Nettles - edible itchy goodness

As part of our spring foraging series we bring you Urtica dioica, otherwise known as stinging nettle.  Already there is at least one reader who is exclaiming “You mean itch weed?”.  Indeed we do mean “itch weed”.  Nettle has been used for centuries as a spring potherb, a fiber source and medicinal herb.  Nettle is easy to identify by the leaf shape and the hairs on the stem that are actually very tiny "stingers".  We recommend that you try the new growth or fresh young plants.  After the plant ages a few weeks, the stems become very fibrous and the leaves can become tough.  Though older growth may still be used as a tea, the plant itself become much less palatable.

For this post we will focus on the food source aspect of the plant.  Nettle has a flavor similar to spinach.  It is reportedly high in Vitamins A, C, iron, potassium and calcium.  Nettles can be boiled like spinach for a potherb, ground for a pesto, boiled into a soup, or ground into a herb for additives to cheese.

The trick with nettle is to not get stung by the tiny needles that are located up and down the stem of the plant.  Always pick nettles while wearing thick gloves.  Before eating, the stinging property of the plant has to be removed.  Heat (boiling), saute, drying, or grinding will inactivate the “stingers”.   

Those "stingers" are actually filled with something called formic acid.  Formic acid is the same compound that is found in many insect stings and bites as well.   Fortunately formic acid is easily denatured or made inert by fairly low heating.  Heating also wilts the physical stinger and makes it so it can no longer "sting".  To say this in simple terms, it will no longer sting you if you cook it (even a little).  

We've used and tried nettle in scrambled eggs, teas, and pasta sauces with all great effect.  Give it a try.

Caution:   As with all wild or foraged food, make sure you are 100% sure what you are eating.  When in doubt throw it out.  I am not aware of any poisonous look alike to nettle and it is an easy plant to forage, but always use some caution.  

References:

wikipedia

Wildman Steve’s webpost

webMD’s article for possible medicinal uses and interactions.

Nutritional Info

Dandelion - the scourge of suburbia.

Spring foraging season is right around the corner.  As such we think it prudent to expose some of our favorite spring plants.

Today’s awaited delicacy is the common lawn weed Taraxacum officinale, otherwise known as the dandelion.  This is truly an amazing plant that has been eaten for centuries.  Every part of the plant is wonderful.

Leaves:  Many people see dandelion greens on the natural supermarket shelves at exorbitant prices.  It never occurs to many people to go out to the front yard to collect a salad.  The leaves are best collected in the spring.  As the season progresses, the leaves becoming increasingly bitter.  To collect dandelion greens simple go out and find the plant and cut off some leaves.  Make sure that the area has not been chemically sprayed by overzealous lawn Nazis and it is not in an area well traveled by neighborhood dogs.  Leaves are reported to have a mild diuretic value as well as aid in digestion.  USDA nutritional value

Flowers:  Flowers can be eaten raw in salads, made into tea, used for jelly, or even used for making wine.  Collect only healthy looking flowers from clean (non-sprayed) areas.  Remove the stem and as much green as possible.

Roots:  Roots can be used like a root vegetable or roasted and ground used as a coffee substitute.  Roots can be used any time of year but are actually a bit better in the fall.  Roots have diuretic properties and have also been reported to have a protective effect on the liver (hapatoprotective).   Additionally dandelion roots contain high levels of inulin, which is reported to have significant pre-biotic benefit.

References:

Article from Integrative Medicine

wikipedia

There are literally hundreds of references concerning the benefits of dandelion included in our diets.

Mint Tea

What is better than a nice cup of herbal tea on a cold evening?  It warms you us as it soothes the mind and eases the tension from the day.  Tea is also good in the morning for the kiddos when they have a sore throat or stuffy nose.

This summer we enjoyed herbal tea from our lovely garden mint patch.  Now that fall is here, I am preserving the mint to use as dry tea.  Since my kids like tea but don't like to scoop out loose tea with the metal tea ball, I bought fill-able paper tea bags.  I filled and sealed the bags with dried mint and now we have ready to use tea in our pantry.

