More Veggies You've Probably Not Heard Of

Everytime I turn around I see a new fruit or vegetable in the market.  Are these really new, or just new to me?  Most of them are just new to me.  For whatever reason, most of them have not been available in the U.S. until recently.  Here are a few NEW vegetables.


1.  Spigarello is a wavy edible green with thin fibrous stems.  It is related to both the broccoli and kale families.  You eat the leaves, not the flowers.  It's an Italian heirloom variety.  There are many recipes for it on line.

2.  Kaboucha is a Japanese winter squash, sometimes called a Japanese pumpkin.  It is slightly sweet, and could be substituted for acorn squash or pumpkin in recipes.

3.  Cardoons are artichoke thistle in the sunflower family.

4.  Crosnes is another form of artichoke native to China and Japan.  It is sometimes called Chinese artichoke.  It's name hails from Crosnes, France, where it was first cultivated in the 19th century.  (It got here when the French were trading with the Chinese).  You can eat it raw, boiled, baked or steamed, and is similar to a sunchoke, with a nutty flavor.  It's also found in upscale restaurants and specialty markets.

Now that you've heard a bit about these lesser known veggies, you will probably see them, either on a menu or in the market, and you, unlike most others, will know what they are.