8 Favorite Recipes for Southern Greens (2024)

FAQs

What are the most popular greens in the South? ›

Collards

Characteristics: A member of the cabbage family and closely related to kale, collard greens are often associated with Southern cooking in the United States. Typically they are cooked along with ham, pork, and various vegetables, as well as with other greens, such as kale.

Adding Flavor to Cooking Greens

Add chopped onions, garlic, or bacon to the cooking liquid. Top cooked greens with crumbled crisp-cooked bacon. After cooking, sprinkle greens with balsamic or cider vinegar.

The foods that help reduce bitterness are: Salt while cooking and/or while eating (like on bitter salad greens) Sweet or Spicy. Sour or Acids like lemon or vinegar.

Classic slow-cooked Southern-style greens originated in the South during slavery. African slaves brought to America had to feed their families from precious few foods. Because greens such as collards grew abundantly, they often used them as the basis for one-pot meals.

United States. Collard greens are a staple vegetable in Southern U.S. cuisine. They are often prepared with other similar green leaf vegetables, such as spinach, kale, turnip greens, and mustard greens in the dish called "mixed greens".

Use salt.

Salt is a friend to bitter greens, whether you plan to eat them raw or cooked. Mellow the bitter flavor with a sprinkle of salt on endive or radicchio, or include anchovies or cured meat (like bacon, pancetta, or proscuitto) along with mustard, beet, or collard greens.

Let the greens soak for 20-30 minutes, giving them a good scrub midway. The vinegar and salt will help loosen & remove any dirt, grit and bring out any bugs hiding in the greens. Drain the water and soak again in plain water (1-2 times) if the water is dirty and gritty.

Keep doing this until you fill the pot. 3lbs sounds like a lot of collard greens, but they are cooked down to half the size of your pot once they are finished. Once they are all in, cook them covered for an hour at low heat, stirring occasionally.

Collards: The easiest greens to grow, cook and eat.

What are the best ingredients in greens? ›

What to Look for in a Greens Powder. Healthy Ingredients: Experts explain that the best greens powders include leafy greens like spinach, kale, and parsley; vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage; and wheatgrass, barley grass, spirulina, and chlorella.

Collard greens were one of the few vegetables that African-Americans were allowed to grow for themselves and their families back in slavery time. Even after the Africans were emancipated in the late 1800s cooked greens were a comfort in the African-American culture.

This might seem like an unusual addition if you're new to making collard greens, but the vinegar adds a welcome tangy note that brightens the dish and balances out the salty, savory flavors. A tablespoon of sugar also helps balance out the greens' potential bitterness.

Baking soda has infinite uses in cooking and beyond: It's a leavening agent, an odor neutralizer, and an antacid to name a few. In the case of collard greens, baking soda's utility is threefold, serving as a flavor enhancer, a tenderizer, and a color protector.

We have such a long growing season in the south that many vegetables can be planted twice if you plan it right. You can start any of the following in both spring and fall: tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, beans, summer squash, zucchini, kale, lettuce, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, arugula, cabbage, and much more.