Odd smell - very fresh kale

[xherbivorex]

I have kale that I recently picked up from my CSA - just this past saturday - its fresh, green, not wilty or slimy or yellowed in any way. there were two aphid spiderey mite type looking things on it when i shook it out but i washed the stuff about five times - its definitely clean. There are a few dots here and there where I'm guessing bugs were hanging out, but they dont look like spots where anything is starting to go bad. They're very tiny and uniform in shape. There is a smell to it like...I want to say fishy, but not really fishy. The best way to describe it is maybe the smell you might encounter when walking into a Korean grocery store - I actually went shopping for some stuff there the other day and thought the smell might be from that, but as i was washing the kale I realized it was coming from the greens.

has anyone ever experienced this? has kale always had a weird smell and I just never noticed it before? This stuff is fresh picked and looks to be in good shape but the smell is so weird, I'm not sure if its safe to eat. I would really hate for there to be something wrong with this stuff as I have three bunches of it and have always had such perfect service from my CSA in the past.

[sport]

Are you familiar with the smell of cabbage. Kale smells of cabbage.

[xherbivorex]

Yes, very familiar with the smell of cabbage. This smells more like...fish and spearmint. I've been eating kale for years and it was enough to make me stop and ask myself, "what is that SMELL?!"

[sport]

It may be best not to eat it. You will only be adding it to other things and then if it does not work you have wasted those as well.

[snoops]

I have had kale a couple times that looks really good and when I got home my whole trunk smelled of spoiled milk. I thought my milk had spilled (ah families milk!) Once I realized it was the kale I returned it and always give it a sniff now before I buy. It is smelly sometimes and I just don't buy it. Not sure what causes it cause the kale looks great.

[Tenuviel]

I've had this too! Maybe they are using fish meal as a fertilizer?

[streetsurfer]

I think Tenuvial is on the right track.

Fish and spearmint are very good clues. This tells me it was fertilized with a fish emulsion based natural organic fertilizer that uses natural mint oils as a masking agent. I use one with just those ingredients, as well as some seaweed extract (which by itself can also a little fishy smelling). It is a popular natural fertilizer among organic growers.

Washing it well would be all I would do with it. I am careful to not fertilize onto the leaf if it is near harvest time because of the odor. I usually soil apply, but I have sprayed the foilage too. The smell passes within a day or two. There have been times I've eaten my lettuce and could detect a hint of the odor, when it was plucked a short time from a watering/fertilizing. It produces wonderful blooms and rich foilage. It is likely that your plants were recently fertilized, but with a safe, though somewhat temporarily smelly product.

message me if you want the name of the product I suspect you are smelling. You can then ask your csa if they use it on their crops.

[richmondbc]

I have the same problem. This summer I planted kale in a pot. They were doing pretty well and don't smell at all if kept in the veg crisper of my refrigerator. I usually keep them sealed in Glad bags. Last week, I bought curly kale and placed them in the veg crisper but did not keep them in a Glag bag. The kale had the stinking smell similar to cabbage when cooked. I've never experienced this smell with the kale from my garden. Perhaps there is something in my ref that triggered the sulphur in the kale. I will buy kale again and store them in Glad bags and see if they will stink again. Will update you guys of the result of this.

[Stina]

I have the same problem. This summer I planted kale in a pot. They were doing pretty well and don't smell at all if kept in the veg crisper of my refrigerator. I usually keep them sealed in Glad bags. Last week, I bought curly kale and placed them in the veg crisper but did not keep them in a Glag bag. The kale had the stinking smell similar to cabbage when cooked. I've never experienced this smell with the kale from my garden. Perhaps there is something in my ref that triggered the sulphur in the kale. I will buy kale again and store them in Glad bags and see if they will stink again. Will update you guys of the result of this.

Glad bag? Is that specifically for produce? By the makers of glad rags....ha ha ha

[WendyLouWho]

I can attest to this as a kale grower. We grow our veggies all organic and use both fish and seaweed immulsion as fertilizer (not starting a vegan debate or intending to offend, just sharing). When I soak and clean our kale, I get a fishy smell and have at times with storebought greens, too.

I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as whether it's "good" or "bad" unless you have a problem or stand against using fish immulsion as fertilizer. I think it would be difficult to tell (unless you ask the grower directly) if they use fish or seaweed. The smell is the same.