Nettles for an idiot

[Cormac]

if i walk up to a clump of nettles what can i do to them to turn them into edible?

do i go to the high ones, new ones..

what???

when do they stop stinging??

cooking?
easy recipies... etc,,, :You_Rock_

 

[Goose]

They don't stop stinging, you need to grab them firmly and they won't sting you where you grabbed them but probably catch you on the wrist or somewhere when you are not expecting it.(ask me how I know ) The fresh tips are supposed to be better, and the woddy stems are bitter so get the newest growth you can.
I have made nettle tea in exactly the same way as you make normal tea, but stewed.

 

[leon-b]

well pick the new young leaves normally at the top, once you boil them they are edible i think and it removes the sting
make a sort of soup using sausages, nettles and potatoes
leon

 

[Draven]

No matter how many times I hear about how wonderful nettle soup/tea/etc is, I don't think I'll ever have the guts to pick them, never mind eat them

*fell into a nettle patch when I was wee*

 

[leon-b]

nettle soup is lovely and im not joking i was very suprised when i tryed it actually
leon

 

[Ogri the trog]

Rays latest TV series recommended just wilting the young tips over a fire and eating them as they are. He made appreciative noises, so I guess I'll give them a try sometime soon.

Ogri the trog

 

[Rebel]

They taste okay but they aren't sensational.

Pick the youngest leaves from the top of the stems for the best flavour.

Best to wear gloves and long sleeves IMO when you are picking them.

There are a few recipes for nettle soup around on the Net. Basically they involve boiling the leaves with potatoes and some stock. Add garlic and onions for extra flavour.

Blend the boiled results and you have a nice healthy soup.

 

[Biddlesby]

Perhaps you could use them to stuff meat or fish. Or basically use them as spinach.

 

[JonnyP]

Rays latest TV series recommended just wilting the young tips over a fire and eating them as they are. He made appreciative noises, so I guess I'll give them a try sometime soon.

Ogri the trog

I tried that last weekend and they tasted fine...
Cormac, firstly avoid area's where people walk dogs and farmers spray crops, like on edges of fields with crops in. Pick the tops of young nettles, before they have flowered, and use them as you would use spinach. The stings go with cooking. As mentioned, nettle tea is easy, just put a few leaves into some boiling water and leave to infuse for a few minutes and drink. It may take you a while to get used to the taste, but its not too bad at all....

 

[rancid badger]

get yourslef a copy of Piers Warren' s '101 Uses For Stinging Nettles'

its a bit of a quirky little book but for £3.50p, its worth a look. not huge amounts of detail and I think its really a collection of ' not a lot of people know that' type facts but interesting.

check out Amazon, if you put an order together for more than about £14 you get postage free.

 

[Jodie]

It's "be nice to nettle week" next week:
http://www.nettles.org.uk/

The bit about the dogs visiting - won't that all wash off once I boil them in
water (I'd also be giving them an extra wash anyway!) - or do I want to
avoid those nettles?

I'm a bit limited to parks and wastelands around here and plenty of dogs
- though I suspect they don't get too close to the nettles.

I've been browsing the nettles of late, peering at them wishing that I'd
remembered to bring gardening gloves with me, and possibly secateurs.

Jo

 

[xylaria]

It's "be nice to nettle week" next week:
http://www.nettles.org.uk/

The bit about the dogs visiting - won't that all wash off once I boil them in
water (I'd also be giving them an extra wash anyway!) - or do I want to
avoid those nettles?

I'm a bit limited to parks and wastelands around here and plenty of dogs
- though I suspect they don't get too close to the nettles.

I've been browsing the nettles of late, peering at them wishing that I'd
remembered to bring gardening gloves with me, and possibly secateurs.

Jo

The woaws of a urban bushcrafter!

When I had a dog he would p on nettles, they didn't bother him. I have always presumed that the piddle would wash off. But saying that with nettles if shows any sign being a canine loo or worse, I pick the tops that are atleast a foot in from the edge. As for tools, i have found that if I put my coat on backward and my hands half way down the sleves I can pick the tops off the nettles and collect them by using the back of the coat as a bag to collect them.

