Crucifers

Green cabbage

Tender and juicy, green cabbage has tightly wrapped pale green thick and pliable leaves. Round and solid, almost white in the center, this vegetable is heavy for its size.

Red cabbage

Round, compact, and heavy for its size, red cabbage boasts lovely dark-red thick and pliable shiny leaves. Tender and juicy in texture, the color of this cabbage has an affect on its slightly peppery flavor. The darker the red, the better the taste.

Savoy cabbage

Oval-shaped and rather delicate, Savoy cabbage produces crinkled crisp succulent leaves. Mellow-flavored, its taste is mild, sweet and deliciously distinctive.

Brussels sprouts

Resembling miniature cabbages, Brussels sprout are somewhat similar to the taste of cabbage, the flavor is slightly milder. These fresh nutty-flavored sprouts have a solid and dense chewy texture.

Broccoli

Producing fleshy edible stems and tight dense central heads, broccoli releases a distinct green vegetable fragrance and offers a matching flavor. Crisp and crunchy when raw, cooked broccoli’s texture is tenderly smooth.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is made up of creamy white to very snowy white tightly packed florets produced on a single stalk. Size does not affect the quality or flavor. Brief cooking helps to minimize some of the distinctive odor.

Bok choy

Bok choy boasts large dark green attractive leaves. Producing long thick white juicy stalks that offer a sweet taste with just a slight tang, the large green leaves have a more subdued flavor. Bok choy can be eaten in all stages of growth.

Beet greens

Like Swiss chard, beet greens have lots of flavor and a good, sturdy texture.  The best ones are young and tender, and sometimes come with small beets attached.

Collard greens

With paddle-like oval deep green chewy leaves, collard greens offer an assertive flavor that lies somewhere between cabbage and kale. The stalks are very tough and inedible.

Dandelion greens

Dandelion greens offer a slightly bitter, but typically pleasant, flavor. The paler the leaves, the more tender the greens.

Kale

With curly edged leaves that varies from spruce green to grayish or bluish green, closely related to collard greens, kale offers a bold flavor that can be slightly bitter.

Mustard greens

Frilly, vibrant green and peppery, mustard greens may be enjoyed raw or cooked.

Spinach

Possibly the most versatile of all greens and producing succulent dark green spoon-shaped leaves, spinach is offers a subtle yet assertive flavor.

Red (or ruby) Swiss chard

Red (or ruby) Swiss chard’s rich dark green wrinkly full-bodied leaves grow on a ruby red stalk. Offering a faint beet flavor, classic red chard is tasty and juicy.

White Swiss chard

Swiss chard leaves grow on a pale whitish-green stalk. Shiny and dark green, the good-looking crinkly green leaves offer a taste that lies somewhere between asparagus and celery with possibly a hint of beet.

Bright lights or rainbow Swiss chard

Beautiful to look at and delicious to eat, rainbow Swiss chard not only offers a dazzling visual effect, it delivers a lighter flavor compared to regular chard. The colorful stalks are deliciously edible, too.

Turnip greens

A staple of Southern cuisine, turnips greens are pungent and slightly bitter, especially older ones, but they become milder when cooked.   Don’t prepare them with aluminum cookware, as it will affect their flavor and appearance.