Store At: Cool, 5-10°C
Comes From: England
Seasonality: March to May
Not at all related to kale, seakale grows wild on sand and shingle beaches, and is not particularly reliable to depend on for sustenance! It's leaves and stalks were originally eaten like cabbage, but the best bit is the tender stalks that develop below ground, self-blanching themselves. These are not dissimilar in taste to asparagus albeit a little sweeter and more juicy, and are cooked and eaten in a similar way.
Due to its rarity, seakale is hard to come by. Intensive harvesting in the 19th century greatly depleted wild stocks, and it is now illegal to harvest seakale in the wild. It is easy enough to grow it yourself, and is similar to growing rhubarb; the crowns of the plant are exposed to frost then forced under cover in a darkened shed or terracotta pots. Both methods are time-consuming and expensive, making seakale a rare seasonal delicacy.
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