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Posted by Bart on August 22, 2009, 15:24:02, in reply to "Re: Stinging Nettle - as an edible?!"
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Boiling it collapses the little needles that inject the sting, rendering it impotent. The young, tender leaves are best; it has a taste like Lipton tea. Tossed with a bit of vinagrette dressing, it isn't bad and actually is quite nutritious. We harvest it by holding your pot underneath and cutting the leaf with the scissors from your Swiss Army knife.
I'd have to be really starving to eat it raw...
--Previous Message--
: Yep! Cooked and ate it as a Boy Scout
: many years ago. We "double
: boiled" it. Cooked it
: once--drained off the water--boiled
: it again. Not too tasty, but if you
: don't have any other food it will
: do.
:
: I saw a demonstration about 10 years
: ago where it was eaten raw by
: folding it up very tight with the
: nettle side inside. Then bite into
: it...I think I'll save that for a
: really desperate moment.
:
: --Previous Message--
: So, having just had another
: wonderful
: brush with stinging nettle on my
: past trip out to Mineshaft Flat, I
: was reminded that the plant is
: actually an edible.
:
: So, I looked it up in a book on
: useful and edible plants in
: California (I picked this book up at
: the Barton Flats station years ago).
: The book says the plant, mostly its
: leaves, may be used basically the
: same as one might use spinach.
:
: Has anyone ever actually tried to
: eat the stuff?
:
: One recipe was as simple as boil
: chopped pieces of the plant, drain,
: toss with butter and eat.
:
: I'd be curious what it's like to
: overcome the fear of the burning
: plant and actually grab it and
: ingest it on purpose. So far, I
: just don't think I've got the guts
: to try it.
:
: As for my most recent sting, yes, my
: old trick of slathering the stung
: area on my leg with mud from the
: stream bed does still help. I
: haven't been stung in years, now I
: remember how it feels.
:
:
:
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