Different tastes, I guess. I love the stuff - spinach, too, prepared the way you say you did it.

Sherry

I lvoe the stuff too, not just the swiss chard but beet greens, spinach, any tender green. I will admit that kale is a little bitter, as are mustard greens, so I like kale or mustard in soup better than I do sauteed.

I usually add some onion when I'm doing the saute and I leave the vinegar off at the end, although Elery likes the vinegar addition. I really like the addition of bacon too, but it's not nearly as healthy as the olive oil is, of course.

I've also found that I like just a pinch of sugar with collards, but those I cook for a long time to get them tender, I don't saute them.

Annie

IMHO....kale is best used as a garnish....but I love sauteed other greens...Swissa chard, spinach and baby beet greens..and even the baby beets too.
Lina C

Which ones are bitter? I haven't tried any but spinach, which is not bitter at all. THAT I could eat in any form. I'm trying to eat more green stuff, but there is a limit to how many salads I can eat. I see a lot of greens in the store, but having no idea how to cook them, never have tried.

IMHO, kale is best simmered with some ham & potatoes, all cut into bite sized pieces, and served in a shallow bowl.
I could eat my weight in that!

Mustard greens need ALL the veins removed. Not just the main center one, but those that branch out into the leaf, too. Also, larger leaves have a tendency to be more bitter, smaller is better. Removing all the veins leaves a kind of 'spicy' flavor. Delicious!

Rusty

I love turnip greens cooked with some bacon, sugar, garlic, a bit of vinegar. But spinach I like only just wilted otherwise it gets mushy.

Just add a little fish sauce (Asian), and a few drops of sesame oil. You will find any veggie very delectable.

dcarch

I live in an area with a huge Italian population. "Greens" are very popular here and they are made with escarole -- sauteed w/ olive oil & garlic. They're great with white beans too, or turned into "greens & beans" soup with broth and perhaps some pasta. The ultimate is greens w/ prosciutto (or ham) and hot peppers (usually pickled hot cherry peppers). Serve with a nice balsamic vinegar and I'm in heaven. :)

btw, in restaurants here, they'll mix the cooked greens w/ proscuitto & hot peppers, then top with bread crumbs and parm. cheese and toss under the broiler for just a bit. I prefer mine without the breadcrumbs so forgot to mention it. :)

^^^ when I read party_music50's post, I thought 'they must be from central NY' :~) That's how I learned to love my greens too.

I didn't like any of them until I was in my 30's, but now love spinach, kale and chard. Don't much care fro the vinegar most people add to them, though. Still can't handle turnip, beet, mustard greens or collards. Too stringy and bitter for me. I think it's not ataste for everyone.

The thick heavy leaves of stuff like kale, collard greens, etc. are not fit to eat when just sauted. In my opinion, you might as well just go pull it out of the ground and eat.

I only eat the collard greens, cooked for at least an hour, with bacon/ham, onion, red pepper flakes, vinegar, a little sugar and chicken broth.

I think the reason I hate kale is because I ate it served virtually raw. Nasty!

Spinach I'm not crazy about except cooked in quiches, etc.

Some green leafy vegetables like collards, turnip greens and Kale in particular are far too "mature" when picked to send to the market. This is how they get the most bang for their buck. I always try to get these items at a farmers market where people know to pick them when they are very young and small. It makes all the difference in the world in both the taste and texture. The Kale in our markets here is so tough and has such an off taste because of the size of the leaves that I quit buying it altogether.

I agree, Beverly, nice young collards are tender and sweet, they are much tougher when they are older. I never liked collards until I grew them myself and picked them small.

Kale is just too bitter, even when young, for my taste, except in that white bean and kale soup Elery makes.

Annie

Yes, homegrown greens are entirely different from store bought. Collards keep only a couple of days after picking, but when they're fresh, they're as sweet as can be imagined. When the commonly available types of chard get too big, they get too tough, IMO. I saute all my greens, unless they're going into a dish like Portuguese Kale Soup (which I make with chorizo since linguica is not available around here--hard enough to find chorizo). Mark Bittman has a small cookbook on leafy greens that I got many years ago when I realized that not only are greens about the healthiest thing you can eat, they're really easy to grow. I love that cookbook because it taught me to really love greens.

Greens, greens, greens!! How I love greens!

