Collards are native to Europe like their close cousins cabbage and kale, but probably first came to North America from Africa during the era of the transatlantic slave trade. Collard greens could be found in nearly every kitchen garden tended by enslaved people throughout the Southern United States before emancipation, grown as a supplement to the unhealthy rations provided by plantation owners. For this reason, collards remain an important symbol of African American cultural resilience and a key ingredient in Southern cooking today. Traditionally, a “mess” of collards is cooked with fatback or ham hock and often combined with other greens like mustard. Oftentimes it is the green in Hoppin’ John, a delicious Southern dish with greens, rice, and black-eyed peas, traditionally served on New Year’s Day for good luck. Collards are typically planted in spring and fall. They taste sweeter after a frost, but can handle summer heat too. For storage, young collard leaves can be blanched in boiling water, cooled, and then frozen.
