage is dependent upon the nematode population in the soil.
Some collard cultivars exhibit resistance to bacterial leaf blight incited by Pseudomonas cannabina pv. alisalensis ( Pca).
Uses
Nutrition
Raw collard greens are 90% water, 6%
, 3%
protein, and contain negligible
fat (table). Like kale, collard greens contain substantial amounts of
vitamin K (339% of the
Daily Value, DV) in a serving. Collard greens are rich sources (20% or more of DV) of
vitamin A,
vitamin C, and
manganese, and moderate sources of
calcium and vitamin B6.
A reference serving of cooked collard greens provides of
food energy.
Culinary
East Africa
Collard greens are known as
sukuma wiki in
Swahilli and are one of the most common vegetables in East Africa.
is mainly lightly sauteed in oil until tender, flavoured with onions and seasoned with salt, and served either as the main dish or as a side dish with meat or fish. In Congo, Tanzania and Kenya (East Africa), thinly sliced collard greens are the main components of a popular dish known as
sima or
ugali (made with maize flour).
Southern and Eastern Europe
Collards have been cultivated in Europe for thousands of years with references to the
Ancient Greece and
Ancient Rome back to the 1st century
Common Era.
In
Montenegro,
Dalmatia and
Herzegovina, collard greens, locally known as
raštika or
raštan, were traditionally one of the staple vegetables. It is particularly popular in the winter, stewed with smoked mutton (
kaštradina) or cured pork, root vegetables and potatoes.
[Liliana Pavicic and Gordana Pirker-Mosher ] Known in Turkey as
kara lahana ("dark cabbage"), it is a staple in the Black Sea area. It is also an essential ingredient in many Spanish soups and stews, like the pote asturiano, from the Asturian province.
United States
Collard greens are a
Staple food vegetable in Southern U.S. cuisine.
During the time of slavery in the U.S., collards were one of the most common plants grown in kitchen gardens and were used to supplement the rations provided by plantation owners.
Broadly, collard greens symbolize Southern culture and African-American culture and identity. For example, jazz composer and pianist, Thelonious Monk, sported a collard leaf in his lapel to represent his African-American heritage.
Many explorers in the late nineteenth century wrote about the pervasiveness of collards in Southern cooking particularly among black Americans. In 1869, Hyacinth, a traveler during the Civil War, for example, observed that collards could be found anywhere in the south.
Brazil and Portugal
In Portuguese and Brazilian cuisine, collard greens (or couve) are a common accompaniment to fish and meat dishes. They make up a standard side dish for feijoada, a popular pork and beans-style stew.
Thinly-sliced collard greens are also a main ingredient of a popular Portuguese soup, the caldo verde ("green broth"). For this broth, the leaves are sliced into strips, wide (sometimes by a grocer or market vendor using a special hand-cranked slicer) and added to the other ingredients 15 minutes before it is served.
Kashmir Valley
In Kashmir,
Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, collard greens are known as umbhida in Ndebele and muriwo in Shona. Due to the climate, the plant thrives under almost all conditions, with most people growing it in their gardens.
In literature
Collard greens are often mentioned in literature from the American South. William Faulkner mentions collard greens as part of a Southern meal in his novel Intruder In the Dust. Walker Percy mentions collard greens in his 1983 short story "The Last Donohue Show." Collards appear in Clyde Edgerton's novel Lunch at the Piccadilly. In the novel Gone With the Wind, hungry protagonist Scarlett O'Hara wistfully remembers a pre-Civil War meal that included "collards swimming richly in pot liquor iridescent with grease."
See also
External links
