Purslane

[steff bugielski]

I know it is edible and actually good for you containing potassium. My question is can I preserve it in any way. I have a ton of it in my garden in the few spots that have not yet been mulched. Good thing it comes up easy. I also read somewhere on here it is an indicator of fertile soil. guess my soil is REAL fertile. I do sell it and eat it myself in salads and in all sorts of cooked dishes. I would love to be able to keep some of it for the winter. Any thoughts?

[chicky momma]

Steff,

Does it sell well? And how much do you sell it for? A guy my sister works with sells it for $2.50 a lb. And its organic. Do you sell it stems and all or just the leaves? Just blows my mind that people would buy it and not say thats a weed!
Sorry no help with preserving it. Maybe blanch it and freeze it like you would spinach. Lisa

[njmama]

In the book From Crabgrass Muffins to Pine Needle tea author Linda Runyon says she pickles purslane. She didn't give a recipe though. There is a recipe for pickled mustard flowers I don't know if you would just pickle purslane the same?

I wonder if you could also dehydrate it for cooked dishes.

[blue gecko]

Originally Posted by njmama

In the book From Crabgrass Muffins to Pine Needle tea author Linda Runyon says she pickles purslane. She didn't give a recipe though. There is a recipe for pickled mustard flowers I don't know if you would just pickle purslane the same?

I wonder if you could also dehydrate it for cooked dishes.

My thought exactly! Try pickling it with mixed pickles or even saltbrining it (like capers). Drying sounds like a good way to save it for soups and the like. Be sure to let us know how it works out.

[steff bugielski]

I think i will try to dehydrate it.
I sell a hand full for $1. I sell about 6-8 handfulls a week plus 1-2 in each box for csa customers.

[junie]

I dehydrate it, then add it to soups and quick breads (just crumble it up a bit). We had a lot of it in one garden last year, but this year there isn't any, so far.

[bee]

I had soooo much one year that I canned it; just use the same method you would for any green like spinach etc..one tip tho, if you have a chioce can up the greens BEFORE they flower..makes a better looking product as the seeds will be small spots floating in the fliud..won't hurt ya just doesn't look as good..made a nieghbor of mine a gift of these canned greens and she liked them so well she ate them cold out of the jar..they have a pleasant sour tang....heheheheh I been telling ya all along we throw out more good eating as weeds than our gardens produce as veggies...

[ajaxlucy]

An older Greek man told me that it was a favorite back home. They ate it in a salad with feta cheese and lemon juice.

[moonwolf]

I've never eaten purslane, but have had gobs in the garden I weeded out.
None in the mulched garden, though.

What's it taste like?

[njmama]

Originally Posted by Wind in Her Hair

amazing, now we are talking the WILD weedy volunteer stuff, not the flowering flowery nursery stuff, are we?

thanks for the valuable information

I learn more here by accident than other places on purpose!

Wild & Weedy stuff, WIHH!

[steff bugielski]

It has a very pleasent taste with just a hint of lemon.

[Windy in Kansas]

I've never tried it. Isn't it considered a laxative? Don't need that.

[EDDIE BUCK]

How do you fix it to eat? Do you cook it or eat as a salad or pickle it? After all my hoeing its still doing fine. The more I chop it, the more plants take root. I've started pulling it and taking out of the garden.

[blue gecko]

Wild and weedy AND domestic are edible!

[Phantomfyre]

Recipes, please? I've got tons here - and it grows big and upright, not laying prostrate in the dirt like the stuff I grew up with in MN.

Diana

[chicky momma]

I was amazed, looked on epicurious.com and they have 6 recipes for it! At least two look really good. I printed them off along with the info about omega 3's and vitamin C. Planning to take them along to the market to help built a market for it. Also will put them in the CSA shares. It seems to be the up and coming thing in the food world. Lisa

[moonwolf]

Originally Posted by chicky momma

It seems to be the up and coming thing in the food world. Lisa

maybe for a while anyway. I remember when rutabagas were the hot item for the food world for a while. Though not a weed, they are easy to grow (rutabagas, that is) good tasting and very healthy to eat, store well, etc. Now the rutabaga is on the verge of extinction is some locales.

[ajaxlucy]

Originally Posted by moonwolf

maybe for a while anyway. I remember when rutabagas were the hot item for the food world for a while. Though not a weed, they are easy to grow (rutabagas, that is) good tasting and very healthy to eat, store well, etc. Now the rutabaga is on the verge of extinction is some locales.

NOOOO!!! I love rutabagas!
I don't recall their ever being fashionable, though.

[slfisher]

I let the purslane grow in the trough where I grow strawberries, and it has the benefit of filling up the empty space so there's no weeds. I haven't tried eating it other than tasting it though.

[Shinsan]

Steff,
The pursley isn't so much an indicater as it is a builder of fertile soil.
The roots go down quite deep, opening up the soil and helping to bring up nutrients and moisture. (It's not often realised that many deep rooted plants draw up more moisture than they use themselves, through capillary action on the outside of their root systems.) And yet many people still regard them as weeds.
Shin