Pot Likker Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with leftover pot likker? ›

Leftover water (pot liquor) from greens or cabbage makes excellent stock to boil rice in for various dishes. My personal favorite is using it to make dirty rice.

Potlikker maintains much of the nutrients of the greens including iron and vitamins A, C, and K. Another benefit of building your own potlikker is maintaining time-honored traditions of making the most of ingredients.

Pot liquor, sometimes spelled potlikker or pot likker, is the liquid that is left behind after boiling greens (collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens) or beans.

Dialect. a worthless or disgusting person or animal.

Don't toss that broth! Potlikker — the liquid left behind after boiling collards — is loaded with vitamins and minerals. Plus, it's delicious.

Although juicing collard greens is not super popular, raw collard greens are a great addition to any juice. They are full of calcium, and folate, and are a good source of vitamin K, vitamin C, and vitamin A. Cruciferous vegetables like collards are also known for their anticancer effects.

From kale to collards to turnips, we've learned to embrace their nutrient-packed bitterness. So here's a tip: When you're cooking up a big pot of greens, don't toss out what may be the most nutritious part — the brothy water that's left in the pot. Lots of the beneficial nutrients cook out of the greens.

Collard greens have a high vitamin A content. Vitamin A is necessary for sebum production, and this keeps hair moisturized. Vitamin A is crucial for the growth of all bodily tissues, including skin and hair. It also supports the immune system and the eyes and helps keep the body's organs healthy.

It was a staple food eaten by enslaved people in the South, often eaten along with baked or fried cornbread either dipped or crumbled into the potlikker. By the early 1850s, potlikker was a mainstay in Southern diets.

Baking soda has infinite uses in cooking and beyond: It's a leavening agent, an odor neutralizer, and an antacid to name a few. In the case of collard greens, baking soda's utility is threefold, serving as a flavor enhancer, a tenderizer, and a color protector.

Why do you put vinegar in collard greens? ›

This might seem like an unusual addition if you're new to making collard greens, but the vinegar adds a welcome tangy note that brightens the dish and balances out the salty, savory flavors. A tablespoon of sugar also helps balance out the greens' potential bitterness.

Often referred to as hoppin' john, black-eyed peas and collard greens are commonly eaten as part of a Southern tradition to bring forth good luck and prosperity in the new year.

Potlikker (or “pot liquor”) is simple enough to describe—it's the brothy liquid gold left behind after boiling greens and beans—and its roots in Southern culinary traditions and heritage run deep.

In short, potlikker is the liquid left behind after simmering a pot of greens and ham hocks or salt pork. The greens cook for at least an hour, meaning that the cooking liquid is steeped in all the goodness of the vegetables and pork.

Collard greens date back to prehistoric times. They are the oldest leafy green within the cabbage family. Collard greens originated near Greece, but it wasn't until the first Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in the early 1600's that America got its first taste of the delicious dark green vegetable.

It is also an old idea; many a cook who didn't feel the need to use the pot liquor as food has poured it on garden flowers. The flowers use the minerals and, while they don't need vitamins, can use components of vitamins after soil creatures break them down.

But, like the leafy greens that give this broth its dark green color, pot liquor is rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin A and iron. And while old-timers used to chug it as a tonic, some of today's modern Southern chefs use pot liquor to elevate the flavors of other dishes.

Store cooked (and cooled) collard greens in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat on the stove or in increments in the microwave. You can freeze these southern collard greens in zip-top freezer bags for up to 6 months.

From kale to collards to turnips, we've learned to embrace their nutrient-packed bitterness. So here's a tip: When you're cooking up a big pot of greens, don't toss out what may be the most nutritious part — the brothy water that's left in the pot. Lots of the beneficial nutrients cook out of the greens.