Mini vegetables are vegetables that are harvested at a very young age or come from small varieties. They are not a particular species and certainly not genetically modified organisms. GMOs are forbidden in organic agriculture.
Mini vegetables look great on a plate – all the more so because their rapid cycle makes them relatively immune to the vagaries of weather and pest attacks, which, in organic farming, makes them easier to produce than equivalent adult vegetables. They are brightly coloured and generally crunchier and tastier than full-grown vegetables. Most of them can be eaten raw, so they retain all their vital energy and nutrients. No need to peel them; they are ready to be eaten.
At Bec Hellouin, we were producing them to meet the demands of chefs, and they soon made an appearance on our own table. After discovering them, we couldn’t do without them, especially as our daughters don’t like cooked vegetables. Vegetables are so much better to eat young and raw.
Many vegetables can be harvested at an immature stage. Do your own tests!
Here are the species currently marketed in France as mini vegetables, as well as some finds from our gardens:
Vegetables harvested young
Garlic shoots: Garlic can be harvested young, with a barely swollen bulb. We sell it in bunches of ten at the end of winter and in early spring, when there is not yet much to harvest in the gardens. We reserve the small cloves in the centre of the bulbs for growing shoots. Planted tightly at 6cm apart, these small bulbs produce in abundance.
Mini beet: Beetroot are well suited to early harvesting at 3-4cm in diameter. Varieties with an array of bright colours make beautiful bunches.
Mini carrots: Carrots can be harvested very young, when they are only 5-6cm long. Dense planting and regular harvests will produce them for about a month. The attractiveness of baby carrots is even greater when you choose varieties with multiple colours like purple, violet, yellow, white and more. The varieties can be sown in a mixture or grown separately.
Mini Chinese cabbage: Not well known in Europe, this is one of the mainstays of Asian cuisine. There are many varieties with bright colours, adapted to the different seasons. For us, the cultivation of Chinese baby cabbage is the most profitable, because it is possible to transplant about 100 of them per square metre and their cycle is particularly fast. Harvesting begins three weeks after transplanting. Growing mini Chinese cabbages is particularly easy because they are harvested before bioaggressors discover them, and that also avoids the risk of going to seed.
Mini kohlrabi: Planted densely, about every 10cm, kohlrabi grows small bulbs that are delicious, tender and sweet. They can be eaten without peeling. The white varieties are particularly tasty.
Cucumber flower: Beautiful small yellow flowers that turn into fruit, measuring 2-3cm. To produce a large number of flowers, it is better not to prune cucumber plants. A big bushy plant produces many flowers.
Female courgette blossom: Popular with restaurant owners, the female courgette blossom is harvested while still attached to the early developing fruit, measuring 4-5cm.
Male courgette flower: The large male courgette flower does not develop into a baby courgette; it can be stuffed or used to make fritters. Each courgette plant can produce a fairly large number of male and female flowers.
Mini courgette: An intense flavour, melts in the mouth. It is harvested at about 8cm long.
Mini shallots: Planted densely and harvested three to four weeks later when their bulb is still firm and topped with young leaves 6-8cm high. Cut in half and caramelised in a frying pan, they are a treat. Staggering the planting makes it possible to offer them for sale for several months.
Mini endives: Harvested when they are only a few centimetres long.
Mini fennel: Planted tightly, fennel can be harvested when the bulbs are very young. Be sure to cut the crown as high as possible, just flush with the bulb – it will sprout again and give two mini fennels a few weeks later.
Mini turnips: There are many varieties of turnips and the diversity of their colours is a wonder. We harvest them when they are the size of a golf ball and, as with beets and carrots, make irresistible multicoloured bunches. Harvested immature, turnips have a delicate, sweet flavour and can be eaten raw. Our favourite variety is Hakurei, a Japanese turnip as white as the snows of Mount Fuji – its delicate taste is nothing like ordinary turnips.
Mini onions: Onions can be harvested very young, as a stem with a barely swollen base or when the bulbs are just beginning to form. Both white and red varieties are well suited for this.
Mini leeks: I am particularly fond of mini leeks, especially since the shallow, silty soils of Bec Hellouin are not suitable for producing leeks grown to maturity. Leeks can be harvested when they are about 12cm long and pencil thin. They can be transplanted 3-4cm apart for an abundant harvest in a small area. A nursery in full sun is all that is needed; it is not necessary to transplant them. Their roots contribute to the decorative effect on a plate.
Mini aubergine: Some smaller aubergine varieties are suitable for early harvest. Large-fruited varieties should not be harvested immaturely because their flavour is not fully developed.
Mini cabbage: Choosing a small variety and planting densely produces small cabbages. Cauliflower can also be grown this way.
Mini corn: Some varieties produce very small ears.
Mini peppers: The choice of a variety that produces an abundance of small fruits is essential.
Mini tomato: Cherry tomatoes, small in size, with a variety of colours, red, purple, yellow, orange, and white.
Mini pumpkins: Choose a very small variety like Jack-Be-Little and sell them fully grown.
Mini pattypan: Young pattypan squash is very decorative. They are available in different colours. Their edible female flowers grow attached to the top of the squash.
It is best to choose the most colourful species and varieties: red oak leaf lettuce, red Komatsuna Chinese cabbage, purple mizunas, purple frills mustard, watercress, red-veined sorrel, Russian red kale, giant lamb’s quarters and of course, the most spectacular multicoloured chard.
The choice is even wider than for young leaves as different vegetables give very beautiful shoots. This list is of course only indicative, so don’t hesitate to test other species and varieties.
Some varieties may be unavailable. Replace them with similar varieties and grow a very nice selection with the seeds that are offered.
This is an extract from Living with the Earth, volume 2: Food Crops and Forest Gardens by Perrine Bulgheroni and Charles Hervé-Gruyer.
No related articles to show for this tag
No related articles to show for this tag
