Collards have more nooks and crannys than most other cruciferous vegetables of which the leaves are consumed, so washing is super important. Sand, grit, dirt, dust, teeny critters - you name it - these big leaves trap it all.
I start with a big sink of cold water. I'm right handed so as each leaf is lifted after a soak to let the yukkies drop to the bottom of the sink, I grasp the stalk end with my right hand.
Then I place my left hand on top of my right hand in a fist and quickly zip it up to the top - big stem is all you have left in your right hand - quick and easy! The big pile of leaves are then stacked up and rolled into a "log o' leaves". With a sharp knife, cut the roll about every 1/2 " so that you have a mound of collard strips.
Here's where there are so many variations; all I can tell you is how we do ours - it serves 2 purposes. First, we take a big kettle of water and bring to the boil. We dump all the greens in for 2 minutes - no longer. This first step of blanching does two things. It allows us to take 1/2 the blanched batch and drain thoroughly in a colander, then lay out on a cookie sheet and freeze; then pack into ziploc bags for storage in the freezer. The remaining half has now been blanched just long enough to get a little extra of the bitter out.
The pot now gets, for every 2 lbs approx of greens, 2 cups of water, 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar, 4 pieces of raw bacon diced, 1 large onion diced and 2 T canola oil or butter. Bring this mixture to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes, then dump in the greens. Turn down to a gentle simmer, put the lid on and let cook for at least 1-2 hours. Several times during the cooking, lift the lid and stir in some hot sauce - we use McIlHenny's brand Tabasco.
It's really personal preference how long to cook your greens. I am always tasting as the lid is opened and it's so fun to watch the likker getting greener and more powerful. And NO - you don't 
lose all the nutrtional value just because you cook them. Plus, if you drink the likker afterwards, you get it all !
1 cup of cooked collards contain 49 calories, 4 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber. Vitamins abound - 1 cup of cooked collards provides 34 mg of vitamin C, 5900 IU's of vitamin A and 177 mcg of folic acid. As for minerals, 1 cup of cooked collards contain 226 mg of calcium, .87 mg of iron and 494 mg of potassium.
That's a whopping 1 cup of nutrition packed with great flavor and a fun way to start off the New Year. Hope y'all have some cornbread around to sop up the likker :)
Posted by jadajoy (from Newport News, VA) on November 29, 2007 at 7:25 AM:Really enjoyed the article! Thanks for the info on freezing. Now I can always have some on hand. And yes, Collards have the most nutritional value of all the veggies. It tops the list! Thanks again Dea!
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Posted by jordankittyjo (from Bessemer, AL) on November 29, 2007 at 8:23 AM:
great article! i learned a faster way to clean collards, and will try it. it usually takes me 2 hours to clean a mess
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Posted by Riverland (from Northeast, LA) on November 29, 2007 at 9:09 AM:
I really enjoyed this article too. I save and freeze the pot Likkar of a really good tasting batch . This helps make another batch that just doesn't have the flavor or a little bitter very tasty.
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Posted by LariAnn (from Miami, FL) on November 29, 2007 at 10:31 AM:
A fun article to read and make me hungry. Now, how can I do the greens without using the bacon (I'm a vegetarian)? Can't wait for THAT recipe!
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Posted by debnes_dfw_tx (from Fort Worth, TX) on November 29, 2007 at 10:34 AM:
Nicely written Dea!
You have a way with words, and an even better tooth for cooking!
You're so right about the cooking not loosing any nutritional value, in fact when greens are cooked they are much more nutritious than raw. My dad would say the likker is learropin, lol.
:-)
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Posted by jordankittyjo (from Bessemer, AL) on November 29, 2007 at 10:42 AM:
LariAnn, use lots of garlic, onions, and pepper, and tony's seasoning
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on November 29, 2007 at 10:51 AM:
Ya know what's making me chuckle? Look at all the comments so far - no Northerners - ha! They don't know what they're missing!
You're right on the money j-kittyjo on your advice for LariAnn :)
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Posted by jordankittyjo (from Bessemer, AL) on November 29, 2007 at 11:08 AM:
thanks Dea
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Posted by svplantingfool (from South Venice, FL) on November 29, 2007 at 11:53 AM:
Great article! As a transplanted Northerner, I grew up in MA, there's nothing I like better than a big ole pile of yummy greens! Thanks for the recipe.
Cathy
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Posted by victorgardener (from Lower Hudson Valley, NY) on November 29, 2007 at 1:26 PM:
Northerner here! I like them - not my favorite greens though. Good article!
