I really, really like spinach too. It’s not a competition. But I just can't grow it.

But good kale is never tough, never bitter and has no ribs needing removal. Whereas bad spinach can be bitter and shop bought spinach can be tasteless.

It's subject to a vote?

Some of my most favorite things would lose in a vote, especially one including people with narrow tastes and experiences, time after time. I won't bore anyone with a list but hearing people rag on in such a way stimulates my curiosity and usually justifiably so. I do draw one line - I've tried many foods made from offal and random other unnecessary animal parts. I have found few to be to my liking.

I like kale, mustard, beet, and turnip greens, Collards, chard, arugula/rocket, and watercress - all bitter greens, more interesting to me, and I don't find them terribly bitter. Oddly enough though I always found coffee too bitter and disliked it - until about a dozen years ago - still don't love it but I do enjoy it sometimes (doctored with milk and sweetener only!)

Never heard of "massaging" kale, and I don't find it difficult to use, although I do chop the stems more finely so they will cook in less time.

Some people are born "supertasters" for particular flavor components, such as for bitter, sour, or tart, and they tend to strongly dislike whatever they are a supertaster for, whether it is certain greens, or lemons, certain vegetables (mushrooms, brassicas or turnips) alcohol, or tea.

like this

I like raw kale very much -- cooked kale is no go for me.

I much prefer chard, beet and turnip greens, spinach, bok choy, and other Asian greens. Just not kale.

Well if kale garners this much hate, broccoli rabe, rapini, must truly be on the despised list. im vegetarian so i cant afford to rule out any veggies out. i almost crave the bitter greens. and my dogs eat the discarded stems with gusto.

Only two veggies that I do not like. Kale and brussel sprouts. (One time I had brussel sprouts & they were sweet & delicious...which is the only reason I try them again every 5 years or so.)

I like collards, spinach (even canned spinach), mustard greens, turnip greens, lima beans, poke, lambs quarter, all the squashes, winter & summer... Oh, not crazy about beet greens but I love beets. And cabbage, especially braised cabbage. Okra & asparagus are my two favorites closely followed by sweet potatoes, then boiled baby reds...

For me other than the mix I mentioned above even that which I protected during the winter the leaves were often thick and the stems every more chewy. What some apparently do not understand is that there are hundreds of varieties of kale in many different shapes and sizes. Over the years I have probably grown 25-30 different types. I have very seldom ever purchased any from a store. Winter gardening is done in this area so those cool season veggies are available but the flavor and texture are the same except right before they go to seed which is normally the second year after planting other than the Lacinato which finally flowered in the fourth year.

I love kale. I don’t find it bitter although sometimes it is stronger flavored. Broccoli Raab or mustard seem more bitter to me.

Kale does benefit from cooler weather - it gets sweeter. So the little patch that wintered over in my garden is getting a stronger flavor and the leaves are getting tougher now with summer heat. My favorite way to eat it is stir fried with garlic and carrots.

I prefer to just eat veggies cooked or raw than attempt them in smoothies. Fruit goes in smoothies not greenery.

I like Kale but do not love it. I honestly will eat anything and I have. Only thing I prefer not to eat is Venison (no matter who cooks it), I will eat it though. I never met a food I would not eat. That is why I am plus size LOL.

"during the winter the leaves were often thick and the stems every more chewy. What some apparently do not understand is that there are hundreds of varieties of kale in many different shapes and sizes." etc

You're talking about growing kale in your garden. Other than the novelty types sometimes at farmers markets, what I find in stores is principally three kinds - Toscana (also called dino and lacinato), the green curly kind, and the red kind. The red type does seem a bit more bitter than the others, we stick to the first two.

Something I found said that California grows over 80% of commercial kale in the US. I'll assume that the climate in other places, especially for home gardens, and the distance from California as a freshness issue, can be part of the flavor problem some report.

My mother didn't cook kale. I'd really never had it until I married DH. My FIL grew A LOT of kale and served it often. Stewed or braised, never raw, always with olive oil and garlic, some salt. DH grew up on it. I still don't cook it often, but will occasionally to please him - I don't have strong feelings about it one way or the other.

I am so sorry Elmer that you only have those few as your selection. Our grocery stores actually do purchase from local suppliers so have a wider range of what is available. Because they are local growers what is available changes and each week may be different. I have not been to the store I normally go to for a while but it had a location for only local veggies and fruit from commercial growers.

Not a kale fan either but I like trying to grow different vegetables so someday I might try to grow some. I can eat it if it's in a mixed salad but like arugula, not a fan of what I've had.

