Take It From the Pros

• Elizabeth Schneider, author of "Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini," notes that the earliest decorative kale from around 1985 was definitely inedible and that no amount of cooking would soften the leaves. She noticed a change in about 2001 and now recommends both the purple and cream varieties for cooked and raw dishes. Leah Koenig, author of "The Hadassah Everyday Cookbook," notes that purple varieties of ornamental kale are almost as popular as dark green Lacinato kale.

Toss the Stems

• No amount of cooking can soften the tough stems of any type of kale, including the ornamental varieties. You can keep smaller leaves with their stems intact, but you need to remove larger leaves from their stems. Do this either by cutting the entire stems off with one cut on either side of the stem. If some of the side stems are also thick, pull the leaves off both the main stem and the side stems by hand.

Some Like It Raw

• Not only can you eat decorative kale, but you can eat it raw. Either slice it very thinly in a chiffonade style and use it as you would any lettuce or tenderize it with a massage. After slicing or tearing the kale, add a bit of salt, lemon juice and olive oil and gently squeeze the kale with your hands for a minute or two. The kale reduces in size and becomes tender yet still crisp at the same time.

Eating Kale Every NIght

• Chopped ornamental kale cooks in 10 minutes steamed, sauteed or tossed in a pot of soup or stew. Whole leaves coated with olive oil bake in 20 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, forming crispy chips. Once cooked, ornamental kale works in recipes in the same way that other kales do, but gives your dishes an attractive multihued color. Use kale for creamed dishes, in stir-fries, as a side dish sauteed with garlic and in quiches.