Every So Often When I Buy Flowers,

for the table on Sunday's,

I notice there is a vegetable in the bunch, a ornamental cabbage or Kale, 

there it is in our bunch, normal kale and cabbage can be traced back 4,000 years, the ornamental types rose to prominence in 17th century Japan, where they became a centrepiece of Japanese gardens. In the early 20th century, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent Howard Dorsett to China and Japan to look for new plants, and the ornamental kale he saw in Japan was one of his favourite finds. Several varieties were brought to the States, and by 1936 they were available to mass markets,

both ornamental cabbage and kale come in three colours – purple, white or pink – and prefer cool weather, which means they won’t develop their full colours unless they get a good chill from a frost, unfortunally ours is white, and it had to be said after viewing the video below, one of the least attractive,

Japan is credited as the birthplace of ornamental cabbage, the most popular varieties originated there. Nagoya kale, Chidori kale, and Osaka cabbage are some of the most notable examples, and the burning question, can you eat them? ornamental cabbage is whilst they technically are considered edible, it is not nearly as tasty as the regular variety we normally eat. It has a very bitter taste, so it’s most often only used as garnish, although a double boiling method can be used to reduce bitterness. The only notable exception is the ‘Tokyo’ variety of ornamental cabbage, which allegedly tastes delicious, I will look out for a different colour cabbage the nest time I am out buying flowers.