Some lovely ideas - both for growing, eating and for travelling to explore local markets. I'm turning half of my allotment plot into a mini food forest & have planted a few hostas & Solomon's seal so may have enough to try a taste when they get established. Did pick asparagus at the weekend so that made me very happy 😊
Thanks for educating me on these greens. I struggle with enjoying both asparagus and fiddleheads--something about their texture I can’t get past--and have never tried hops, but your words and art are somewhat encouraging!
Thanks for this, Elisabeth. One spring shoot that's a new discovery, at least to me, is the tender young sprouts (if that's the right word) of hostas. I have plenty of hostas in my shady garden but I'm always reluctant to snip them off in infancy for fear they will not survive. Have you tried them?
Hops (lupoli), mentioned by Elizabeth Minchilli, are also a favorite but seem often to be confused with wild asparagus. And reading your reply to EM, I remember the orobanche (sporchia, I think) that we were served in Puglia many years ago.
Never would have thought of edibility of hosta shoots - great info. I see they're another member of Asparagaceae family. Who'da thought it? Orobanche still my fave, though, but would prob need a fava-bean field.
A question: is Black Bryony (Tamus communis) edible or not? (Wiki seems to think it isn't). i.e. trailing vine climber with dark green heart-shaped leaves, small greenish flower-sprays and red berries, grows in woods and scrub - not to be confused with White Bryony which has similarly-green flower-sprays and red berries but deeply indented fig-like leaves. Mentioned as edible in Le Livre de Michel Bras, counts as forage and, in my experience, sold in markets among other spring shoots in Italy and France. Thoughts, please.
Sporchia - yes! Beautiful purple-tipped, looks like asparagus till you take a closer look. Orobanche sp. are all over the place (found a spectacular yellow one on the shores of the Sea of Galilee) - but since they're parasitic imagine edibility depends on host-plant. Do you know Le Livre de Michel Bras? He lists the Latin for about forty species found round about his restaurant in the Aveyron. mostly gathered right now. I kept my own notes (Welsh uplands pretty much like la france profonde, and made a list with common names (you'll certainly recognise most of 'em), includes unusual stuff such as stonecrop and ladies' bedstraw. Didn't know about hostas - pls taste n report!
Dorothy H also good on salep/saloop/dogstone - dried, powdered ground-orchid tuber (usually O. mascula, but others too inc Early Marsh - loads round where you are). Protected now, but very much gathered for use as bedtime drink until well after WW2. Very high in protein, suspect it was the forerunner of Horlicks and Ovaltine. What think?
Some lovely ideas - both for growing, eating and for travelling to explore local markets. I'm turning half of my allotment plot into a mini food forest & have planted a few hostas & Solomon's seal so may have enough to try a taste when they get established. Did pick asparagus at the weekend so that made me very happy 😊
Thanks for educating me on these greens. I struggle with enjoying both asparagus and fiddleheads--something about their texture I can’t get past--and have never tried hops, but your words and art are somewhat encouraging!
Thanks for this, Elisabeth. One spring shoot that's a new discovery, at least to me, is the tender young sprouts (if that's the right word) of hostas. I have plenty of hostas in my shady garden but I'm always reluctant to snip them off in infancy for fear they will not survive. Have you tried them?
Hops (lupoli), mentioned by Elizabeth Minchilli, are also a favorite but seem often to be confused with wild asparagus. And reading your reply to EM, I remember the orobanche (sporchia, I think) that we were served in Puglia many years ago.
I had something last week in Sicily that I think may have been hops, but not sure. They were pureed into a sauce for pasta and were incredible.
Lovely Elisabeth. ♥️Dorothy Hartley she had good Laver chat, too.
Never would have thought of edibility of hosta shoots - great info. I see they're another member of Asparagaceae family. Who'da thought it? Orobanche still my fave, though, but would prob need a fava-bean field.
A question: is Black Bryony (Tamus communis) edible or not? (Wiki seems to think it isn't). i.e. trailing vine climber with dark green heart-shaped leaves, small greenish flower-sprays and red berries, grows in woods and scrub - not to be confused with White Bryony which has similarly-green flower-sprays and red berries but deeply indented fig-like leaves. Mentioned as edible in Le Livre de Michel Bras, counts as forage and, in my experience, sold in markets among other spring shoots in Italy and France. Thoughts, please.
Sporchia - yes! Beautiful purple-tipped, looks like asparagus till you take a closer look. Orobanche sp. are all over the place (found a spectacular yellow one on the shores of the Sea of Galilee) - but since they're parasitic imagine edibility depends on host-plant. Do you know Le Livre de Michel Bras? He lists the Latin for about forty species found round about his restaurant in the Aveyron. mostly gathered right now. I kept my own notes (Welsh uplands pretty much like la france profonde, and made a list with common names (you'll certainly recognise most of 'em), includes unusual stuff such as stonecrop and ladies' bedstraw. Didn't know about hostas - pls taste n report!
Dorothy H also good on salep/saloop/dogstone - dried, powdered ground-orchid tuber (usually O. mascula, but others too inc Early Marsh - loads round where you are). Protected now, but very much gathered for use as bedtime drink until well after WW2. Very high in protein, suspect it was the forerunner of Horlicks and Ovaltine. What think?
Fascinating as ever. Have you tried the young shoots of Solomon's Seal? So good - a sweet, bright and similarish to asparagus, and very succulent.
Inspiring read, as ever, and always something new to learn. I'm off to the fields to look for hops. Thank-you.
Love the print idea ❤️