Plant ID (with a difference!)
 

I feel a bit silly asking, but can anyone tell me what seeds I've bought (in
English)?
I don't know what these vegetables are. The sowing and cultivation
instructions seem simple enough, but I don't actually recognise what these
veg are let alone how to cook or prepare them after they've grown?

http://www.avisoft.co.uk/HPIM5546a.JPG

David.

Plant ID (with a difference!)
 

In message , "David
(Normandy)" writes
I feel a bit silly asking, but can anyone tell me what seeds I've bought (in
English)?
I don't know what these vegetables are. The sowing and cultivation
instructions seem simple enough, but I don't actually recognise what these
veg are let alone how to cook or prepare them after they've grown?

http://www.avisoft.co.uk/HPIM5546a.JPG

David.

Google is your friend. (Or perhaps Babelfish would have done the job as
well - I haven't tried it.)

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarole

Cichorium endivia is known as endive in English.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poir%C3%A9e

Poirée is a leaf beet; the Interwiki takes you to the English page for
Chard. I'd translate Verte a Carde Blanche as green with white heart,
but my French dictionary doesn't have an entry for Carde, so that's a
guess.

I'm not certain which of chard, leaf beet or spinach beet would be the
best translation.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Plant ID (with a difference!)
 

On 29/6/07 22:25, in article ,
"David (Normandy)" wrote:

I feel a bit silly asking, but can anyone tell me what seeds I've bought (in
English)?
I don't know what these vegetables are. The sowing and cultivation
instructions seem simple enough, but I don't actually recognise what these
veg are let alone how to cook or prepare them after they've grown?

http://www.avisoft.co.uk/HPIM5546a.JPG

David.



Poirée is beet and Chicorée scarole is Endive, I think. Is that what you
wanted to know?
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)

Plant ID (with a difference!)
 

"David (Normandy)" wrote in message
...
I feel a bit silly asking, but can anyone tell me what seeds I've bought
(in English)?
I don't know what these vegetables are. The sowing and cultivation
instructions seem simple enough, but I don't actually recognise what these
veg are let alone how to cook or prepare them after they've grown?

http://www.avisoft.co.uk/HPIM5546a.JPG

David.

Endive - use it as a salad green:
http://www.iloveinns.com/recipes/wil...-salad_522.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2q3ltp
Here in Holland they cut it up fine and add it to mashed potato (50/50
ratio)

Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cabbage
Good as a stir fry or steamed. Can also be used to wrap around filling
rice/meat/fish)

Jenny

Plant ID (with a difference!)
 

JennyC writes

"David (Normandy)" wrote in message
.. .
I feel a bit silly asking, but can anyone tell me what seeds I've bought
(in English)?
I don't know what these vegetables are. The sowing and cultivation
instructions seem simple enough, but I don't actually recognise what these
veg are let alone how to cook or prepare them after they've grown?

http://www.avisoft.co.uk/HPIM5546a.JPG

David.



Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cabbage
Good as a stir fry or steamed. Can also be used to wrap around filling
rice/meat/fish)

I think Stewart was right with Chard - the picture is absolutely right
for Swiss Chard.

The green of the leaves need less cooking than the thick white stems, so
best to treat them separately. Green - rinse, put in pan with no extra
water, very low heat for a few minutes. Stems - shop, lightly cook as
any other green veg.
--
Kay

Plant ID (with a difference!)
 

"K" wrote in message
...
JennyC writes

"David (Normandy)" wrote in message
. ..
I feel a bit silly asking, but can anyone tell me what seeds I've bought
(in English)?
I don't know what these vegetables are. The sowing and cultivation
instructions seem simple enough, but I don't actually recognise what
these
veg are let alone how to cook or prepare them after they've grown?

http://www.avisoft.co.uk/HPIM5546a.JPG

David.



Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cabbage
Good as a stir fry or steamed. Can also be used to wrap around filling
rice/meat/fish)

I think Stewart was right with Chard - the picture is absolutely right for
Swiss Chard.

The green of the leaves need less cooking than the thick white stems, so
best to treat them separately. Green - rinse, put in pan with no extra
water, very low heat for a few minutes. Stems - shop, lightly cook as any
other green veg.
--
Kay

Thanks. So that begs the question are Swiss Chard and Chinese cabbage
sufficiently close in culinary terms to be treated interchangeably or is it
worth while buying both? The seed display had at least 10 different greens
that looked very similar to these, in fact I think there was one actually
marked up with the French equivalent of 'Chinese cabbage - chou chinois'.
There was even a purple variety of chard/cabbage.

David.

Plant ID (with a difference!)
 

Someone recommended I got some kale seeds in another thread. The only seeds
I found for what looked like kale were described as being for animal feed. I
don't know if there are distinct varieties of this or if the greens of
animal kale are of human culinary value? I don't want to repeat last years
disaster buying and growing a big patch of 'sweetcorn' that turned out to be
maize animal fodder with inedible corns :-(

David.