Arugula = every day a salad with arugula as the base greens.

The only time I buy kale is when the local farm has it fresh. I tried it liked it, didnt like it for a while, was lukewarm towards it for a while, and now I am back to liking it

I made it last week as what I call an "old world" way in that it is put into a hot skillet with olive oil and garlic, give it a bit of cookdown, add a can of good quality white beans or butter beans, salt, pepper and it gets to the table with some good crisp bread and some grated romano.

This can be done with pretty much any green.

I cut the tough stems out from the middle and then chop before I cook it. It takes longer than spinach but not as long as collards to cook.

I call it the old world way because the essence really depends on oil and garlic and a fresh green. So many modern recipies would have you dump a bucket of chicken broth into it. In the old world they depended more on oils, herbs, vegetables and cheese.

We have kale several times a week-yum I saute it in a cast iron pan with olive oil, garlic, and a dash of kosher salt. I also add it to most smoothies. Once in a while I’ll have dandelion greens. They can be quite bitter if not soaked in salt water before cooking

I put it in my Olive Garden copy cat recipe for Zupa Toscana....but other than that, I don't eat it.

"I am so sorry Elmer that you only have those few as your selection."

Haha, that's funny. You think kale is chewy and bitter because that's what you have access to. The kale I buy is almost always sweet tasting and tender. No need to feel sorry for me.

Off-topic...but speaking of veggies from the garden, could I interest anyone in a squash or zucchini?..lol Boy, once these plants take off, it's crazy time and my kids aren't here to get some excess.

I have never had kale that I judged to be bitter, at all.

I wonder if some of the reason that some say they dont like is because they have been hammereed with the idea that they should like it.

Some of these kale eating folks can be almost evangelical about it.

I buy it, but only when I find it at the farm for sale.

Kale can be cooked to just the right degree of tender. And, do remove the tough stems first. Those can get stringy.

I love kale. Most often I discard the stems, chop the leaves and boil until just tender. DH and I both enjoy the greens, but only I drink the "pot liquor." (DH finally learned to not pour it down the sink!)

Kale is not offered much in our local farmer markets, so I depend upon whatever the grocery store stocks. I can tell by looking if the bunch is worth buying or not -- it must be seasonal, because it's usually better in winter months.

My sister grows kale. She says cardinals love the dinosaur kale (narrow green leaves). They eat almost as much of her crop as she does herself. The other varieties she's tried to grow haven't done very well.

We like kale, although we don't have it often. I like it chopped fine in a salad. I also cook it similar to Wednesday Morning, with the white beans. The recipe I use adds diced tomatoes.

I'd never had it until we subscribed to a veggie delivery box. Lots of kale in there!

No matter how I prepared it I couldn't get hubby to like it. We saw a documentary on SuperFoods and they determined that cabbage has the same if not more benefits than kale. Great news because we both loved cabbage

The landlords grow kale in their garden and I'll often get some along with tomatoes, lettuce etc hanging on my door. I do use kale when I make Zuppa Toscana soup, but that's the only time I eat it. And yes, you have to cut along the sides of the stem and just use the leaves.

Lily, You may want to try zucchini flan, also zoodles maybe?

I don't like it either, and it seems like it's in practically every vegetarian recipe I look at!

Must be a tastebud thing. I find spinach and beet greens kind of bitter, I much prefer them sauteed. Kale I like any which way. To me it tastes sweet. I whole leaf might be a little tough, but diced thin or sauteed or in soups, I love it and really relish it. I just must have the tastebud genes for liking kale. The only green I have found I truly don't like are mustard greens. Talk about bitter . . . roasted fresh brussel sprouts taste like candy to me, but we can't afford them so they are a treat. Long cooking and boiling are not friends to any vegetables in the mustard family . . . I don't find "massaging" a green any different than making coleslaw, as ordinary a treatment as can be.

I am truly surprised over the kale hate - I had no idea! I used to buy dinosaur kale but since I discovered pre-washed baby kale, that's what I buy. I eat it raw and plain, without dressing, like arugula my #1. Now I see baby kale and spinach mix, which I buy as well, but spinach is #4 after romaine. And yes to roasted brussel sprouts.

Mdln...that's what we are having for dinner tonight, but Taylor Farms, lol. Topped with leftover chicken.

