Cool Coles

November 13, 2024

A group of vegetables that thrive in the cool temperatures of fall.

As we move into cooler fall temperatures, one group of vegetables really steps forward. From the Latin for stem or stalk, caulis, we use the term ‘coles’ to refer to members of the Brassica genus, which includes cabbage, turnip, broccoli and cauliflower.

This diverse group originated in temperate Western Europe and Asia, and the Mediterranean, so the members have the capacity to grow in a range of temperatures. Turnip and cabbage have been popular staples in European diets because they enjoy cooler temperatures, but they have also been favoured because they store easily into the winter.

In the 1900s, other members of the coles such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower were introduced to many Maritime kitchens, and more recently kale, kohlrabi and broccolini have come into use.

Coles take advantage of the benefits of cool fall weather to produce diverse, colourful and tasty foods for eating and preserving.

What I find interesting about this group is how the basic plant type has been bred into so many forms that have similar, but distinct flavours. The swollen stalk of the turnip has been eaten for millennia. The enlarged stems of kohlrabi are also eaten, while it is the enlarged leaf stems of bok choy that are favoured. We eat the leaves of cabbage, Brussels sprouts, collard greens and kale, and young turnip leaves are also picked when tender.

Broccoli, cauliflower and broccolini have been bred to produce clusters of flower buds for eating. Mustard, for which the larger plant family that contains the Coles was named, has been domesticated for thousands of years for its seed, used as a spice, and for its oil. And finally, colourful varieties of kale show their cold-hardiness by displaying bright leaves late into the fall.

From a gardening perspective, this plant group tends to be easy to grow, but the plants are delicious to others as well. Lovely white butterflies around cabbage will lead to wormlike larvae later on. Later planting can help to reduce damage to turnip. Broccoli worms camouflage amazingly well within the broccoli heads. They can be discouraged with organic insecticides, or simply companion planting with herbs with small flowers, like parsley, fennel, chervil, chamomile, dill, and cilantro to attract the beneficial insects that feed on broccoli worms.

Coles offer vitamin C, A, E, K, as well as folate, calcium, iron, potassium and phosphorus. They are the most widely consumed group of plants in Europe and across the world. They aid our production of detoxification enzymes, provide antioxidants, and inhibit cancer in a number of ways. There is also a growing awareness of the health benefits of eating naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut, which is fermented cabbage.

I have been astonished at how cauliflower heads seem to appear overnight as the fall proceeds, and also delighted to knock the snow off tender new broccoli sprouts that continue to appear after the main head has been harvested.

In fact, cold weather causes Brussel sprouts, kale, collard greens, turnips and cabbage to increase the amount of sugars in order to resist freezing, so they actually get sweeter after frost.

Some members of this group such as kales and kohlrabi also survive the winter to go to flower the second year, producing in the spring tender tasty flower heads that resemble broccolini.

Happy Gardening!