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These are the three greens people in the south eat: Collards, mustard, and turnips. Collards aren't good until a frost falls on them and sweetens them up. They have large slightly glossy green leaves, and grow on a thick stalk. You "crop a mess of collards" meaning you pick some leaves off the stalk. You remove the tough stems from the leaves, and check for cutworms as you do.
Put the collard leaves in a sink full of water, dunk 'em up and down and all around, and repeat rinsing process three or four times. Meanwhile, and this is most important: Have a large pot of water boiling with smoked ham hocks, salt pork or bacon ready. Take four or five leaves and roll up, slice and put them in the pot as you go. Repeat till you have all the collards in the pot, and cook till they're tender which can take a while.
Turnips have crinkly green leaves and white roots. You eat the leaves and the roots. Turnips can be full of dirt cause they grow in, and close to, the ground. Have your boiling meat pot ready. Clean the greens, discarding old leaves. Trim and cut up the roots if they are large. Wash repeatedly--turnips take a lot of washing.
Now we come to my favorite--mustard greens. The green leaves can be slick or curly, but I don't like the curly kind. Throw away any ratty looking leaves. Once again you have to rinse them multiple times to remove grit. Fry a bunch of bacon in a pot, remove most of it, and cut up your mustard greens and throw 'em in, stirring all the while. Mustard cooks up pretty quick, and melt down to nothing, so start with a large amount. They have a pungent taste that I love.
Greens are winter fare--they grow, and are best in the fall and winter. When you see them in stores in summer, it means they're imported from God knows where; but better than the frozen ones--and canned greens--never!
susil
