Asked by: Coreen Farfan
food and drink healthy cooking and eating

Should I remove the stems from kale?

26
Unlike spinach and chard, kale leaves take awhile to cook to a tender texture, and kale stems are nearlyimpervious to tenderizing. The aim is not just to trim thestems below the leaves, but also to remove most ofthe stem from the center of the leaf, where it acts like asupporting rib.


In this regard, is it OK to eat the stems of kale?

Soften Them Up First things first: Kale and collardstems are tough, chewy, and fibrous. While we enjoy theoccasional raw collard or kale salad, you should nevereat the stems raw. Otherwise, the exteriors will burn beforethe stems have cooked through, making them both bitter andtoo tough to chew.

One may also ask, should I remove spinach stems? Spinach stems, even of some young leaves, arefibrous, stringy, and difficult to eat, especially after cooking.Remove the stems before washing (see the photo aboveright); discard them or save them to add to a vegetablestock.

In this way, what to do with stems of kale?

7 Tasty Ways to Eat Kale Stems

  1. Whip them into pesto. Turn those stems into a flavorful sauceto toss with pasta, dress your veggies, or spread onsandwiches.
  2. Blend them into juices and smoothies.
  3. Pickle them.
  4. Roast them until crispy.
  5. Braise them into submission.
  6. Stir-fry them.
  7. 7. Make them into salad.

What happens if you eat raw kale stems?

Raw kale is also contains oxalic acid, whichbinds with minerals such as calcium and magnesium in the bodycausing them to crystalize. These crystals can damagetissues, cause inflammation in the body and kidney stones. So, adaily dose of raw kale and other goitrogenic vegetables maynot be such a great idea.

Related Question Answers

Nissrin Luetticke

Professional

How long should you boil kale?

five minutes

Filipa Ziegelmeyer

Professional

How do you tenderize kale?

How to Tenderize Kale: Cut rib of each washed anddried kale leaf off. Roll up the de-ribbed leaves, roll andcut into strips. Place cut kale into a bowl and drizzle witholive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Literally rub ormassage kale for approximately 5 minutes or untiltender.

Valya Zaharia

Professional

Is Kale better cooked or raw?

“Cancer studies seem to show that raw kaleis more beneficial than cooked, while cholesterol studiesseem to show that steamed kale is more beneficial thanraw,” says Harris, who recommends a bit of both inyour diet. But whatever you do, don't boil, saute or stir-fry theveggie too long or with too much added liquid.

Najoua Goenka

Explainer

Is too much kale bad for you?

Kale is a superfood, a hipster's delight, ajuicer's jam. But some of the biggest kale lovers out theremay now be experiencing a kale fail. The problem is noteating kale per se, but eating so much of itthat you may be giving yourself low-level poisoning of thetoxic heavy metal thallium. That can't be good.

Zana Ludeking

Explainer

What is the best way to eat kale?

10 Ways to Love Kale Mor More
  1. Massage it in a salad. Yep, you read that right.
  2. Make kale chips.
  3. Pair it with nuts.
  4. Try dinosaur kale.
  5. Throw it in the soup.
  6. 6. Make it the green in “a grain, a green, and abean.”
  7. Put kale in a burger.
  8. Put it in a green smoothie.

Gencho Choya

Explainer

Can kale make you sick?

Kale can also cause bloating in people who havedifficulty digesting FODMAPs. You may also experiencegastrointestinal distress from cruciferous vegetables if youhave a C. diff infection. Kale is high in an antinutrientknown as oxalic acid.

Lovie Calcinha

Pundit

How do you soften kale leaves?

Instructions
  1. Wash kale and tear into bite-sized pieces, discarding woodystems.
  2. Squeeze the juice from half the lemon over the leaves and tossto coat,
  3. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon olive oil and salt over the leaves.
  4. Massage leaves with fingers until they are coated and softened,about 3 minutes.

Krisztian Bobillo

Pundit

Is raw kale bad for you?