We like kale. grow a small batch of it (blue curled...it gets fewer bugs). I often use kale or chard instead of spinach. If it's in salad, we dress the salad early so the kale gets tender. Family likes the copycat Olive Garden zuppa toscana so I freeze portions for that. When it starts maturing I blanch and dehydrate it. That gets crumbled in like parsley, or put into soups, beans and greens, rice...whatever needs a sprinkle of green.

In my immediate world they grow Kale seed. Maybe a mile from here they grow red Kale seed. I am against it. I do not like Kale in any of its forms and the idea of Kale chips leaves me astonished and horrified. Something needs to be done about that. I generally like greens. My favorite is Mustard. It makes a good salad green in addition to a cooked green. Peppery. I have liked Turnip greens in the past but I have moved on. Kale is several Kilometers too far for me. I once said I thought that people who ate it liked to suffer and of course I was dumped on for saying so but I still think that might be the case. Eat it if it makes you happy. It makes me want to cry.

I like cooked kale into other foods and then raw kale in some salads with a lot of dressing. I like to saute kale and put it in the mini quiches along with other saute veggies. It's great in Zuppa Toscana. I remove the ribs. My kids prefer it to spinach.

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I wonder whether kale preference is genetic (and what other qualities the choice of like/dislike might be linked to).

I think it has more to do with what you were fed when young. I LOVE chicken giblets and what I had when young, and some love opossum or in different countries they love termites and tarantulas. I know a person who won't eat anything green, it just depends on what was introduced to your diet as a child.

I agree with Kevin although I think some foods likes/dislikes have a genetic component. Some of my friends are Indian and grew up vegetarian. They have tried meat and simply do not like it although they may tolerate a little chicken or shrimp. My kids have been introduced to a variety of foods. Their dislikes follow those of me and my husband. My husband dislikes raw tomatoes and onions. My kids have various degrees of aversion to them although I will eat both. I get headaches from cinnamon and similar spices and have disliked it since I was a little kid. No cinnamon rolls for me. The kids eat it, but run away from the room diffusers and Christmas displays like I do.

I definitely think it is genetic. My mother was one of those, "depends on what you're exposed to growing up" people. She exposed me to a lot of different foods, fruits, vegetables, etc., etc. I love it all. I'm still an enthusiastic and adventurous eater, there are few foods I don't like the taste of, and a few I have textural issues with, but hardly anything I can't or won't eat, push comes to shove. Allergic to MSG but that's another issue . . . but then along comes my brother, one of the pickiest eaters on the planet, (other than my Dad) and she exposed him the same way as me. Come to find out, my brother is sensitive to a lot of foods, particularly soy and vinegar, which aggravate his sinuses and he already had a terrible allergy problem with molds and mildew, which is why anything fermented bothers him. Another friend of mine has this same problem, along with gluten sensitivity. She said she was always teased about being such a picky eater, but she came to realize that eating some foods made her feel bad/ill. She wasn't just being difficult. Salads are a particular problem for my brother due to most salad dressings having some type of vinegar or soy oil component. He eats salad with salt and pepper!

I've been a vegetarian for most of my life. When I do eat meat, I like the less fatty cuts. When you don't eat meat, and then start eating it again, your palate recognizes how rich and hard on the digestive system eating a lot of meat is. Your gut chemistry changes so if you end up eating a big hunk of meat, it sits in your gut and causes indigestion, particularly meat cuts with a lot of saturated fat. The same thing happens if I eat a dairy meal with a lot of fatty cheese components as well. On the flip side, if you're not used to eating a lot of fiber (we love fiber rich foods) then fiber will do a number on you too . . .

Kale is in the Brassica (Mustard) plant family. A lot of people can't tolerate those foods, they upset their stomachs. That's genetic. Hubs and I are lucky, we love all things cruciferous and aren't bothered by digestive issues associated with it. Apparently, they have identified the genes involved in tasting bitterness in the mustard plant family. So glad I don't have those genetics, because I eat cruciferous vegetables every day. They carry a lot of nutritional bang for the buck! https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/science/humans/article/2016/06/23/your-hatred-broccoli-may-not-be-just-your-head

I ordered groceries today from HEB and ordered some kale because I can't remember having eaten it before. It is not at all bitter. I'm thinking it might be good sauteed with olive oil and garlic?

Lucille, that is basically how I prepare kale. Here (via my CSA) is the recipe from Alice Waters/Chez Panisse I use. Elmer posted something similar, a twist, and addition, I don't remember, I meant to try his version, but have not made kale in a while.

https://fullbellyfarm.com/recipes/garlicky-kale/

PS If you are anything like me and have a box of salad greens you've allowed to go past their prime, this treatment works great with these too, top with a fried or poached egg for a delicious lunch.

