Alien-like veggie

White/green Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi is a cool weather vegetable and a member of the cabbage family. It is supposed to taste like a cross between turnips and cabbage. 

Although kohlrabi can be directly seeded, I grew mine indoors from seed in early March and then transplanted the seedlings in garden at the end of April.

I have to say, Kohlrabi is probably the oddest-looking vegetable that I have grown in my garden. It forms a swollen bulb-like base that sits just above the surface of the soil. The bulb is either white/green or purple (depending on the variety) and has several leafy stems that protrude randomly from it, giving kohlrabi an alien-like appearance.

It is best to harvest kohlrabi when it is about the size of a baseball (any larger and the bulbs will be woody and have an unpleasant taste). After weeks of watching the bulbs grow, today was the day to harvest one of the eight plants I grew.

I ventured out to the garden, knife in hand, eager to make my first kohlrabi harvest - ever. I sawed at the thick stem to no avail. In the end, I had to rock the plant back and forth to help break up the roots, then I pulled the entire plant straight out of the ground, roots and all. Now I know why kohlrabi is not a common vegetable to grow for the mass markets...it takes more effort to harvest than most vegetables!

I found a recipe for kohlrabi and apple salad on Epicurious.com that I am looking forward to trying this weekend. For now, I wrapped the entire plant in plastic wrap to help secure the leaves and to take up less room in the refrigerator. 

But now I am curious...what does purple kohlrabi taste like?