Asturian-American Migration Forum

The kale. The curly variety is as tasty as the flat, but harder to clean. I don't think the other greens have the same flavor at all.

Se vende la berza en este sitio, http://sustainableseedco.com/organic-kale-seeds/ si todavia quereis buscar tipos para plantar

¡Bienvenido, MaryWash!

¿Cuál piensas sea berza? A mí, no dan la impresión de berza.

Pego fotos abajo de la berza.

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Welcome, MaryWash!

Which do you think looks like berza? To me, none of them have the appearance of berza.

I'll post some images of berza below.

This is interesting.

It appears that the species Brassica oleracea includes a number of plants we all know but think of as different: broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, collard, kale, kohlrabi, and berza. The difference appears to be in how (or where) the plant stores energy/starch.

There are a number of berza-like plants, which have names like:
Tree Cabbage
Tronchuda Cabbage
Bush Cabbage
Tree Collard
Tree Kale
Walking Stick Kale
Donkey Kale
Jersey Kale
Jersey Cabbage
Portuguese Kale
Portuguese Cabbage
Couve galega
Berza Galega
Couve Tronchuda
Sea-Kale Cabbage
Beira Tronchuda Kale

They aren't all exactly the same berza-like plants, although many of the names are used for the same plant(s).

You can find seeds on eBay and Amazon for varieties like Portuguese Kale or Couve Tronchuda.
Or this one for
https://www.jungseed.com/P/01453/Beira+Tronchuda+Kale

Some of the varieties rarely set seeds, so they are propagated by cuttings. Some (or most?) are perennials and will keep providing leaves for 2-5 years. To achieve that, you have to have fairly mild winters and clip the flowers off before they open.

Here's a few interesting web pages on some varieties:
http://www.permies.com/t/11755/plants/Bush-Cabbage
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-giant ... 76144.html

This person in California gives interesting advice on growing Brassica oleracea var. acephala, which he calls tree collards.
http://treecollards.blogspot.com/

Here are a few websites in the UK:
http://www.realseeds.co.uk/cabbage.html
http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/peren ... bage-7321/

Bob wrote:Burpee seeds (US company) sells seeds for smooth kale, which takes about 60 days to grow to maturity. ....

Here's one that's Iberian, more gallego than asturian:
http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/kale/t ... 22635.html

Hmmm, a mi me parece "Collard Greens" pero no puedo decirlo con certeza. Las fotos me acuerdan de los "Collards"

Pego un enlace:

http://sustainableseedco.com/heirloom-v ... seeds.html

Despues de mirar abajo, parece que ha encontrado mas informacion sobre las "Brassica" de la que explica todo

Es verdad que collards parecen parecidos a berzas por la vista pero, a mí por lo menos, el sabor de collards es más fuerte que la de berzas.

Me parece mejor comprar uno de las plantas en mi respuesta más arriba (como Portuguese Kale o Couve Tronchuda) si quieres el mismo sabor.

Por otro lado, "collard greens" son un vegetal maravilloso. No sé dónde vives, pero las plantas y las semillas están ampliamente disponibles en los EEUU, incluso en Walmart. También las hojas de kale y collards aparecen en la mayoria de las tiendas de comestibles en los EEUU. ¡Sería interesante oír de tus experiencias en usarlo en la cocina asturiana!

My father did grow berzas in Pennsylvania for years. I think he probably brought the seeds from Asturias. The plants did very well in PA, but I do not recommend sneaking in seeds today. I really haven't found an exact match here in the US.....Also, I can never find fabes either? I've been to Newark, NJ searching, but I haven't had any luck....I did order some on-line

Two good sources of fabes in the US are La Tienda and LaEspañola Meats. I have had good experiences with both companies.

https://www.tienda.com/shop-all/index.html

https://www.laespanolameats.tienda/en/

In order to prepare a proper Asturian pote, make sure you find the correct kind of kale, so it approaches more to the real deal; I mean, with the proper consistence and texture.

This is the kind of kales we plant here. I took the freedom to post one of the kales of my property *smile*. It's has a really wonderful green/ pale green colour and with a somewhat tough consistence and in a bit less than two months can get fully grown



Also it's important to blancher it correctly and consume it quick as it's also a quite acidic green.

Thanks, Maestro Tomberi, for your message. You may know the answer to some questions I've had.

1. What is the name of the varieties of berza that you grow and that you seen grown in Asturias? I remember seeing several in stores in Asturias. (I'm pretty sure that they all have the same species name, Brassica oleracea, but different popular names.)

2. Does your favorite variety set seeds? That would mean that you can collect the seeds and grow more berzas another year.

3. Are berzas in Asturias ever propagated by cuttings? That means that you cut part of an old plant, like a leaf or a stem, and put it in the ground or water in order to start a new plant.

4. Is Asturian berza a perennial (the plant lives and produces for more than one year) or an annual (lives just one year)?

5. It looks like your berza is not a "tree berza" with a tall central trunk that leaves grow on. I'll post a photo of a "tree berza." There are "tree berzas" in Asturias, aren't there?


http://www.bedri.es/Libreta_de_apuntes/B/BE/Berza.htm

I'll try to answer as most decently as I can, since some of this questions are very concrete. Notice I will talk about it from my very own experience, which if well might just guide a bit, it shouldn't be taken as a general reference since it's my particular experience

1. --> The vast majority of cultivated crops are what we know as "berza asturiana", though there are cultivated also varieties of "berza gallega", "col berza" or "berza rizada" in a lesser degree. And yes, all of them share the Brasica Oleracea scientific name.

2. --> The procedure I use is to get some very young plants, not much bigger than sprouts, altough enough to endure the outer environment. That way I ensure a more prooductive cultivation. Altough of course seeds can be planted too, but I prefer to do it this way.

3.--> It's not a method that I see a lot, but yet it can be done and with very good results.

4.--> The Asturian berza is a biannual plant. This is, it completes it biological cycle in 24 months.

5.--> You might be surprised, but the "tree berza" is not an uncommon cultivation here either. I should have mentioned that too in the #1 answer.

Thanks, Maestro Tomberi! That was perfect, a very helpful set of answers!

In Galicia, we had "papas con acelgas". The green most similar in the US is "Swiss chard". Given the relatively close locations of Galicia and Asturias, perhaps this is the same green as in berzas.