Thank you, perfect recipe as the kale came in a 2 pound bag. Serving it with bbq riblets Saturday when my son comes over.

When you get it home, give it a good cold water rinse, cut an inch off the stem end and set it into a clean bowl of fresh water....(filtered or what you use for drinking)....for about an hour or two.

I just tear the tender greens off the hard core stems but some cut it out. I save the stems for juicing. Not good for much else and not good at all in stocks. My pups love the stems for a treat.

Take a couple of the leafy greens and roll tight into a cylinder. Cut into ribbons as small as you are capable. I massage in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil. Pretty rough massage. You want to break up the cell walls of the plant leaves.

Yes garlic and a bit more olive oil. Sauté medium low and slow covered. No sizzling sound or it can get bitter. Finish with a bit of fresh lemon or a favorite vinegar....just a splash.

Soaking once home fills the plant with water and i believe helps it steam/sautê evenly and more tender and sweet.

I just unloaded a big veg box for my 4th BBQ and all is in the sink with stem ends cut and soaking, standing, in about 6 inches of filtered water. My parsley, kale, chard, cilantro....even my celery. A sliver off the stem end. I find i get an extra 1-2 weeks fridge life from most of it.

We have had greens of some sort every day for years either juiced and always salads. Mostly raw.

Perfectly fine to hate it. Frozen spinach has near just as much food value and a great deal to boot. And convient.

I just visited my parents recently...92 and 91 and they loved the raw massaged kale. With other traditional slaw ingredients. "That is kale, ?, not cooked to death like we do?, hmmm, why is it so good?". ...i massaged it to death with a homemade buttermilk dressing. Rested overnight.

Braising slow on low, or a fast really hot steam is also great for kale or anything brassica. Stir frying good too. Just no long boiling or long exposure to heat. Roasting only takes about 30 min. tops. Depends on the size I guess . . . I got a braising pan specifically for greens. We do braised cabbage very often . . .

A soup similar to this is how I first was introduced to kale. I top mine with parmesean cheese.

https://www.forkintheroad.co/pesto-chicken-kale-potato-soup/

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/280904/chicken-kale-soup/

Kale and potatoes is a great combo, similar to colecannon . . .

"I don't like kale...

You and me both!! Vile weed as far as I'm concerned. That and tastes-like-the-side-of-the-road arugula.

I don't like it either......the only kale i have ever liked was cut when it was about 4 inches long and lightly dressed with a vinaigrette.

Fascinating. Arugula tastes like dirt to me. That kind of made me happy considering how expensive it is. I thought I would like it since I like beet greens and chard . . . don't like watercress either. Can eat them, just not a yum factor. Since they are both beaucoup expensive where I live, if they are even in the store, I don't feel like I'm missing out on much.

Munching on a big raw kale leaf not much different than munching on a raw cabbage or collard leaf. Being as it has such big tough leaves, I don't do that.

As I recall my chickens didn't like kale much either.

Lol! My neighbors bought kale and hated it so they fed the rest to the ducks and the ducks wouldn't eat it either.

Jack, my chickens LOVE kale. I eat it, it's OK. I far prefer beet greens.

Annie

I didn't like kale until I accidentally grew a red russian kale. It was the only survivor in a seed packet of mixed winter greens. One plant provided us with greens from August to the following April. I still wouldn't eat it raw, but it was pretty yummy cooked.

Just popping over for a visit. ”I do not like Kale in any of its forms and the idea of Kale chips leaves me astonished and horrified. Something needs to be done about that.“ And: ” I once said I thought that people who ate it liked to suffer and of course I was dumped on for saying so but I still think that might be the case. Eat it if it makes you happy. It makes me want to cry.” Patriciae, I dont know if this is you being funny, or just you…but you made me lol!! ‘ … astonished and horrified ” Yes! Lol! 🤣

i keep seeing the need for oil. Oil! Pish posh… That’s simply silly yankee talk😁 I may have lived most of my life in Ca., but I still know how to cook up a pot of kale; the secret ingerdients , of course, being a bit of pork fat and a dash of vinegar. Ahh. But , that being said, once a year in Oct.is good ’nuff.

Found out on the Perennial discussion board that fall crops like kale use sugar as antifreeze, so a few freezes will actually improve their flavor. Maybe that's why baby kale tastes bitter. Right now I have more greens than I know what to do with. I eat them almost every day. They do pair well with acid stuff, contrasts with their "earthy" notes . . . same with beans . . .