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Feature Articles

What are Leeks?

Meet a Not-Too-Famous Onion

Discovering What We Don’t Know About Leeks

Alien Encounters:

Drumming Up Inspiration for Strange-Sounding Vegetables

A Week of Leeks:

Get to know Leeks, 7 Easy Ways

In Every Issue

Why We Love It

Partners in Flavor and Season

Leek Season

Vegetable Boosters

Picky Eater Tips

Money Saving Tricks

News from the Farm

Cooking School

Cooking Classes:

White Fish and Leeks en Papillote

Roasted Leeks and Butternut Squash Salad

Buying the Best

Storing for Flavor

Prepping Tricks & Tips

Cooking Basics

Recipes, Recipes, Recipes

13 Easy Recipes: Make

Leeks a Mid-Winter Favorite

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How can there even be a Vegetable of the Month for January. . . and why are leeks that vegetable?

Admittedly, it's a stretch to talk about a Vegetable of the Month when in many places there is snow on the ground, temperatures in the teens and no living green thing for miles. Exactly the point. The dismal weather outside is precisely why leeks are a perfect vegetable for January: Because they are a great storage vegetable.

In areas where the ground is frozen, leeks can be harvested in late autumn and stored clear into March. “Eating in the Depths of Winter" reveals how this amazing feat is accomplished by the Monroe’s on their farm in eastern Colorado.
In less severe climates, leeks can be "stored" all winter right in the ground where they're grown!

To make matters even better, different varieties of leeks have been developed with a range of maturation periods and even greater hardiness levels. Certain varieties, especially small baby leeks, mature quickly and become available by early to mid-summer, depending upon the locale. Others mature in stages after the early birds, so they are available through the fall. Finally, some are so hardy they can be left in the ground in milder climates for harvest all winter.

So even in the depths of winter, leeks mercifully provide seasonal eaters with something green and fresh tasting.

Winter storage leeks may not look that great at first, but peeling away the withered, gnarly exterior . . .

Leek Season

Cold-Weather Crops

How we love cold weather crops! They grow and actually taste better in cool temperatures. Leeks can survive temperatures in the 20s and 30s–sometimes even lower. They might get nipped by the cold, but they hold their own and usually rebound when the weather warms.

reveals the smooth, lovely vegetable inside. Read more about how the Monroe’s store leeks for several months in winter.