Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi is certainly not new on the scene, but to see shoppers in a produce section poke at it in wonder (particularly the violet variety), you’d think it had just landed on earth. Although the exact origins of early Brassica species are lost in historical root cellars, kohlrabi as well as a dozen other oleraceae—such as broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage—are no evolutionary adolescents. Maybe cooks have stayed shy of it because of encouragement from a very dangerous crew: food writers.