My other top tip for urban bushcraft is never put knees, hands or bottom on the ground when foraging from urban hedgerows. Hypodermics and broken glass can hide really deeply in leaf litter.

 

[Jodie]

Ooh thanks - that's some extremely good advice!!

I did pick some lime leaves (little ones) the other day - from a branch
so well above dog height, but they were covered in tiny crawling mites
so I decided against eating them (or even carrying them home to wash
them as then I'd have been infested ) but might find another lime
tree and see if it's miteless.

By mites I mean tiny yellow things with legs.

Jo

 

[xylaria]

Ooh thanks - that's some extremely good advice!!

I did pick some lime leaves (little ones) the other day - from a branch
so well above dog height, but they were covered in tiny crawling mites
so I decided against eating them (or even carrying them home to wash
them as then I'd have been infested ) but might find another lime
tree and see if it's miteless.

By mites I mean tiny yellow things with legs.

Jo

Mother Nature Has Cooties Mother Nature Has Cooties

you only see them if you look closely enough, all wild food has crawlies. Welcome to real life, not the pesticide cellophane wrapped excuse for one. Whether it is squirrel fleas, sheep ticks, mushroom maggots, mites stuck to leaves, it is a big welcome to wild food if you find yourself competing for it with insects.

You do get used to seeing creepy crawlies, but I do try not eat them, saft aren't I?

 

[Matt Weir]

Aiye,

There were a couple of beetles floating on my mixture when I started off my nettle beer the other day (Harry Hill stylee) MMMMmmmmmm - beetles!

Mother Nature Has Cooties Mother Nature Has Cooties

you only see them if you look closely enough, all wild food has crawlies. Welcome to real life, not the pesticide cellophane wrapped excuse for one. Whether it is squirrel fleas, sheep ticks, mushroom maggots, mites stuck to leaves, it is a big welcome to wild food if you find yourself competing for it with insects.

You do get used to seeing creepy crawlies, but I do try not eat them, saft aren't I?

 

[gunnix]

Dunno if this was already mentioned but the stings of the nettle are all pointed upward. So if you take the nettle in an upward movement (from down to up) you'll get stinged far less. I mostly don't get any stings when collecting them this way, and when I do get stinged, I just ignore it and it goes away quickly.

Besides that, the grandpa of my girlfriend stings himself deliberately with nettles to improve his reuma. So it ain't that bad

I like to add nettles just to my normal stews.
I definately gonna try just heating them over a fire, great simple idea!

 

[Bootstrap Bob]

If you don't already have a subscription to BCUK mag I suggest you get one
The latest edition has some very good information on nettles and their uses e.g using the juices as a method of reducing the stinging. In fact there are very good articles in every edition, top marks to Tony.

I've never heard of using the juice before but intend to try it next time I get stung - unintentionally that is

 

[twisted firestarter]

I gather nettle tops with a bowl and a pair of scissors. Snip the top 2-3 inches and let them drop into the bowl. Cook them and use like any leafy vegetable. Nettle and watercress soup is a favourite

 

[fredcraft]

Aiye,

There were a couple of beetles floating on my mixture when I started off my nettle beer the other day (Harry Hill stylee) MMMMmmmmmm - beetles!

I bet it gives that lil extra taste which you don't even have to pay for !

On a more serious note, do any of you wash your forraged greens (I know that it's not recommanded for mushrooms though) before consumption / cooking / brewing. Not that I don't fancy some extra proteins, but you know ... as a preference, I like my dishes with a minimal ammount of wild beetles

Cheers,

 

[xylaria]

I bet it gives that lil extra taste which you don't even have to pay for !

On a more serious note, do any of you wash your forraged greens (I know that it's not recommanded for mushrooms though) before consumption / cooking / brewing. Not that I don't fancy some extra proteins, but you know ... as a preference, I like my dishes with a minimal ammount of wild beetles

Cheers,

Contrary to widely held international belief the British do wash their greens.
I wash mushrooms as well, TB infected badger might of sneezed on it.
It just when you are in the field and fancy a snack we just brush off the brush off the beetles and stuff and eat it, and joke that they eat that kind of thing in the colonies.