Edible Plants - Thistle

Novya got behind on her reports for her edible plants class.  Her goal was a lesson every other week.  So, until she catches up we'll have a few closer together than that.



Logan and I are interested in this subject, too.  So, she tries out her information on Logan and I before handing it in to her instructor.  Once in a while our questions help her think of something else to add into her reports.

Today's lesson is on the Thistle.  Most of a thistle is good for food.

The most popular thistle for eating is the Milk Thistle (or Holy Thistle).  It is easy to recognize and is found in most states in the US. 

Some other edible thistles are the Canada Thistle (or Creeping Thistle)

 
The Bull Thistle which has a large hollow stem with a sugar cane like taste.



 
The Indian Thistle which grows abundantly in the state of Washington.




The Leafy Thistle (Dwarf or Picnic Thistle).

Thistles are best in the spring when they are tender.  However young plants can sometimes be found later in the season. 

The roots are best boiled or roasted. They contain the starch inulun and break down into sugar when cooked.  Once they are cooked they can also be dried and ground into flour.

Collecting thistle roots and grinding into flour sounds a lot quicker and easier than getting enough dandelion seeds or cattail seeds to make flour.

The roots of unbolted (not yet flowered) young plants can be good in the fall.  However, they may cause gas.

The stems and the veins in the leaves are edible raw after peeling to remove the stickers.  Usually, the bottom half of the stems are too stringy to be good.  You might want to throw them away.

Raw the peeled stems can be used in salads like rhubarb or asparagus.  Or they can be eaten like celery.

The leaf itself can be eaten once the barbs are removed.  Raw it is good in salads as another green.  Cooked it is a good spinach replacement.

Immature flower heads are edible raw.  But, most people prefer them steamed.


And thistle seeds can be roasted for use as a coffee substitute.


It would be good to check out the thistles in your area to find out what kinds you have and to make sure they are edible.

And before eating any wild plant make sure it's not growing where it has been sprayed with insecticide or weed killer.

Edible Plants - Cattail

Cattails, would you believe it?

Novya gave Logan and I our second edible plant lesson.

She tried to put this lesson off until she could get a field trip to a place where cattails grow.  However, the weather got to cold and wet.  Nana didn't want her tramping through the mud to get to the plants.


I had no idea that the cattail is edible.  Except for the rhizome, it seems to be most useful as food during the late spring.  Some writers say it was a staple of the American Indians because of its abundance.

The pollen has only a short time in the spring in which it can be gathered.  It is very popular and expensive at health food stores, in capsule form. It is a source of minerals, enzymes, protein and energy.  It can also be used as a flour substitute and/or thickener.

The sticky jelly you find as you gather stalks should be scraped off and saved for thickening soups in an okra-like fashion.

The rhizome is usually harvested from late fall to early spring.  The starch from it can be made into flour. The rhizome can also be cooked or eaten raw. 

The leaf bases can be eaten, cooked or raw in late spring.  They can be eaten in the early spring, but there isn't much to them and they have a terrible bitter flavor then.  However, they would serve as food if you were starving.
  The green flower spike can be boiled or steamed and eaten like corn on the cob in late spring.  Unlike corn it is very dry and should be served with a sauce of some kind.


In spring the shoots have a tender sweet inside that is edible raw or cooked.  

Seeds once they are separated from the fluff can be eaten as seeds or ground into flour like the dandelion seeds.

There are sites on-line with recipes using cattail if you are interested in trying them.

Cattail plants have many uses other than for eating. But, at this time we are only looking at them as a source of food.

Edible Plants - Dandelion

Do you have dandelions on your property?


Novya has information for us about an edible plant we should be aware of.


If you have dandelions and they haven't been sprayed with a weed killer or fertilizer you have a versatile, edible plant within easy access.  Dandelions are available from spring until fall.  This makes them easy to find and harvest, at your convenience   Their flavor is usually sweeter and milder in the spring when they are more tender.

Dandelions are also available at many farmers markets and some supermarkets.

The entire dandelion can be eaten when raw and most of it can be cooked and eaten.

The flowers and leaves are often used in salads.  The flower would make a salad with more color.

The roots can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute or tea.  The articles I read say it is delicious.  No one in our house drinks coffee so we can't test that theory on anyone here.

The seeds can be ground and used as flour.  I can't imagine gathering enough of those little seeds to grind and make enough flour to make anything.  Sarafina says it might not be too bad to just get enough flour to thicken gravy or something. 

Dandelions are also used for fritters, pickles, wine, jelly and many other foods.  All Recipes, Martha Stewart, Cdkitchen and other recipe sites have recipes available.


If you need a great source for zinc, calcium, potassium, iron, vitamin A, B complex, vitamin C, vitamin D or Vitamin K the dandelion would be good for you. 

The health benefits are quite interesting too.  But, here we're looking for uses as a food.

Sarafina is going to add dandelions to her herb garden next summer.  She is excited that Novya found a new plant for her add to her collections of herbs.