The following post is copied from Alan Nation's blog, found at the Stockman GrassFarmer's website. I take no credit for this information, all credit goes to the author, Mr Alan Nation. For more news on farming and farm related topics, please visit Mr. Nation's blog .
I get a kick out of info like this, so, please enjoy.
Eating Weeds Is Latest Health Food Trend
Monday, 01 June 2009
Those weeds in your pasture could be a valuable new source of cash flow reports The Wall Street Journal. Greens are "trendy items" in haute cuisine these days and edible weeds are what has gourmands really excited. Edible weeds currently sell for $3 per six ounce bunch and their prices have been rising by 20% each year. Until the mid-20th Century, weeds such as wild onion, pokeweed and sorrel were widely eaten in the USA. Burdock is useful in soups and stews and the stalk is said to similar in taste and appearance to celery. Chickweed is mild flavored and is readily used in salads. Dandelion greens lose their bitterness if soaked in cold water and can be used in salads or cooked like spinach. Kudzu leaves can be battered and fried. In Asia, kudzu roots are made into a valuable flour. Lamb’s quarters’ leaves can be cooked as an alternative to spinach, which belongs to the same plant family. Purslane leaves, stems and flowers may be stewed or eaten raw. The succulent stems can be pickled and the purslane ashes can be used as a salt substitute. Shepherd’s purse adds a peppery kick to salads or can be added to a cooked ‘mess of greens.’ Dawn Jackson Blatner of the American Dietetic Association said that eating weeds is healthy because it taps you into the plants’ matrix of immune systems that protect weeds from the sun, the wind and the bugs. "One man’s weed is another man’s wonder food," she said.
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