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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.
Manual
Slide Show
Harvesting and Preparing Sow Thistle
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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.
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The sow thistle's
"signature" is:
- clusters
of several flower buds on one or more upright stalks, which bolt
high above the basal rosette.
- yellow flowers,
turning to puffy white seed pods, looking much like dandelions.
- spine-tipped
tender leaves of various shapes and sizes, and
- leaves that
clasp the stem at their base.
The plant gets
larger and lankier as it grows. This size cooks up just about as
tender as the younger plants.
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