I love them barely sauteed, cooked to mush,julienned raw in salads and every thing in between. Cooked with garlic, with bacon, with onions, with lemon. With vinegar for a side, in a mushroom "demi-glace" over polenta as a main dish, with beans or tofu in soup.

I love the young tender ones and the old, stringy ones...I just prepare them in different ways.

I have been in love with greens ever since my mother first brought fresh spinach home to serve for dinner in lieu of the canned that both my brother and I loathed.

Spinach, kale, mustard, turnip, beet, chard, dandelion, purslane, radish, celery leaves,lettuces and a number of Asian greens I don't know the names for in English.

Being that I'm such a fan, it's difficult for me to understand how some people don't care for them. But, there are folks who adore Chinese bitter squash even though I stand ready to obey without question (and with relief) the angel from on high who makes a special trip Earthwards to warn me against ever eating it again!

All leafy green vegetables contain some oxalic acid, which contributes to the bitterness. Younger leaves have less than older, larger leaves. And of course, some plants have more or less than others.

If you find a green leafy vegetable that is too bitter for your taste, try adding it to a stirfry. Honestly, you won't notice the bitterness at all - but they're still full of the goodies.

Of course, you can always cheat! I don't have a problem adding a pinch or two of sugar when cooking spinach, for instance (much as many people do with tomatoes); or you can stir in a little honey just before serving! If serving raw, use a sweeter dressing.

It's useful to remember that our modern palates are accustomed to sweetness. Back in the days when sugar wasn't readily available, people ate a lot more bitter herbs without blinking their eyes at it. With the best will in the world, I couldn't describe sorrel, or dandelion (for instance) as 'sweet', and the original lettuce was as bitter as gall. That's the reason many of these vegetables were called 'potherbs' - the longer they cook in a stew, the less bitter they become, and there are many other flavours in a stew/soup to drown the bitterness.

Some Asian greens (note: Anglicised spellings differ considerably!):

Bok Choy (choi) and Pak Choy (Chinese cabbage or spoon cabbage or Chinese flat cabbage, or Chinese celery) are basically the same plant. Bok Choy has a white stem, and pak choy has a green stem. Bok choy is bigger.

Mizuna - Japanese mustard, Kyona.

Choy Sum is Chinese Silverbeet or Chinese flowering cabbage.

Gay (gai) Choy is an Asian mustard.

Kang Kong (water spinach, swamp cabbage)

Daikon radish (white radish)

Chai Qua: Hairy melon, fuzzy gourd, Chinese preserving melon, wax gourd, moa qua ("hairy gourd")

Kai-lan (Chinese broccoli, Chinese Kale)

Tatsoi (flat cabbage)

Sang Choy (Chinese lettuce)

Yeen choy (Amaranth, Chinese spinach)

Mitsuna (Mizuna, Mibuna, Japanese greens, Japanese mustard, Spider Mustard)

Pak Khad Kow (Napa Cabbage, Celery Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage)

Wonga Bok (Chinese Cabbage)

Here is a link that might be useful: Asian greens

I have to agree with marys1000, other than spinach, I'm not impressed with greens, no matter how they are done. I've tried them all. There are plenty of other wonderful veggies that I love (and a few others I don't), so I don't feel deprived.

Thanks for the name list, Daisy. I know what to buy when I go to the Chinese market (and how to cook them) but I only know the Asian words for them. Oh boy, now I'm craving Chinese mustard green soup, jeepers we need an Asian market here in town.

Rachelellen, I thought I was the only person here that actually ate purslane. I also eat Lamb's Quarter, I figure if it's going to grow in my garden, I'm going to at least TRY to eat it, LOL.

I didn't like greens at all until I was well into my adult life, when I started experimenting I found that not all greens were cooked into oblivion and topped with vinegar. I don't mind them cooked for as long as you care to cook them, but I don't want the vinegar.

I haven't really learned to like dandelion greens either, in spite of the fact that Grandma gathered them every spring (only the young, tender ones) and made us eat them.

