Page 2 (A & B) of this issue feature two captioned slide shows on how to harvest and prepare Spiny Thistle (2A) and Sow Thistle (this page). The same principles can be applied to other thistles. More information on thistles on Page 3.

When you get done seeing both slide shows, take the Poll on Page 3, indicating which format you prefer (automatic or manual) for future issues.

Tools Required: A bucket or bag, so you can harvest plenty.
Total field harvesting time: 5-10 minutes
Total home preparation time: 15 minutes
Yield: leaves, stems, flower buds, flowers.
Flavor: Mildly bitter, but not as bitter as dandelion. You can reduce bitterness by blanching 2 minutes and throwing off the first water.
Storage: freezes well. Keeps in refrigerator for several days.
Serving Suggestions : raw in salads or alone; pickled or batter fried stalks and buds; add to soups, stews, omelets, dips, meat pies, cooking rice.
Notes: Sow thistles are not really thistles but an early cousin of the lettuce family, once a popular pot herb. Some are more prickly leaved than others, but both are choice edibles (not too bitter and easily digestible) easy to identify, easy to harvest, fun to know about. Can be used in the place of any green. The little prickly spines soften with cooking, much the same as mustard greens. Some sow thistles have a milky juice, but not all. Most have hollow stalks.
Nutritional properties: Fiber, chlorophyll, high in Vitamin A.
Medicinal properties: Go to Page 3 to learn more.

These Common Sow Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) leaves are all from the same plant,
and some leaves clasp the stem more than others.
Prickly Sow Thistle (Sonchus asper) has larger, wider, and
much more spiny leaves than this one,
but both have similar growth habits and yellow flower clusters at the top.

Foraging extends to the Internet!
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