Casper Kale
Inventory, lb : 0
Description/Taste
Casper kale is a medium-sized, loose-leafed plant with frilled leaves that grow in a non-heading rosette. The leaves are voluminous, broad, and flexible featuring multiple lobes of dark green, curled, and textured edges, attached to a thick, bright white, crisp, and succulent midrib and stem. It is important to note that when the plant is young, the leaves are mostly light to dark green, but as the plant matures, the stem, midrib, and veins will lighten, transiting into shades of ivory and white. Cold weather will also cause the center of the plant to become saturated with white hues. Casper kale has a crunchy but tender consistency and a mild, sweet, and vegetal, earthy flavor without the bitterness commonly associated with kale varieties.
Seasons/Availability
Casper kale is available in the late fall through early spring.
Current Facts
Casper kale, botanically classified as Brassica oleracea, is a specialty, bicolored variety belonging to the Brassicaceae family. The cool-season, modern cultivar can grow up to eighty-one centimeters in height and is a type of curly kale developed and released in the early 21st century. Casper kale is named for its ghostly-white midribs and is favored by growers and home gardeners for its expressive, multi-colored, and textured leaves. The variety is also a highly productive, cut-and-come-again cultivar, allowing for multiple harvests throughout the season. Casper kale is similar in appearance to many ornamental kale varieties, and the cultivar can be used in decorative landscapes, but unlike the flavorless ornamental varieties, Casper kale leaves are considered to be one of the mildest, sweetest kale varieties available for cultivation. Casper kale is still relatively unknown and is slowly increasing in popularity for its hardiness, productive nature, variegated coloring, and mild, sweet flavor.
Nutritional Value
Casper kale is an excellent source of vitamin C, an antioxidant that strengthens the immune system, boosts collagen production within the skin, and reduces inflammation. The greens are also a rich source of vitamin K to assist in faster wound healing, vitamin A to maintain proper organ functioning, and contain lower amounts of folate, zinc, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus.
Applications
Casper kale has a sweet, crisp texture well-suited to a variety of raw and cooked applications, including roasting, braising, stir-frying, steaming, and sautéing. The frilled leaves do not contain the intense bitterness commonly associated with kale and can be used raw as a sweeter, milder substitute in salads, slaws, and grain bowls. Casper kale can also be stirred into curries, soups, and stews, roasted into chips, mixed into pasta, or lightly cooked and used as a topping over tacos. When heated, the cultivar’s mild flavor blends into stir-fries, omelets, noodles, and rice dishes, and their hardy nature can also withstand sautéing, served as a simple side dish without excessive wilting. Beyond incorporating Casper kale into culinary dishes, the bi-colored leaves can be blended into smoothies and fresh juices for added nutritional value. Casper kale pairs well with aromatics, including garlic, shallots, onions, and ginger, bok choy, celery, mushrooms, bell peppers, beets, herbs such as thyme, parsley, dill, and basil, and meats such as poultry, beef, turkey, and fish. Unwashed Casper kale leaves will keep up to one week when placed in a plastic bag, wrapped paper towels, and stored in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
Casper kale was developed as a part of a breeding initiative created by Tozer Seeds to create modern kale varieties with improved flavor, growth characteristics, and weather tolerance. The bright white and green cultivar is just one of many new curly and flat leaf-type kales developed in the 21st century, and these contemporary varieties were crafted through Tozer Seed’s research and development department. Tozer Seeds combines modern advancements with traditional breeding practices to naturally develop new varieties without being genetically modified. The company also has multiple research sites based in Europe, Australia, and the United States that feature annual open days, offering visitors a look at new varieties that are being created. During the open days, there are formal presentations, field tours, and cooking demonstrations to promote the upcoming varietal releases, and the company can receive valuable consumer feedback to better promote the new cultivars.
Geography/History
Casper kale was developed by Tozer Seeds, an international seed company specializing in developing new vegetable varieties. Tozer Seeds is a family-owned company based in Surrey, United Kingdom, and has research and development offices in Spain, Australia, and the United States. While the parentage and exact history of Casper kale are unknown, the variety was trialed in the early 21st century and found in seed catalogs by 2016. Casper kale also increased in popularity among American home gardeners in 2018. Today Casper kale is a rare variety cultivated in limited quantities through select growers in Europe, Australia, and the United States. The curly greens are primarily found at farmer’s markets and specialty grocers, and the seeds are available through online distributors in partnership with Tozer Seeds. The Casper kale featured in the photograph above was grown by County Line Harvest, a farm with two locations in Petaluma, Northern California, and the Coachella Valley in Southern California.
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Casper Kale. One
is easiest, three is harder.