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Posted by BronxBoy (from Lawrenceville, GA) on November 29, 2007 at 4:53 PM:
Great article Dea!
We fixed up a bunch so we could process them. Mrs Bronx made us both a cup of "likker".
It was GOOOOOOD!
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Posted by Clementine (from Chapel Hill, NC) on November 29, 2007 at 5:54 PM:
Great article on collards. I'd like to contribute my recipe, which is esp. good for vegetarians - i.e. no meat, bacon, etc. It is just slightly adapted from one of the Jane Brodie books:
Wash, clean, cut and blanch like Dea says.
Heat a little olive oil in a largish pan, add chopped garlic to taste, cook lightly.
Add the drained collards, toss around in the pan, then add some of the cooking water, about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup (the original recipe says to use chicken broth), add a little black pepper and cook, covered, for about 11-12 minutes. FINISHED.
I can imagine that most Southerners would find it undercooked, but if you can eat green beans, for instance, that are not cooked mushy, then you will like this too. I make this quite a bit. Sometimes I add a tiny pat of butter, DH adds vinegar. He is from Pennsylvania and I am also not a Southerner but wherever we go there are always good things to eat.
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Posted by Horseshoe (from Efland, NC) on November 29, 2007 at 5:56 PM:
Oh m'goo'ness!... I practically live off collards in the Winter!
I don't dare cook them 2 hours though but some varieties certainly need to be cooked longer than others. I prefer "cabbage collards" over all others and I pick them when fairly young so that has a lot to do with the cooking time I'm sure.
Good topic, Dea! I could go on and on about collards! Cook 'em with smoked ham hock, or salted fatback(!), or when I cook them so the veggie wife can eat them I omit any meat and add a cube or so of Knorr's vegetarian bouillon to the water (plus a pinch of red pepper flakes, salt). Yummy!
Fortunately where I live I don't have to freeze any, I get to grow them all Winter here! I bet you could, too, BB! Just harvest the lower leaves each time you want a batch and let the plant keep on growing!
Thanks, Dea!
Shoe (heading to the collard patch!)
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on November 29, 2007 at 6:03 PM:
Thanks Clementine!!
Shoe, I'm going to try that next season - we start them so early in late Feb, but have always feared the freezes we get here - sometimes just bitter for weeks in the single digits :(
I ate half a pot last Sunday and drank my likker instead of hot tea - slept like a baby :)
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Posted by ceeadsalaskazone3 (from Seward, AK) on November 29, 2007 at 8:25 PM:
Way North here, in Seward, Alaska and I make do with turnip greens, never been south, any comparision?
Carol
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on November 29, 2007 at 8:33 PM:
Howdy hi Carol! Never used just turnip greens - anyone else know the taste difference?
I will say something funny though - I don't wear make-up; just not my style :) So whenever I do make up a pot of greens and am tasting as I go, DH will always come by after I taste and gimme a nice kiss - he always says "mmmm, you're wearing 'slipstick' :)
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Posted by ceeadsalaskazone3 (from Seward, AK) on November 30, 2007 at 4:46 AM:
Hi Dea, sometimes I just go to the store and buy two packages of spinach and do that same recipe above, just wilting it down w/bacon bits and fresh garlic
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Posted by BronxBoy (from Lawrenceville, GA) on November 30, 2007 at 7:25 AM:
Turnips have a little bit more of a peppery taste to me. Other than that the cooking methods are the same. We like to add the roots to the pot. Same thing with rutabagas
For a real treat, my wife sometimes makes a mixed green pot using mustards, turnips, collards and kale.
Very good
BB
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Posted by jadajoy (from Newport News, VA) on November 30, 2007 at 9:42 AM:
I agree --turnips have a little more kick to them and my mom, who is from Georgia, mixed all the greens in one pot just like your wife does Bronxboy. BTW I lived in the Bronx also :-)
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Posted by debnes_dfw_tx (from Fort Worth, TX) on November 30, 2007 at 10:33 AM:
LOL slipstick Dea!
Another good recipe for greens.. I learned it from an Italian neighbor lady when I lived in NJ:
Garlic, Sun dried tomatoes, Olive Oil and any kind of greens.... She used Spinach. It cooks up in less than 15 minutes. (Spinach takes less time to cook.) With other greens ya might cook it an hour or two and add the garlic in the last 10 min.