In short: Yes and no. Kale, and other cruciferousveggies like cauliflower or Brussels sprouts, containcancer-fighting compounds called glucosinolates. Cookingkale will stop any thiocyanates from being released, butwhen eaten raw the compounds are still present.

Gioconda Kasmayr

Pundit

How do you remove stems from kale?

The aim is not just to trim the stems below theleaves, but also to remove most of the stem from thecenter of the leaf, where it acts like a supporting rib. To dothis, lay a leaf upside down on a cutting board and use a paringknife to cut a V shape along both sides of the rib, cutting it freefrom the leaf.

Martiniano Risquez

Pundit

Can you blend kale stems?

Green Smoothies For Dummies
If you're using big leafy greens such askale, Swiss chard, or collard greens in your smoothie,you can either cut away the large stems or add themto your smoothie. The larger stems contain added mineralsand chlorophyll, but they have a really bittertaste.

Virginidad Mellouki

Pundit

How do you clean fresh kale?

How To Clean Kale
  1. First you need to decide if you're going to use the large stemsin your dish, or just the leaves.
  2. Clean the leaves well under cold running water to remove anygrit.
  3. To remove the leave from the stem you can either take a smallknife and cut each side of the steam and remove.

Sidra Reifs

Teacher

Can kale stems be juiced?

Hard stems are fine to juice. When usingleafy greens with a hard stem (like kale or chard)know that you don't have to separate the stem from the leaflike you would if you were cooking or eating them. Your juicershould be able to process them and get all of those nutrients outinto your juice.

Naseem Arizon

Teacher

How do you cut kale for a salad?

An easy way to prep kale for smoothies, salads, and otherrecipes:
  1. Use a sharp knife to slice the kale off of the tough middlestem, then chop the leaves into bite-size pieces.
  2. To wash the kale, we're going to use a salad spinner.

Shahzad Goodn

Teacher

How do you store kale?

For a bunch of whole leaves, it's all about avoidingexcess moisture. Wrap the bunch of kale in a layer of papertowels, and store in a supermarket plastic bag or a zip-topplastic bag in the refrigerator crisper drawer. The kaleshould be in great shape for a week.

Malamin Belsa

Teacher

Can you eat kale raw in a smoothie?

Eating a Raw Spinach or KaleSmoothie? The truth is that both spinach and kale arevery healthy for you. Unfortunately, it really needs to besteamed before it's eaten. Steaming or cooking deactivates theoxalic acid content that they have, making them morenutritious.

Isidoro Puigventos

Reviewer

Are there different types of kale?

Let's take a deeper look at some of the types of thisnutritious leafy green.
  • Curly Kale. pams_garden. pams_garden.
  • Lacinato Kale. grow_your_own_ grow_your_own_
  • Red Russian Kale. mangomaverick. mangomaverick.
  • Siberian Kale. Instagram.
  • Redbor Kale. whitneyfarms.
  • Chinese Kale. sakiroi720.
  • Baby Kale. veganewjersey.

Wilfred Rodiel

Reviewer

Can you eat the broccoli stalk?

Chopping broccoli into bite-sized broccoliflorets is aesthetically appealing, but if you throw awaythe broccoli stalks, your family is missing out on essentialvitamins and nutrients. Broccoli stalks are edible andnutritious by themselves, or served along with the rest of thebroccoli crown.

Ekhiotz De Mier

Reviewer

How do you remove stems from spinach?

To remove stems from spinach leaves, fold eachleaf in half, then with hand pull stem toward top of leaf.Discard stem. Blot moisture from leaves with paper towels.To stir-fry spinach, quickly place in wok.

Alishba Lapenkov

Reviewer

Are spinach stems poisonous?

Spinach, beet greens and swisschard
But don't think this means dark, leafy greensaren't part of a healthy diet. In moderation, they're perfectlyfine. Some research shows it would take about 25 grams of oxalicacid to cause death in a 145-pound person, which would equate toabout 7.3 pounds of spinach.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

15

28th January, 2020

99

91% of readers found this page helpful.

4.5/5

Click a star to add your vote

Similar Asks
Trending