A swollen-stem cabbage relative — a bulb of crisp white-green flesh that tastes like a sweeter, milder broccoli stem, eaten raw or cooked across Northern European, Indian, and Vietnamese cuisines.
A swollen stem, not a root
Kohlrabi looks like it grows underground but it doesn’t — the bulbous part is a swollen stem above ground, with leaves emerging directly from the bulb. This is unusual; most stem vegetables (asparagus, celery) grow elongated, while most root vegetables (turnips, carrots) grow underground.
The stem swelling is a deliberate breeding outcome — wild Brassica oleracea doesn’t form bulbs; selective breeding over centuries produced the modern kohlrabi.
German for “cabbage turnip”
The German name Kohl-rabi literally means “cabbage-turnip” — accurately describing the plant’s appearance and flavor. It’s neither, but it’s something between them — milder than turnip, sweeter than cabbage, with the crunch of a fresh apple.
In German-speaking countries, kohlrabi is a familiar everyday vegetable. In English-speaking countries, it remains a farmers’-market curiosity despite being easy to grow and eat.
Eat the leaves too
Kohlrabi greens are edible and similar to collard greens — slightly tougher than the bulb, but excellent sautéed or in soups. Most American cooks discard them; that’s a waste. The leaves are nutritionally superior to the bulb (more calcium, iron, vitamins A and C) and have a mild cabbage flavor.
A whole kohlrabi plant — bulb plus leaves — is essentially two vegetables for one purchase.
Find more vegetables by letter
Kohlrabi starts with K and ends with I. Browse other vegetables along the same letter.
Vegetables that contain a letter from "Kohlrabi":