Lovely side for any Pasta dish..
debnes
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Posted by BronxBoy (from Lawrenceville, GA) on November 30, 2007 at 10:42 AM:
Shoe:
We do keep a patch going through the winter. It seems the get sweeter with every frost.
Hi Jadajoy:
Hello to a native. I so miss NY pizza. I'm making a trip right after the new year.
BB
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Posted by jordankittyjo (from Bessemer, AL) on November 30, 2007 at 12:12 PM:
i have collards growing year long also. my favorite greens are beet greens and the rabbits ate them all.
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Posted by debnes_dfw_tx (from Fort Worth, TX) on November 30, 2007 at 2:49 PM:
I'll be there the week of 23-30 Dec..
Spending Christmas with MIL in Montclair about 30 min away from NYC.
:-S
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Posted by BronxBoy (from Lawrenceville, GA) on November 30, 2007 at 4:22 PM:
So we can call you a Joizie girl!
LOL
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on November 30, 2007 at 5:40 PM:
I still haven't eaten our beet greens yet - why haven't I thought of that? Thanks!!
BB - that mixed pot sounds wonderful :)
Have fun in the "City" deb!!
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Posted by debnes_dfw_tx (from Fort Worth, TX) on November 30, 2007 at 6:04 PM:
Thx Dea and BB!
Actually I'm a 3rd gen. Texan, lol... But I really love it up there and love the people dearly!
Still don't mind if you call me a Joisie girl, lol. Lived there 3 years and really kinda melted into the place...As a locksmith in Montclair I got to know so many wonderful people from NJ and NY up close and personal.
debnes
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Posted by BronxBoy (from Lawrenceville, GA) on November 30, 2007 at 6:54 PM:
Dea:
Do you ever can them?
I did last year and they were great. I was running our of room in the freezer.
BB
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on November 30, 2007 at 6:57 PM:
I wish I was more self confident in canning (jars) things that are naturally non-acidic. I can maters, but have not done greens - silly of me now, isn't it? They've got so much vinegar and hot sauce :)
Thanks BB for a reminder that I need to get over this silliness and put up a mess :)
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Posted by BronxBoy (from Lawrenceville, GA) on November 30, 2007 at 7:01 PM:
Well we are still newbies.
Last year we just blanched them and put them in the jar. They only problem we had was that it seem to soak up all of the water. But they were fine when we ate them
This year, we prepared them as if we were preparing them for the table, meat and all. And then we pressure canned them under 15PSI for about 20 minutes. They look very, very nice.
BB
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Posted by debnes_dfw_tx (from Fort Worth, TX) on November 30, 2007 at 7:08 PM:
Gotta love those pressure cookers.
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on November 30, 2007 at 7:11 PM:
Ours gets a great workout at least once a week :) Not for canning greens, but for lovely kosher chickens :)
This spring, we shall try this BB and thanks!!
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Posted by debnes_dfw_tx (from Fort Worth, TX) on November 30, 2007 at 7:22 PM:
Magnes (dh) is of the Kosher persuasion, so I learned how to kosher... It's a delicious way to cook!
You'll have to share that recipe.
:-)
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Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on December 2, 2007 at 12:37 PM:
I've never rinsed greens by your method. It sure sounds easier than how I've done them in the past. If you're not going to cook greens right away, how do you store them once rinsed?
| Quoted: |
| Ours gets a great workout at least once a week :) Not for canning greens, but for lovely kosher chickens :) |
Oh, that chicken is so good! That was the aroma that greeted us that Sunday evening we showed up at Dea's doorstep back when Howie and I stayed at her house during the time we were in Maryland for his back surgery. She uses the chicken for various things over the next several days. It's a great way to have good meat at the ready....
Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on December 2, 2007 at 12:43 PM:
We just blanch them, lay them on a sheet tray to dry, then put them in the freezer in ziploc bags.
LOL - and that de-fatted broth from the chickens then became a nice batch of "liquid love" for Howie the day he couldn't eat before surgery :) What a miracle that surgery was!!
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Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on December 2, 2007 at 4:14 PM:
And how.
Can you freeze them without blanching them first? What does blanching do, exactly?
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on December 2, 2007 at 6:35 PM:
In this case, it helps the greens to keep their "green" bright color and stops the chlorophyll from leaching out. It also gives me a head start on the cooking process when I'm ready :)
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Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on December 3, 2007 at 2:51 AM:
So that's how to keep their color. I never knew that. And I never thought about drinking the likker, either. You'd definitely reap the benefits of your greens by drinking that.
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