First I dried the mint leaves in our food dehydrator.  I used a fruit leather liner under the mint to keep any small pieces from falling through the bottom.  To prevent the mint from blowing around inside the dehydrator I put a regular mesh tray liner on top.  This combination seemed to work well.  If you don't want to use a dehydrator you could air dry the herb by tying a string around a bundle and hanging it upside down until completely dry.   

fresh mint on a dryer tray

mint between two liners

When the mint was completely dry, it was easy to move from the dehydrator tray to a deep mixing bowl by rolling the two liners up like a jelly roll.  I had to pick some of the stems out of the mesh, but it slid right off the fruit leather liner's smooth surface.  Next, I removed the leaves from the stems by gently crumbling them with my hands.  This deep bowl kept all the little pieces from scattering about. 

leaves and stems together

stems were removed and composted

Now came the really tedious part.  I filled the bags with crushed mint leaves using a spoon.  The bags I bought are T-Sac size 1, and are available from Amazon.  They are advertised to hold two teaspoons.  Since the bags are biodegradable they are going in the compost after tea is enjoyed.   

filling a bag with mint leaves

Each bag was sealed using our vacuum sealer.  This was a bit of a tricky process.  I had to use a vacuum sealer bag because the tea bag did not trip the sensor to start the machine.  The tea bag wasn't going to be air-tight so I stopped the vacuum with the stop/seal button and just used the heat feature of the machine.  I have heard that a flat iron or clothing iron works well for sealing the bags.   

sealing the tea bag

Now when we want a warming, soothing mug of tea all we have to do is put the kettle on and open the pantry door. 

tea in the pantry

GINGER

Ginger.  It's a wonderful root that many say can help with nausea, colds, headaches, and even arthritis.  For myself, I ate crystallized ginger when nauseous (in the car) and it did seem to help.  Joe had the flu not long ago and when he was almost ready to eat food again I made ginger honey and ginger tea for him.  He was able to eat soup after having ginger tea as it soothed his nausea.  Joe was running a slight fever still and I like to think the warming effect of ginger tea and ginger honey I kept shoving at him kicked the fever up and out.

  

 Ginger tea is easy to make.  Grate fresh ginger and place it in a reusable tea ball or bag.  You could also grate and dry ginger for later use, reducing the time it takes to prepare the tea - helpful if you are making the ginger tea for yourself when you are sick.  Steep the ginger and add honey if you like.  

Ginger honey or ginger jam is almost as easy to make as tea.  Grate fresh ginger and place it in a saucepan.  Add enough honey just to cover the ginger.  Simmer 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and add a small amount of arrowroot powder to thicken the syrup to more of a jam consistency.  This is very good on toast.  The idea for ginger jam was one of the many helpful tips I picked up at the Mother Earth News Fair in September (thank you, Rosemary Gladstar!).    

 The most recent adventure with ginger was an attempt at crystallized ginger.  There are a million recipes online for crystallized or candied ginger.  This is what I did: peel and slice 1 pound of ginger.  Place ginger in a saucepan and cover with water, boil and reduce to simmer 10 minutes then strain.  Repeat this.  Place the ginger back into the saucepan with 4 cups water and 4 cups sugar.  Bring to a boil.  I let it cook on high for about 30 minutes.  Strain (keep syrup) and place ginger on parchment paper.  Toss with sugar and allow to dry.  Store in a sealed container for several months.

--My ginger required a lot of sugar to coat.  It kept soaking it up, even after drying overnight.  The next time I make it I will try letting it dry some before tossing it with sugar. I kept the extra sugar that got damp but didn't coat the ginger.  It will be good when I want to sweeten something with a little bit of ginger flavor.  I kept the syrup that the ginger cooked in also.  The syrup should be refrigerated.  It is good on waffles!     

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