I was going to say try to overwinter it in the garden for as long as possible, then I see you're in Wisconsin, I'm guessing that'd get real involved to do that up there; here in KY, mild winter kale stands the cold fairly well with adequate cover.

You can absolutely kraut kale. I was dying to try that this year, but my kale did not come up, so maybe next year. If you do it, report back!

I made cabbage kraut following Sandor Katz's method (of Wild Fermentation fame), and was going to do the exact same thing with shredded kale.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wild Fermentation

Kale chips!

I've read good things about kale chips and may try those some day. Do you season it before drying?

I made cabbage kraut following Sandor Katz's method (of Wild Fermentation fame), and was going to do the exact same thing with shredded kale.

Doesn't he 'dry salt' his kraut 'to taste', and then let the salt draw the liquid out as it ferments?

I've followed Sally Fallon's method of 'pounding' the cabbage until submerged in it's own juices and then added the salt.

This post was edited by sidhartha0209 on Tue, Oct 22, 13 at 13:06

I'm pretty sure that I've read that trying to make sauerkraut from kale is a disaster, that it reeks of sulphur. So I've never done that.

I grow Russian Red kale, and as long as I can keep the soil moist and mulched, it will grow, abet slowly, all winter long here in zone 5 - and only starts getting brown when the temps are down in the single digits.

For the last several years, we've been able to cut some wonderful kale for Christmas dinner.

I fermented kale last year. It was a disaster; terribly bitter. I must have done something wrong because I've read of others' successes.

Deborah

Yes, I season kale chips before drying. I rinse the kale well, remove the toughest stems and tear into large pieces (approx. 2" x 2"). Toss them all in a big bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil. Get your hands in there and rub the oil all over so they're well coated. Then lay the pieces on dehydrator trays and sprinkle with salt and garlic ( or seasoning of your choice). Dry until completely crispy. Store in covered bowl or ziploc bag so they don't absorb moisture from the air.

You can dry in a slow oven on cookie sheets too, but my dehydrator is far more efficient. There were a couple of times this summer that I had both dryers going with a total of 14 trays and ran more than one batch!

Deanna

Our kale does fine all through the winter. In fact, it gets much sweeter after a good freeze. We have some plants that are 4 years old. We just keep harvesting and they keep producing. Very cold tolerant. I love going out and finding fresh leaves under the snow for dinner.

Has anybody ever tried dehydrating or fermenting chard? I know you can freeze it but wondering how chard chips or kraut would be, though it's in beet family not cabbage. The loopers got all my kale, we pulled almost everything (frost last night even got the squash I had under old sheets), the only thing left was a couple of chard plants so we took down the deer fence for the winter and we had 2 deer out there tonight (just on the lawn, didn't touch the chard or the strawberry plants - yet).

I've dehydrated chard before - it turned into a rough powder that was surprisingly salty.

We used it in soups - pretty good stuff that lends a unique flavor.

Has anyone tried freezing kale? I thought I read somewhere that it freezes well laid out single layer and then food saver bagged?

I freeze it by cooking it a bit first, until wilted. That way I can pack it into the bag and squeeze all the air out. This prevents freezer burn.

I blanch kale and then chop finely and then freeze. Most of the time I use it as an addition to soup or a pot of beans or whatever I want to give a nutritional boost to. I like this because there are some winter days where I really, really do not feel like going out in the cold wind to grab a handlful of fresh kale.

I use the same method for freezing chard and use it to add to pasta sauce, frittatas or omelettes, etc.