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5/11/09
My first taste experiment with a thistle was kinda so/so. Following the instructions from The Forager’s Harvest (listed on the Resources page), I decided to see what the midrib tasted like. The only prep work I did was to strip off the leafy portion of the midrib, taking the thorns with it, and washing it. Being raw, it didn’t have really much of a flavor, neither good or bad, but my wife thought it was decidedly bitter. It had a consistency very close to what a stalk of celery has, including the strands. All things being equal, it wouldn’t be the first thing I grabbed when hungry, but if it was peeled and diced, it would be a nice addition to a salad. I’m going to try other thistle plants to see if the so/so flavor might be more of a general sample, or just this plant since where I harvested it from was an area that’s usually got about 1/4” of standing water during a good part of the summer, so the mild flavor may very well be due to having a high water content. It might also be too early in the season to actually harvest it. Time will tell.
5/22/09
Tried another piece of thistle midrib from the same plant. Still has a bitter component, but I’m pretty sure if I peeled off the outer skin, that it would improve the flavor greatly. I’m going to have to get my hands on a potato peeler somewhere and try and peel a midrib and see if the flavor is any better. Also planning on trying a different plant. I have a second one segregated from the first one by about 8 ft. It’s still the same soil, but maybe the first plant is just a bitter specimen.
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