DougL

Just a basic stir fry of the collards leaves them quite tender. I don't associate "long cooking" with collards at all. Unless maybe you're trying to render the thick central stem more edible? But virtually all recipes for collards call for that stem to be trimmed away. I don't think anyone is suggesting that collards originated in the southern U.S. They were brought over from Europe. But I'm wondering what other vegetables are a local "staple" that actually grow better somewhere else.

Well, let's just say that collards are considered a southern *staple*. Look it up. Not so in the north. We actually don't use them mixed with meats, as southern cuisine would have them. They are great stir fried in some oil, ending up a lot like more tasty spinach. Put some ginger and or garlic in too. We also use them routinely as a salad green, though they are much more nutritious than most lettuce. In fact, their nutritional value is comparable in many respects to kale but, in my mind, they taste less bitter. Though they both grow well in cold weather, it's true that kale is a bit more freeze hardy, and collards are more accepting of some warmth. I just find it surprising that such a good vegetable is considered "southern" as in, it doesn't really belong in the mouths of northerners except those who want to "go southern". It sounds, however, like collards are indeed successfully moving north in some areas.

Thank you all. Fascinating. Interesting that you can get them in Canada. I was in Portland and Seattle and never saw them there. They are in every single supermarket in Texas though. Yes, it makes sense that they came to the New World with slaves, but it's a bit odd that their use hasn't migrated northward. As I said, they grow wonderfully in cold climates and, in fact, they'll go to seed pretty quickly when the weather warms up. Then again they may have a reputation connected to southern slavery, and perhaps as a poor man's vegetable, which may make them culturally unfavored up north.

I'm growing collards in my (southern) garden for the first time, and they are wonderful. My question is a simple one. Why are collards considered "southern" food? As it turns out, collards in the garden are highly frost tolerant, so they'd grow well at higher latitudes. I believe that collards are certainly a Latin American food, but it appears that they are also enjoyed many places in Europe and at least western Asia. I guess prepped with bacon fat, they might have a southern flavor, but let's face it. They cook like spinach, kale, and other greens. They're wonderful in vegetable soup and stir fried. But not only are collards considered "southern" for some reason, you largely won't find them in any northern supermarket, and northerners are pretty clueless about the stuff. Any collard historians out there?