thistles
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You might have to be careful which species it is, but Food For Free says you can eat most parts of Milk Thistle. In general, the petals of almost all plants are edible, more or less straight off the plant.
For thistles you might want to blanch them in boiling water to soften any spiky bits, and again Food For Free says there is a bitter flavour to the stems, for which they recommend soaking in water after peeling the outer layers off. Then you just boil and serve when cooked.
I haven't tried it though, and can't imagine that they are great eating.
For thistles you might want to blanch them in boiling water to soften any spiky bits, and again Food For Free says there is a bitter flavour to the stems, for which they recommend soaking in water after peeling the outer layers off. Then you just boil and serve when cooked.
I haven't tried it though, and can't imagine that they are great eating.
There's a 'nut' in the base of the flower of the big purple ones. It's sort of crunchy and tasty. Jaggy to get it out though.
Stems are best roasted on the hot coals of a fire, peeled and munched, I find.
Xylaria had some recipes up a while back; we'll hope she see's this thread
cheers,
M
Fenlander posted a thread yonks ago about them.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14069
Stems are best roasted on the hot coals of a fire, peeled and munched, I find.
Xylaria had some recipes up a while back; we'll hope she see's this thread
cheers,
M
Fenlander posted a thread yonks ago about them.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14069
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I did not know that there y'go, we learn something new every day 
I know of using nettle juice to make curds for cheese though.....and Lady's Bestraw too, that's why cheddar is coloured, because the bedstraw roots are a good dye.
Funny enough I was just looking at a huge patch of thistles just down the road the other day. Might go back with some pruners in my pocket
cheers,
M
there y'go, we learn something new every day I know of using nettle juice to make curds for cheese though.....and Lady's Bestraw too, that's why cheddar is coloured, because the bedstraw roots are a good dye.
Funny enough I was just looking at a huge patch of thistles just down the road the other day. Might go back with some pruners in my pocket
cheers,
M
I've chewed the stems raw to gain moisture from them....
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I did not know that
I know of using nettle juice to make curds for cheese though.....and Lady's Bestraw too, that's why cheddar is coloured, because the bedstraw roots are a good dye.
Funny enough I was just looking at a huge patch of thistles just down the road the other day. Might go back with some pruners in my pocket
cheers,
M
Mary, some wikilinks for your perusal.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynara
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artichoke
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thistle
Hopefully of use?
TTFN,
Colin.
I've eaten quite regular milk thistle and bull thistle both I believe have a two year cycle and much like the burdock once the flower stalk has been shot the root is a lost cause but in the first growth the root is quite pleasant either raw or I've found for the best results boil first and then roast like a parsnip ,
The stalk on both are nice I cut the plant just above the ground and remove the leaves then holding it from the base peal from the bottom down then slice and fry in butter with black pepper ,with the leaves I'm probably lazy but don't bother with the main prickly part I just cut the spines out and cook them like cabbage the leaf from the milk thistle is nicer in taste to the bull thistle
I've no experience in the flower at all and am following with interest
The stalk on both are nice I cut the plant just above the ground and remove the leaves then holding it from the base peal from the bottom down then slice and fry in butter with black pepper ,with the leaves I'm probably lazy but don't bother with the main prickly part I just cut the spines out and cook them like cabbage the leaf from the milk thistle is nicer in taste to the bull thistle
I've no experience in the flower at all and am following with interest
Milk Thistle is used as a Homeopathic cure to help purge the liver. I understand its widely used in addiction clinics to flush drugs out of people on rehab.
xylaria
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
thistles it depends on age and what thistle, and where they are growing. The flowerhead can be pealed to reveal the artichoke heart. This is nearly always really nice with the odd species a tad bitter, however it is fiddly, really fiddly.
Telling thistles apart isnt easy, but isn't totally needed for eating the other bits. A rosette that needs weeding out of cultivated soil, as long as it is before it has started bolting upwards, the leaf stalks are edible. Simply peel all the thorns off and eat the crunchy juicy inner. Those species that have singular tap root have good eating in root. If pulled up when young enough the root is nice raw, it turns stringy pretty quickly once the plant starts growing. Creeping thistle has a bunch of little roots which are too fiddly to eat and full of grit. How stringy they get once they get taller can be due to how much rain they have. Spear thistle is juicest for is longest, both leaf stalks and flower hearts.
Generally in soft fertile soil most thistles have juicy leaf stems and tasty roots, but the same species in dry poor soil would be stringy. Roots are very dependant on conditions as well. Flowerheads I normally give up on as too fiddly and I dont have much patience getting pricked for so little nom nom. Just try what thistles you have in your area.
Telling thistles apart isnt easy, but isn't totally needed for eating the other bits. A rosette that needs weeding out of cultivated soil, as long as it is before it has started bolting upwards, the leaf stalks are edible. Simply peel all the thorns off and eat the crunchy juicy inner. Those species that have singular tap root have good eating in root. If pulled up when young enough the root is nice raw, it turns stringy pretty quickly once the plant starts growing. Creeping thistle has a bunch of little roots which are too fiddly to eat and full of grit. How stringy they get once they get taller can be due to how much rain they have. Spear thistle is juicest for is longest, both leaf stalks and flower hearts.
Generally in soft fertile soil most thistles have juicy leaf stems and tasty roots, but the same species in dry poor soil would be stringy. Roots are very dependant on conditions as well. Flowerheads I normally give up on as too fiddly and I dont have much patience getting pricked for so little nom nom. Just try what thistles you have in your area.
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