Would you eat a Kalette? ⏲️ 6 Minute English

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!