Ayden, North Carolina Shines as the Collard Capital of the World
by Susan Davis on 23/06/09 at 2:35 pm
These babys probably came from Ayden
Ayden, North Carolina is one of those little towns that you are likely to pass through when leaving Greenville on the way south to …. well, on the way to somewhere else. Ayden really isn’t near anything, although Kinston, New Bern and Goldsboro are all within an hour’s drive. A tiny town of barely 5,000, Ayden isn’t known for much, except perhaps for that large, leafy southern specialty … the collard. Collards are related to broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, and have always been a staple on the Southern dinner plate, slow cooked with ham hocks, bacon or other meat.
Meet Benny and Vickie Cox of the Collard Shack
Ayden’s real claim to fame is a small roadside vegetable stand affectionately known to the locals as the Collard Shack. Owned and operated by farmer and local entrepreneur Benny Cox, along with his wife, Vickie, the duo has been growing and selling specialty and heirloom vegetable crops in this eastern North Carolina community to an eager and steady stream of loyal customers for years. Best known for selling a local delicacy that Cox calls Carolina yellow cabbage collards, the Collard Shack can sell up to 500 pounds of this veggie a day. Distinctively different from what most folks know as collard greens, these Carolina yellow cabbage collards have a taste more like sweet potatoes than the pungent traditional variety, although they both tend to be cooked with smoked meat products for that Southern “to die for” and “melt in your mouth” taste.
“The yellow cabbage collard has a different taste than what is called a green Georgia collard,” said Cox in a National Public Radio interview earlier this month. “The yellow cabbage collard is more tender. It’s got a yellow tint to it, and it’s not as tough.”
“I’ve been eating collards as long as I can remember,” Cox’s wife Vickie said, as she recounted having collards at least five days a week while growing up.
Yellow Cabbage Collard Plants have been around for Generations
Many of the Carolina yellow cabbage collard plants have been handed down from generation to generation, although no one knows exactly from where they originated. “Noah may have brought the first plants over on the Ark,” Cox jokes, in interview with the Southeast Farm Press.
The Collard Shack sells most of its Carolina yellow cabbage collards around the holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, and for special occasions. But because of a unique, staggered planting system, Cox can harvest and offer his crops year round, so they are always in season.
Perhaps one of the most popular times for selling collards is the week after Labor Day, when the annual Collard Festival takes place in Ayden. This year, the festival is celebrating its 35th anniversary, and is featuring the ever-popular collard-eating contest, where contestants consume as many collards as they can in the 30-minute eating period. Because of the Festival, Ayden likes to think of itself as the “Collard Capital of the World.”
Growing Your Own Carolina Yellow Cabbage Collards isn’t Easy
Finding Carolina yellow cabbage collards is not easy, since it is rare to see them growing outside of the Carolinas. And since they’re considered heirloom vegetables, finding seeds to grow your own is even more difficult, unless you belong to an agricultural co-op or live in the Carolinas, where local farmers may be willing to share or sell you a handful.
Or you can always take a trip to Ayden and visit the Collard Shack, where you can get your collards raw or cooked. And perhaps they’ll throw in a packet of seeds as well.
Related Links
National Public Radio – North Carolina Town Cooks up Yellow Cabbage Collards
