Hello. This is 6 Minute English from
BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.
And I’m Sam.
‘Kalettes’, ‘CauliShoots’, and ‘Tenderstems’...
Can you guess what they are, Sam?
Well, they sound like the names
of pop groups to me!
Yes, good guess, but in fact the truth is
even stranger – they’re varieties of vegetable
being grown in the UK by a new generation
of fruit and veg growers. Forget traditional
carrots, leeks and potatoes - vegetables
today are getting a modern makeover
thanks to breeding methods which mix
two different plants to produce something
completely new, known as a hybrid.
The hybrid, Kalette, for example is a mix
between kale and a Brussel sprout.
Tenderstems are a mix of traditional
broccoli with a type of Chinese kale.
And CauliShoots are small green stems
with mini cauliflower heads shooting out
the side. These exciting new varieties,
which look very different from traditional
vegetables, are increasingly popular
on farms, in shops and in restaurants
across the UK. In this programme, we’ll hear
all about these new vegetables and the
people who grow, cook and eat them. And,
as usual, we’ll be learning some
new vocabulary as well.
Sounds good, Sam! But first I have a question
for you. One of the first hybrids on sale
in the UK was named, Cotton Candy,
because of its sweet, caramel flavour.
But is Cotton Candy:
a) a cherry? b) a strawberry?
or c) a grape?
Well, if it’s sweet, I’ll guess it’s a strawberry.
OK, well, we’ll reveal the answer later
in the programme. The Kalettes which Sam
mentioned earlier, were introduced in the
British market in 2010 under the name,
‘Flower Sprouts’. They were advertised as a
healthy vegetable that could be cooked
or eaten raw and became extremely popular.
The inventor of the Kalette is Jamie Claxton,
one of the UK’s top seed producers and
head of plant breeding firm, Tozer Seeds.
Here’s Jamie chatting with, Leyla Kazim,
presenter of BBC Radio 4’s,
The Food Programme.
And so how did the idea of the Kalette
even come about in the first place?
We do quite a lot of blue-sky breeding
where we just try wacky stuff
and see what happens.
Were you looking at sprout and a kale
going, ‘I could do something
exciting with this’.
We were looking at the whole of the brassica
family, those are all brassica oleracea -
Brussels sprouts, kales, cauliflowers,
and just thinking how… Obviously we knew
they would cross pollinate easily and
produce unusual veg, and we were just
kind of thinking we need to create
something that's more modern, you know,
Brussels sprouts and kales are very traditional...
Throw a few things in together in a mixing pot
thing and see what comes out.
Jamie says Kalettes were the result of blue-sky
breeding. This phrase comes from another
expression, blue-sky thinking, which means
using your imagination to try to come up
with completely new and original ideas.
Some of Jamie’s plants were wacky - unusual
in a funny or surprising way, but this
was all part of the fun of breeding and
growing new vegetables. Jamie threw his
ideas into the mixing pot – a place where
different ideas mingle together
to create something new.
Hybrid vegetables add exciting new colours
and tastes to traditional veg, such as
the deep purple leaves of rainbow kale, or
the sweet nutty flavour of a CauliShoot.
As a result, they have become fashionable
with many British chefs, including Jack Stein,
son of TV chef, Rick, who runs a restaurant
in the seaside town of Padstow in Cornwall.
Here’s presenter of BBC Radio 4’s,
The Food Programme, Leyla Kazim, again,
talking to Jack about what
makes a great new vegetable.
When you’re looking at new varieties of veg,
are there any particular traits that you're
looking for that will help in the kitchen?
I mean, obviously it's gonna be down to
taste really, and it's gonna be down to what
it looks like on the plates. The colour,
the texture, the taste, all these things are
really important, but I think novelty and
things like the Kalettes were great. I mean,
they were originally called ‘Flower Sprouts’.
Jack names two features of great hybrid veg.
First, there’s the texture – the way
something feels when you touch it...
And second, novelty – the fact that
something is new and unusual. Added to
the surprising way many new varieties
look, and of course their great taste,
modern vegetables have provided a
welcome new addition
to traditional British cooking.
And don’t forget the unusual names too, Sam,
like the ‘Cotton Candy’ fruit
I asked you about in my question.
Yes, I guessed Cotton Candies were a
new variety of strawberry. Was I right?
You were wrong I’m afraid, Sam. In fact,
Cotton Candy is a variety of grape, so
called because they’re very sweet and
taste like you’ve been to the fairground.
OK, let’s recap the vocabulary we’ve learned
from this programme about new
vegetable hybrids – plants which have been
grown by mixing two different plants together.
Blue-sky thinking involves using your
imagination to try and
think up original ideas.
Somethings which is unusual in a funny
or surprising way could be described as wacky.
The mixing pot is a place where different
ideas or ingredients get
mixed to create something new.
Texture means the way something
feels when you touch it.
And finally, novelty is the quality of being
new or unusual. If you’ve enjoyed
this programme, why not take the taste
test by cooking some
hybrid vegetables yourself.
And remember to join us again soon for
more trending topics and useful
vocabulary here at 6 Minute English.
Goodbye for now!
Bye bye!