Plant ID (with a difference!)
 

"David (Normandy)" writes


Thanks. So that begs the question are Swiss Chard and Chinese cabbage
sufficiently close in culinary terms to be treated interchangeably or is it
worth while buying both? The seed display had at least 10 different greens
that looked very similar to these, in fact I think there was one actually
marked up with the French equivalent of 'Chinese cabbage - chou chinois'.
There was even a purple variety of chard/cabbage.

I find them very different in taste and texture. The Swiss chard leaf is
very spinachy in texture and feel (though not as tart). Chinese cabbage
is more substantial - I probably better not go on because I don't like
Chinese cabbage.

You could probably stuff a chinese cabbage leaf, but a swiss chard leaf
would fall apart. Chinese cabbage can be eaten raw as a tough
alternative to lettuce, I haven't tried swiss chard raw but suspect it
would taste of grass.

Swiss chard is a more delicate taste and you wouldn't want to swamp it.
It's brilliant to have in the garden because it carries on producing all
through late summer and through the winter (although more slowly) - it's
a cut-and-come-again type veg. In the second year it puts up a (tough)
flower stalk. You can keep it going awhile by ruthlessly removing the
flower stalks, and just about keep it going till the new crop is ready,
but it's a losing battle.

It also comes with stalks in various colours from yellow through to red
and looks stunning when the sun is low and shining through the stems.
--
Kay

Plant ID (with a difference!)
 

"K" wrote in message
...
"David (Normandy)" writes


Thanks. So that begs the question are Swiss Chard and Chinese cabbage
sufficiently close in culinary terms to be treated interchangeably or is
it
worth while buying both? The seed display had at least 10 different greens
that looked very similar to these, in fact I think there was one actually
marked up with the French equivalent of 'Chinese cabbage - chou chinois'.
There was even a purple variety of chard/cabbage.

I find them very different in taste and texture. The Swiss chard leaf is
very spinachy in texture and feel (though not as tart). Chinese cabbage is
more substantial - I probably better not go on because I don't like
Chinese cabbage.

You could probably stuff a chinese cabbage leaf, but a swiss chard leaf
would fall apart. Chinese cabbage can be eaten raw as a tough alternative
to lettuce, I haven't tried swiss chard raw but suspect it would taste of
grass.

Swiss chard is a more delicate taste and you wouldn't want to swamp it.
It's brilliant to have in the garden because it carries on producing all
through late summer and through the winter (although more slowly) - it's a
cut-and-come-again type veg. In the second year it puts up a (tough)
flower stalk. You can keep it going awhile by ruthlessly removing the
flower stalks, and just about keep it going till the new crop is ready,
but it's a losing battle.

It also comes with stalks in various colours from yellow through to red
and looks stunning when the sun is low and shining through the stems.
--
Kay

Thanks for the detailed reply. As they are so different I may just get some
Chinese cabbage seeds to try. I'll try most veg at least once. Tried some
artichokes off the market for the first time this year, they seem very
popular here in France - the thistle head type things rather than the other.
Made my teeth shudder - never again, just something about them!

David.

Plant ID (with a difference!)
 

In message , "David
(Normandy)" writes

"K" wrote in message
...
JennyC writes

"David (Normandy)" wrote in message
.. .
I feel a bit silly asking, but can anyone tell me what seeds I've bought
(in English)?
I don't know what these vegetables are. The sowing and cultivation
instructions seem simple enough, but I don't actually recognise what
these
veg are let alone how to cook or prepare them after they've grown?

http://www.avisoft.co.uk/HPIM5546a.JPG

David.



Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cabbage
Good as a stir fry or steamed. Can also be used to wrap around filling
rice/meat/fish)

I think Stewart was right with Chard - the picture is absolutely right for
Swiss Chard.

The green of the leaves need less cooking than the thick white stems, so
best to treat them separately. Green - rinse, put in pan with no extra
water, very low heat for a few minutes. Stems - shop, lightly cook as any
other green veg.
--
Kay

Thanks. So that begs the question are Swiss Chard and Chinese cabbage
sufficiently close in culinary terms to be treated interchangeably or is it
worth while buying both? The seed display had at least 10 different greens
that looked very similar to these, in fact I think there was one actually
marked up with the French equivalent of 'Chinese cabbage - chou chinois'.
There was even a purple variety of chard/cabbage.

David.

Chard and cabbage are distant taxonomically speaking. Chard is a beet
(genus Beta, family Chenopodiaceae), and related to things like spinach,
amaranth and good-king-henry; cabbage is in Brassicaceae.

This doesn't necessarily means that it's not treated similarly
culinarily (but see Kay's post) - lettuce, for example, is also distant
from either of the other two - but they'll have different secondary
metabolites, and presumably different tastes in consequence.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley