I like it, but I don't love it. Even the liking only took place after we joined a CSA and had to eat it, week after week, or deal with insurmountable piles of it. My husband and I were both shocked this weekend to realize we had finished that week's kale four days before the next farm pick-up! :-D

It's okay. If it's finely chopped. And mixed into things. But I've had several major kale mishaps which turn me off for a while.

Love it! Homemade Kale "Chips" made with a tiny bit of olive oil, lemon and salt are so delicious!

I like kale chips, but I have a hard time with kale, although I love most dark leafy greens. My rabbit, who like, lives for greens, hates kale, which I think says volumes.

I adore kale. Kale pesto is to die for. Sauteed kale with radishes on toast with a light drizzle of olive oil is a divine breakfast. I eat massaged kale salads almost every day. The massaging softens it, and if you choose younger leaves (especially lacinato/dino kale) the texture is more tender than the curly variety.

For me, kale has to be transformed or hidden, just as spinach or broccoli does. Chips are okay, slaw is good. I'm going to try the pesto tonight.

About the only green I like more than kale is Chinese Broccoli / Gai Lan: Similar texture and flavor to the leaves, and the leaves are the best part. Chop a cup or so of this stuff up, steam it over your ramen noodles and you can pretend your 1500 mg sodium bomb is actually healthy.

I always liked kale, but the current obsession with it confuses me a little. Why the focus on kale, when there are so many other yummy greens out there -- broccoli rabe and mustard greens are my favorite, but I'm also fond of chard and escarole and other greens too. I just go to the store and buy what looks particularly fresh that day and go with it. I'll happily eat turnip and beet greens, too -- even radish greens make a good pesto.

I love kale! The texture is the best part for me--I like that it has some chew. Helps me get out some of my aggression, haha. And the flavor goes great with lemon, garlic, and spices, some of my favorites.

This was something that I was "Required to eat" when I was a child so I have an intense dislike of it...wont even touch it if I know that's what it is...its the same thing with squash, the only squash I will eat is summer squash like zucchini. Its that memory of choking it down that ruins it for me.

Hmm, my first introduction to kale was during one of my plant based diet attempts, trying to branch out into new veggies that I had never heard of before. So I found a recipe, probably here on The Kitchn, for kale chips. The boyfriend, who has never been afraid of vegetables in his life, unlike this semi-vegetarian, loved them. I was less than thrilled at the idea of eating more than one chip. I ended up storing them poorly so they were ruined for the next day. So ended the kale chip experiment, but not the kale experiment. Several months later I found more kale, like $0.30 a bunch kale. Cheap greens and me go swimmingly apparently, because this kale made the best salad I ever had, (at that point), after a light salt massage and a little lemon juice. I think the difference in flavor, texture, etc. depend greatly on how the greens are grown, the time of year picked and breed of kale, just like with any fruit or vegetable. But I could just be a vegetable snob :P

I always have a bag of Kale in my freezer. Not because I use it a lot- because I buy it because I think I should and then I never use it. So its always there. :)

The original user comment you mentioned made me laugh at the time, because I've totally had the same thought about a "kale conspiracy." I've grown to like it, but I definitely think it's an acquired taste--and I've definitely made a deliberate effort to acquire it (as I suspect many others have) because it's such a nutritional powerhouse. I recommend the lacinato variety for newbies--I find many of the others too bristly/spiky. That said, I like kale a lot, but I don't LOVE it (I mean, it's no arugula! : ). Probably what I like best about it is that it's both so hearty and so versatile. I can buy a huge bunch and it keeps for AGES in the fridge. I can eat it raw in salads or cook it as a side dish or into other things (if I mince it small like herbs even my husband will eat it ; ). It's good in pesto (although again not as good as arugula!) and if I have tons of extra I'll chop, blanch, and freeze it for future cooking. I also think its "toughness" actually makes it more filling than most leafy greens.

The turning point for me was realizing kale was way easier to handle when it's chopped quite small. Before it was an floppy, unwieldy, unchewable thing that I wanted nothing to do with.

A friend made a kale salad for a party with parmesan, lemon, and red pepper and it changed my whole outlook -because the kale was chopped practically into confetti, and matched with nice sharp partners.

Now I've been known to cook an egg or two in a nest of kale and onions and call it dinner. :)

I love kale. Budget Bytes has a tahini kale salad recipe I'm addicted to right now.

My like for kale has increased the more I understand how healthy it is for me. My favorite is baby kale raw in salad or added at the last minute to soup or stir-fry. I agree with others that it depends on the preparation, type, and season. If I make a kale dish I'm not so crazy about, I try REALLY hard not to let it influence how I feel about kale in general and keep trying it in different recipes. All the dark leafy greens are integral to our diets so I don't think we shouldn't all be so hung up on kale.

I love kale. There's no conspiracy, especially when compared to bacon. Good grief, the Bacon Lobby must have deep pockets and compromising photos of its friends in high places for the onslaught of coverage it gets. But kale? healthy, versatile, sustainable, & cruelty free. It's a hard plant NOT to love and deserves far more attention.

I'm leaning towards a "for kale" as opposed to not.

My first introduction to kale was in a vegan casserole. It was okay, but kind of one-note.

I hadn't eaten any for years up until last summer when I made a single meal with kale as the "featured vegetable", pan-wilted with crumbled bacon, white pepper, balsamic vinegar, and a smidge of olive oil. It was a hit with my fiancee (and I liked it too).

I like the "bite." And the flavor.

I never ate kale growing up because we lived in Hawaii and fresh veggies like it were hard to come by--especially back in the 80's. I do love it though.
Molly Wizenberg's Spaghetti with braised kale is my 5 year old's absolute favorite dinner. This recipe is also worth trying. We even make kale smoothies with frozen blueberries, banana, flaxseed, and soy milk.

I have been resisting kale the whole time it's gotten so popular. I had never had it before but I enjoyed the "dirt and unhappiness" comment the other day. So, I just went to a cooking class where the teacher made a kale salad which was delicious. Really good. She did chop it up pretty small and didn't use the stems. And it had a dressing with about a million ingredients in it, along with smoked gouda and bacon. Probably anything would be good with fancy dressing, smoked gouda, and bacon. Anyhow, I was seriously surprised and will probably try to make it myself one of these days.

I have yet to have kale that I enjoyed. Someone at work once gave me a kale chip and I nearly barfed... I don't have high hopes for liking it in the future.

I grew up happily eating kale, and greens mustard, turnip and collard. They were never fads or conspiracies to me and they are all good.

I'm SO OVER kale. I wish all the food blogs would just let it die.

Kale is only marginally edible, and usually tastes exactly like dirt and unhappiness. I'm convinced people pretend to like kale because it's good for them. Sure, you can force it down if you chiffonade it, massage it for five minutes, douse it with avocado or tahini or bacon... but then, why bother? If you have to try that hard, just let it go. It's not meant to be.

For the record, spinach and swiss chard will do everything kale can do, but better. No one says you have to "massage" your spinach. Because spinach actually tastes like food.

I'm obsessed with kale

I get teased all the time for my love of kale. I even have a shirt from eatmorekale.com! It began before kale became the It Vegetable, but as kale has gotten more attention, I've found even more ways to enjoy it. I appreciate its sturdiness; it doesn't fall apart in soups, and salads can hold up for days in the fridge. I like lots of other greens, too, but kale is one of the most versatile.

I hate it, seriously, and I love most greens. BUT...I gave myself a juicer for Christmas, and this I can do...juice kale, celery, cukes, carrots and apples once or twice a week. So I am drinking my kale.

I crossed the line from "kale is fine" to "I LOVE kale!" this fall because it's by FAR the cheapest salad green. I made the first kale salad recipe I liked (marinated, not massaged!), then a couple more, and now I spend $2-3/lb on salad greens for 9 months of the year, rather than spinach or mixed greens at $7-10/lb, or chard or broccoli rabe at $3 for a teeny tiny little handful.

I love kale! I actually prefer it raw in a salad than cooked. I could eat it every day, and since I have a salad for lunch just about every day, I come pretty close.

Sometimes I crave kale.
I usually make this recipe
Taste-Alike - Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup
http://www.cookingatcafed.com/2010/02/taste-alike-olive-garden-zuppa-toscana.html

I drop the torn up kale in the bowl and ladle the soup on top.
That way there is still some texture left.

When I fridge or freeze the soup, I leave the kale out.
Otherwise, it basically just has the texture of spinach - which is fine, but not what I'm craving.

The turning point for me and my buddy kale was perogies. Potato and onion perogies sauteed in oil and butter with well-cooked onions, served with sour cream. I throw the kale in at the end and let it char a little on the high heat. Delicious.

That and sauteed with chicken/turkey meatballs made with LOTS of carrot and garlic, served with spaghetti and parm. Its like italian wedding soup without the soup and super hardy and filling. I love that kale doesn't overcook for me, it just becomes crispy and crunchy.

Kale chips with vinegar and sea salt are really my third and final use, beyond these I haven't found another use for it but I love it when it fits!

PS I never massage it, and I think kale is superior to spinach in certain applications because it never ever wilts or becomes slimy. Sometimes I'm very much not in the mood for slimy!

@Katy did

I'm the exact opposite. Spinach tastes like dirt and cardboard. Swiss chard tastes like rotting garbage.

But kale? Kale is great. De-ribbed, torn up, and delicately dipped raw into a bit of soy sauce. A big handful of leaves shredded and added at the last moment to a boiling udon soup to blanch. Braised with or without bacon. It's all good.

I was a big kale fan until I had a blood clot. For someone on blood thinners kale is probably the absolute worst thing to eat (astronomical levels of vitamin K).

Love it but we prepare it with members of the magical pig family.

I love kale, but then I've always been a big greens-of-all-kinds eater. Probably my least favorite are collards.

I heard something on tv recently: "Was there a big vegetable throwdown recently and kale won?"

My husband has big problems with kidney stones ... and was recently put on a low oxalate diet. No kale, no spinach ... no lots of stuff he likes (peanut butter too) waah waah.

I eat Lacinato kale Caesar salad nearly every week when my kale plants are going crazy in the summer. The eggs, cheese and oil probably cancel out the health factor. though ...

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/07/tuscan-kale-casear-slaw

OH MAN i'm happy this is a hotly debated topic. I'm so entertained right now. Thanks Faith for bringing the real issues to the surface :)

The greens are my favorite vegetables. I love them all and have for years, so I must have missed the conspiracy or the bandwagon or the griping. It does crack me up to recall when I was a "salad bar attendant" in high school and we decorated the whole salad bar with kale and I had no idea it was edible! No one I knew ate the stuff.
Just had pasta with caramelized onion sauce and kale for lunch - old Moosewood recipe. Delish.

Love it. I eat it raw in massaged salads and in green smoothies. I love it in soup, and also steamed as a side. I've even added it to bagels (thanks to Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites). Oh, and kale chips.

I am on the kale bandwagon now, but it took some time for me and my family. I will eat kale in pretty much anything these days, remember that tasty sausage and kale pizza that was posted here a few months back? But my hubby and kids will only eat it as kale chips with plenty of sea salt....but they will consume large amounts of them at one time! They love kale chips and I love that mymkids are developing a taste for dark green leafy veggies

I like kale. Seems there's a shortage in Chicagoland, tho --- I've been trying to make a White Bean and Kale Stew since Meatless Monday. Today is Thursday.

I hate it enough to have signed in and posted a comment about how much I hate it. Tastes like dirt :).

I think just knowing how good it is for me kept me "trying" to like it more. I definitely didn't like its taste, originally. I started out by using it in smoothies, and now I love sauteing it and using it in salads. It definitely took a while to start appreciating its flavor. Whole Foods has an outstanding kale and white bean soup that I make during the winter months:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/vegetarian-tuscan-kale-and-white-bean-soup

I love love love kale, and not just because it's popular. I fell in love a couple years ago, before I knew there even was a kale bandwagon. Especially the Tuscan variety - yummy! Braised with bacon, onion and chicken broth - I just can't stop eating it. My son's favorite baby food was a kale/apple concoction I whipped up. He practically lived off that stuff (of course he won't touch it know that he's 2 1/2 and refuses every veggie. Go team kale!

I don't hate kale but I definitely prefer chard over kale any day of the week.

I LOVE kale, but I didn't always know it.

I'm generally a fan of "challenging" flavors, so I thought I would probably like kale. My first time, I tried a recipe for kale chips that was supposedly "kale for people who don't like kale." I don't know if they were overcooked or what, but the chips were terrible -- bitter and dirty tasting -- and my husband and I decided we didn't like kale.

Several months later, we got some in a CSA box and gave it another try -- this time in a raw salad with cheese, dried cranberries, and oranges. The sweetness of the fruits and nuttiness of the cheese really complimented the earthy flavor of the kale, and to this day it's my favorite green. I love it in pasta, soups, salads, quiches. It's particularly good in any dish that includes bacon!

Me and all other veggies get along fabulously- except for the dark, bitter, leafy greens. I don't get it. Spinach is so delicious. Broccoli rabe is delightful. Bok choy is delectable. But kale? Ugh. My jaw aches just thinking about it.

RovingWagons- Listen to your rabbit! I think I will too
JudiAU - LOL to you too for the magical pig family.
LOL to the "dirt and unhappiness" I'd add "smug righteousness" because of the people in my life that keep trying to tell me I'll love it someday.
I've tried it almost every which way, and it's way too fibrous for me. I'd rather graze on clover and weeds.
It does taste passably good if charred, but if you have to practically burn the darn stuff...to paraphrase a famous New Yorker cartoon....I say it's kale, and I say to h*** with it!
Love chard and spinach, though. And, oddly, kind of like the kale stems! Just compost the leaves and I'm good

I am in the "Love Kale" camp. I'm very surprised by this, because I hate most vegetables -- especially green ones. Especially spinach. The only green veg I would eat growing up is collard greens.

I made kale chips once and was so happy to learn that I couldn't stop eating them. Later we found a good Caesar salad recipe in GQ that I loooved, and now I realize I just like kale. I'm still astounded, and thankful that there's another something green out there that I'll eat.

I am a fussy eater, so it amazed me when I found out I actually liked kale. We use it in soups, salads, pasta, lentils and more. I agree with earlier posters that chopped is probably best and I haven't yet found a decent use for the stems, if there is a decent use at all. Maybe as a stock ingredient?

I LOVE kale! I love that it is hearty. Younger kale is good in salads, more mature ones good in soups or simply cooked with garlic, chili flakes, and a touch of vinegar. Also amazing as kale chips. They are also good in quiche, instead of spinach, which lacks, texture.n. i usually cook a lot at once (with garlic, etc) and have it ready to eat whenever.

I'm pro-kale from the start, but I have to say... There is a HUGE difference between grocery store kale, and home grown. Also, very big differences between different kale varieties. Last week, a co-worker brought in some over-wintered kale that was buried under snow in his garden. Just the day before I had eaten grocery store kale. I ended up preparing both kales in the same way. The snowed-under home grown kale was markedly sweeter and more tender in texture. Really, there was a world of a difference! And I wouldn't have marked the store-kale as sub-par, but the comparison to fresh backyard kale wasn't even possible.

Ha! I actually had a very similar thought the other day. What is WITH all the kale recipes lately? I like the conspiracy theory. ;)

i've had it good, i've had it bad. i'm no fan of the leathery texture and i'm far happier eating it chiffonade in a chunky chowder or in super loaded fajitas/stir fries. i can't like it as the main attraction, but i'll always try to incorporate it in busy things to fluff up the quantity without reaching for more carbs or meat

If you're a Costco shopper look for their Sweet Kale Salad Kit, it's delicious! Seven "superfoods" in a huge bag that will last forever in the fridge. The kale is cut into small pieces like so many have mentioned, my kids devour it because of the cranberries mixed in.

Cooked kale yes raw kale no. I can't believe anyone eats raw kale, but some people love it.

One thing about kale, it's a so-called "superfood." It's amazingly good for you.

Portuguese kale soup a.k.a. caldo verde is probably my favorite soup on this planet!

I don't love kale, but I crave it when I get sick

i only learned to really like kale when i made in a soup with potatoes and kielbasa, but i was careful to chop it into little squares, not ribbons. i hate the texture with those long filaments slopping around.

http://flic.kr/p/drhMJi

and here with collards, which i consider the same thing:

http://flic.kr/p/dL8fQC

I feel that way about beets! Try as I might, I can never get past the "dirt" flavor. Kale, however, I weened myself onto after deciding to grow it never having eaten it. My first recipe was a braised kale with anchovy and tomato soffritto. The strong flavors of the soffritto with the double cooking of the kale eliminates the dirt flavor and the bitterness kale sometimes has, and the texture becomes much more like any other green in this preparation. I've also used Swiss Chard with this recipe, and it's turned out tasty too (and I don't particularly care for chard, but sometimes it ends up in the CSA box).

Served over polenta, it's a great winter meal: http://www.maddhatterskitchen.com/dinner/braised-kale-with-polenta

Hmm, I have never tried it raw. Maybe in the summer. I love Russian Kale, and curly kale is ok. The greener, tougher stuff is less to my taste but when it's in season, that's what we eat! We get various types at the Farmers Market and its all local and fresh so it's pretty good. We just boil it and add a little butter.

I hate kale, just hate it, and I even hate (in a tiny way) the people who say "oh you'll like how I make it".
No I won't. It feels scratchy in my mouth and tastes of sadness and dirty vitamins. I would rather eat durian.

I do actually like kale a lot. Perfect in chicken yaki soba.

I love kale but I don't really eat it sauteed by itself like I do with spinach. I make kale chips a lot, or put it in soup.

My husband on the other hand thinks kale "smells like rotting food" and would rather I use spinach or mustard greens.

Did you ever see that scene in the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" in which Meryl Streep scornfully explains to Anne Hathaway how the crappy blue sweater she bought from the bargain bin is a result of a bunch of fashion industry people picking cerulean blue as the "It" color a couple of seasons prior?

That's what happened with kale in the eating business. I'm waiting for parsley's turn to be the "It" food.

"Tastes of sadness" ... snort ... that's funny! I like dino kale in soups and mashed potatoes ... I can't eat mashed potatoes without kale anymore. Kale salads don't really work for me. I only like kale cooked and I only like spinach raw. But I think dino kale has a lot more flavor than curly kale. Maybe it's curly kale that tastes like sadness?

Now, for the record, kale pesto is my third acceptable way to eat kale. It was great.

I love kale, but my only real experience with it is what comes out of my garden. Maybe I'm picking it younger, but sauteed in some olive oil with a bit of garlic it's damn near a major food group!

I'm not a kale superfan, but I like it on occasion. When my family was around for the holidays, I did butternut squash ravioli sautéed with kale and pepitas... only to find out no one else had ever had kale before. The meal went over very well though :^).

If I am going to eat a hearty leafy green I prefer collard green.

I am shocked to see how many people hate kale. I love kale, although I'm not sure about raw. I certainly like it sauteed with lemon, garlic, onions, herbs etc, and also in soups. I love collards and swiss chard as well - i really enjoy the bitter flavor.

Lol. On the other hand, my guinea pig loves kale. Go figure.

Chuckling at the thought of "The Kale Conspiracy* although it's certainly not out of the realm of possiblity. At least if it's true, there's some benefit to be gained from it - unlike in the fashion & decor industries in which comsumerism is the goal. Now if only they could find a way to make chevrons edible, they might redeem themselves.

I grew up on collards, mustard & turnnips in a time where it was not unusual to come home to find a big bunch of greens on the doorstep fresh from a neighbor's garden. Never kale though. I just assumed it didn't grow in this neck o'the woods. Then years ago I began to notice this pretty lil curly leaf appear in salads. Whenever I asked what it was, the reply was always a shrug followed by, 'must be some kinda lettuce'. Um, no.

Fast foward a couple yrs when dd accidently picked up a bag in the grocery store. Not knowing that to do with it, she decided to treat it as she would other greens which of course worked out well. First time I saw it I knew I had identified that cute lil leaf in my salads. I've never once seen it 'promoted' (unless thekitchn counts, lol) and it's still not easily found in stores here. Tho I suppose it's possible it's become such a hot item that it flies out of the produce section as quickly as it is unloaded from the trucks. Hm...

I love kale, buy it when it's available & often sautee it w/garlic & onions with a couple eggs tossed in for a quick dinner as someone mentioned. I didn't find it a shocking experience the first time I [knowingly] ate it. It's not so much different from other greens. I can respect the aversions tho PROVIDED one has tried it prepared several ways before giving up. If you don't care for greens in general, boiling it is not the place to start - although magical pigs increase it's appeal exponentially;)

I totally understand the comparison to wet grass - I feel the same way about green beans despite having tried every method known to mankind. They.still.taste.like.wet.grass. Beets was another thing I grew up on and one of the few I never developed a taste for. UNTIL months ago when I tried a roasted beet recipe I ran across here. That lil experiment will forever be called 'Shock & Awe'. Yum. (<can't believe i just used the term yum to describe a beet - my gma would be proud).

Now, will somone please explain to me what the whole massage business is all about? Truly never heard of it and can only imagine it was thought up by some wannabe chef/poducer/promoter who had the notion that convincing the 'ignorant masses' kale was some delicacy to be handled carefully in order to make it more appealing & sought after, thus increasing sales. (how's that for a run-on sentence).

LOVE! Always have and I am glad to see it has gained popularity - it's so good for you! I love it juiced, sauteed or raw as a salad.

(late post - sorry) Recipe: KALE FOR KALE HATERS - - Slice into fine strips. Steam 15 minutes. Quickly stir fry in canola or olive oil with diced onions, diced garlic, a little tamari, and a teeny bit of lemon juice. Enjoy it. It's good for you. :-)