Meaning & use
kohlrabi
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable or uncountable
A vegetable with a round, swollen, pale green or purple stem base that grows above ground and tastes mild and slightly sweet, like a cross between cabbage and turnip.
Grammar: Countable for whole bulbs (two kohlrabis) and uncountable for the food (some kohlrabi).
Patterns
- peel the kohlrabi
- a bunch of kohlrabi
I grated some raw kohlrabi into the salad for crunch.
She roasted two kohlrabis with olive oil and thyme.
Kohlrabi grows quickly and is ready to pick in about two months.
Word forms
| plural | kohlrabis |
|---|
Common combinations
- raw kohlrabi
- Raw kohlrabi is good with a squeeze of lemon.
- roast kohlrabi
- We served roast kohlrabi with the chicken.
- peel kohlrabi
- You need to peel kohlrabi because the skin is tough.
- kohlrabi slaw
- He brought a kohlrabi slaw to the picnic.
- grow kohlrabi
- They grow kohlrabi and carrots in the school garden.
Synonyms and how they differ
- turnip
- A turnip is a root that grows underground, while kohlrabi is a swollen stem that grows above the soil.
- cabbage
- Cabbage is eaten for its leaves, whereas kohlrabi is mainly eaten for its bulb, though they are close relatives.
- rutabaga
- Rutabaga is a larger, denser, yellow-fleshed root; kohlrabi is paler, crisper and often eaten raw.
Word family
- kohlrabis noun
- plural form
- brassica noun
- the plant family that includes kohlrabi, cabbage and broccoli
Commonly confused: kohlrabi or coleslaw?
kohlrabi vs coleslaw
Coleslaw is a salad of shredded raw cabbage in dressing; kohlrabi is a separate vegetable that can be used in a slaw.
Practice
Which description best fits kohlrabi?
Choose one answer.
Kohlrabi is a swollen stem that grows above ground. Turnips and similar roots grow below the surface.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kohlrabi”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.