It could hardly be more Dutch: kale. The vegetable is taking over the world. Not as the ingredient for an old fashioned stew, but for in a shake, smoothie, pasta or even a cocktail. The product is more fashionable than ever and extremely healthy.
It all started in New York. Every restaurant that wants to count has kale on its menu. Over the last 2 year the number of dishes with kales on American menus has increased by 223 percent, reckons data company Technomic.
It's also on the menu in Chalk Point in the expensive and fashionable district SoHo in Manhattan. The best selling item in the restaurant is on the drinks menu: a kale martini, of which four to five hundred are sold per week. Creator William Bastian even gave the cocktail a Dutch name, Kalck Hoek - referring to the name of the popular restaurant. Kale also appears on Chalk Point's food menu multiple times, for instance on the farmer's salad (with red onion, lemon and goats cheese) and sautéed kale (with home-made chorizo and pepper).
After New York, it now seems all of America is going crazy for kale. Hail the kale, said the leading news channel ABC this week. The TV station was astounded by the popularity of the reasonably tasteless vegetable.
The rapid growth of the kale industry can also be felt in Salinas Valley in California, also known as America's lettuce bowl due to the huge vegetable production. One of the biggest growers there are the Church Brothers, with the Dutchman Ernst van Eeghen in control, among others. Kale has also taken over here. "It seems like everything is being done with kale now. From breakfast, lunch, dinner to snacks, soup and even cocktails," says Van Eeghen, who thinks the vegetable is mainly so popular because cooking programmes and celebrities are worshipping kale for its super healthy attributes. "Supermarkets and restaurants quickly reacted to this. Our production has increased sixfold over the last three years. At the moment we are supplying 8000 kilos of kale per week."
Hugely popular
Kale's popularity knows no limits. The vegetable is now popular worldwide. The vegetable is also extremely popular in the Netherlands. "The funny thing is that kale is very Dutch," says former model Ellemieke Vermolen. "Everyone knows kale and sausage. It's one of my children's favourite meals. And since it's been hyped in America as a super vegetables, suddenly it's the same in Holland. We also use it in shakes, smoothies and salads. You can make a great dressing out of it too of you put it through the slow juicer first."
Vermolen also emphasizes that kale is extremely healthy. "There are a lot of antioxidants in it, which help combat ageing. Kale is also rich in vitamin A and C and so good for your immune system and for your eyes and skin. It really is a super food."