I love it both raw and steamed. When I eat it raw I just peal the bulb and cut off slices. When I cook it I peal the ball/bulb part, cut it into chunks and I also cut up the leaves and cook them with the rest. I love cooked greens so I can not bear to throw away good greens. The flavor is somewhat unique. To me it is somewhere between a very mild turnip and mild cabbage. Hard to describe.

Patsy

According to My Mother,
You can not make REAL chicken soup without kohlrabi.
She is absolutely right. As prooven by trial and error.
Also good to serve on a cheese platter,
eat just like an apple.
Enjoy.

As others have already mentioned, it is great raw. You can peel & slice it or cut it into sticks & use it on a crudite platter with dip.

Cooked, I usually peel & cube/chunk it, then boil/steam & drain & stir into a nice thick cheese sauce - sharp cheddar or blue cheese are favorites.

Flavor of both the bulb/stem & the leaves is extremely mild, which is one reason why I find it so surprising that it's never caught on much here in the U.S. as opposed to Europe.

The first time I grew kohlrabi it was surprisingly sweet and had a hint of coconut flavor to it! Since then it has always been more like a very mild broccoli stem taste. But the mouth feel is different --cleaner-- than broccoli.

We usually slice it thinly, boil, and serve with butter and black pepper. Sometimes I'll cook it in chicken broth, but it had not ocurred to me to actually put it in chicken soup.

Kohlrabi is quick from seed.

My father has been growing this since I was a kid. We've always eaten it as a raw veggie, pealed, sliced, and maybe with a sprinkling of salt. It tastes a bit like raw, crunchy cabbage.

As others have said: You can boil it or eat it raw. You can also cut it into cubes and use it in a stirfry or you can put it into a casserole with potatoes, Onions, garlic and rutabaga.
You can also puree it and put it into breads. Just make your starting batter with Yeast, water and flour and then add the pureed (boil it before pureeing it) Kholrabi. Finally, you can make fritters with it. Or you coud make beignets with it. Just find a recipe for Beignets on the web and add finally diced kholrabi to the recipe and some onion.

I think that is just about everything that I have done with it..... oh yeah, I've also Barbecued it. Just douse with some olive oil first

Beignets! Now you're talking my language. ;o)Beignets and good New Orleans coffee with chickory! Oh man now I'm hungry!
When young I like 'em raw; crunchy like an apple. Left too long in the ground they become pithy down here. Thats when I'll cook'em and use as a thickener like you would potatos or other starchy tubers. I don't know that these actually have starch (must as what else would the sweet taste be that I enjoy when they are young?) but it does work well in soups.
Mike

Yes, I forgot to mention that there is more than one variety of Kohlrabi that you can grow. There is the classic Green variety and also a purple variety that I actually like more than the green.
The leaves of both varieties are quite nice boiled, added to a soup or in a stirfry. One might also try pureeing the leaves with a bit of water and adding that to a fritter dough.

Wow, I am glad you posted this Vegangurl. I was given a packet of seed and was also unsure what to do with the veggie but thought it never hurts to try something new. My kids think the pic on the packet looks like an alien ship and are sure they won't like to eat it. I'll try some of these recipes and let them know that the 'alien ship' was in it later!
Thanks you guys
Lettssee (new to edible gardening)

Just picked a huge purple one.
My mother visited from Europe this winter, and she planted some seeds for us.
Both the green and the purple ones have leaves that are about 1 1/2 from the base and about 9" wide in the middle. The whole bush is almost 3' accross.
Planting the seeds into an area where you can transplant the seedlings as they grow is a good idea, as this provides us with mature fruit in sequence.
I like not having everything ready the same week.
The one we harvested was almost5lb without the base and leaves.
when peeled, and cut into small slices, it was enjoyed all afternoon by my husband and i.
Usually, when they are so big, it would only be for soups etc, but this was very tender and sweet.
According to my mother, this is probably due to the quality of the soil and regular feeding/ watering.
Good luck with yours,
Irene

I grate mine, cook it, & eat it like potatoes.

In Switzerland, they slice it and simmer briefly with tomato, onion and maybe a little bacon. Can be frozen.

Hi. Looking for some help regarding Kohlrabi. It has come highly recommended for it's great taste. I'm in zone 7, south of Atlanta. When is the correct time to plant and how easy is it to grow?? Thanks

thanks to everyone for the info on Kohlrabi. i found a recipe that included Kohlrabi and wasn't sure what it was. now i can try this new recipe and i think i will enjoy it very much. thanks again

My seven-year-old LOVES eating fresh slices of kohlrabi with a sprinkle of salt. I harvest mine when it is 2 to 3 inches in diameter, peel away the outside, chop off the area nearest the root (the area close to the root is tough--the top is VERY tender), and use a vegetable slicer to quickly make thin pieces.

I agree--the green variety tastes better than the purple, but the purple is good, too. I'm curious about trying it in chicken soup.

kritterfarm, in zone 7 it's already too late for a spring harvest. However, kohlrabi is quite cold-hardy--you might be able to grow it all winter. Try it when the temperatures are cool-it grows well when the days are in the 50s and 60s.