Annie

I'm not a kale fan. I find it tasteless. Since I love all things Italian I have tried to develop a taste for it, I make soup the way PartyMusic50 describes, but still, it's "Meh" for me.
Other greens I love. I like them with butter and salt, or as "beans and greens" which for me includes a tomato sauce, which takes the place of the vinegar in the traditional way of fixing them. I also like them in creamy type things like quiche or with a sauce. Collards don't ring my bell either. Mustard OK, beet greens I LOVE, chard I like. Do not like escarole. That I find bitter but I have only had it raw. I'll have to try cooking it next time. But it is pricey whenever I do manage to find it. I like spinach and eat it all the time, but usually mixed with somthing. It's OK plain but it adds such a kick to other things that's what I do with it most of the time. I would only eat spinach cooked if I started with it raw and washed and cut it myself. My favorite way to eat spinach is in a greek phyllo pie with feta filling.

Lacy, there is a company out of New Bedford that will ship chourico (regular, mild, and extra hot) and linguica. DH's family has been ordering from them for decades.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gaspar's Portuguese sausages

I like most greens, but not equally. I make sautéed spinach very frequently and use it in omelets (like this morning) and also with mushrooms and a velouté sauce for pasta.

I haven't had much experience with kale, and I don't especially like escarole, but I love collard greens sautéed in olive oil with garlic. Young ones are definitely better, and it's also best not to overcook them. I sauté collard greens for no more than 10 minutes - any longer and they become bitter. I also like mustard greens and turnip greens, which I had frequently as a child. I don't know if I've ever had chard, and so I don't know how to cook it.

Last night I made a Chinese noodle soup with bok choy and poached chicken. I generally don't put vinegar with greens, but I did add a bit of black rice vinegar to the soup.

Lars

I tried kale for the first time today, stems removed, chopped roughly, then sauteed in olive oil with garlic and onions, dash of balsamic, then simmered another twenty minutes or so with tomatoes, tomato sauce and mushrooms (served with pasta and italian sausage). I tasted the kale before adding the tomatoes, and it was good. But I think spinach has more flavor when I put it into pasta sauce.

I love collards, and turnip & mustard greens have grown on me lately. But I only like those cooked southern style (i.e., at least an hour, preferably longer, with smoked turkey or hamhock to season the broth). I think that gives greens a totally different taste than the saute method.

I'm not a fan of regular kale, but lacinato kale (also called dino kale) tastes lovely - it isn't bitter. I like to squeeze a bit of lemon or lime juice on my greens after cooking.

beanthere dunthat, thank you so much for the sausage link!

And I too eat purslane--all summer long in salads. It's extremely high in Omega 3's (the reason we are told to eat fish and take fish oil), so extremely healthy. And with a nice citrusy taste, I think.

Got all in a sweat after thinking about Chinese greens and tempted my husband into going on a drive to the closest Chinese market (half hour drive) with the promise of Vietnamese noodles for lunch at the restaurant across the parking lot.

How disappointing that their Chinese mustard greens were wilted and yellowing! But, I did get some pert looking Chinese broccoli and...yum...a big bag of pea sprouts!

For you greens lovers, don't skip the pea sprouts if you get a chance at them. These are not the snow pea shoots (very tasty too!),which are the young leaves and tendrils, but actual sprouts with the first few leaves but not the pea. I found a picture of them and include the link below.

These must be cooked very, very quickly as they are extremely tender and will lose all texture and their best flavor if cooked into slime. I like them best quickly stir fried in a few drops of sesame oil mixed with a few drops of vegetable oil, garlic and a bit of salt & white pepper or with a very light drizzle of oyster sauce. They are also wonderful dropped into a bowl of Asian soup noodles or won ton soup at the last minute before serving and make a wonderful addition to a green salad or an Asian style slaw.

Here is a link that might be useful: Snow pea sprouts

You're welcome, Lacey. Caldo verde deserves the real deal. :)

Cloud_Swift, I recently found lacinato/Tuscan kale in the grocery and it was so pretty, I had to try it. It was delicious! Small, tender leaves, lovely color, sweet and not a bit of bitter. Yummy stuff. Of course the last time I went to the store, they didn't have it, only the regular kind.

Mary, some people are just not going to like greens, no matter how healthful they are. We all have different tastes.

Lacey, I also eat the purslane raw, the lambs quarter too. Lambs quarter tastes like spinach to me, but the purslane does have a more sour quality, lemon-y kind of. I like to add purslane to cole slaw because it is so darned good and healthy.

Annie