Cow Parsnip
A week ago, the chef from Minnesota I follow published a post about preparation of the cow parsnip blossom.
Although mushrooms are my main interest, I forage for many other things. In the spring, my favorites are chicory and dandelion greens. I guess I picked up that tradition as a child in my homeland (Croatia). The Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) is unknown in Europe. It is native to North America and apparently quite common. I did not have any experience with this particular plant. The only thing that I knew was that it can cause a bad rash, activated by ultra violet rays. In my book, avoiding it was a good idea.
Howver, the Alan Bergo post peeked my interest. I happen to know a forest fringe area with quite a presence of the Cow Parsnip, and according to Mr. Bergo, this is the perfect time to harvest unopened blossoms for food. I put on a long sleeved shirt, pocketed a pair of gloves and went on the trail. The Cow Parsnip is a big plant and hard to miss. I must admit that unopened blossom "sacks" reminded me of some giant insect cocoons.
It was easy to collect a handful of good samples; enough for a small meal for my family.
I prepared my findings by following the recipe (to tell you the truth, my wife prepared the tempura mix and I did the frying). The end result looked reasonably similar to what Mr. Bergo achieved.
The taste was unusual, but definitely not unpleasant. The texture reminded me of broccoli or rapini. The aftertaste was a little bitter; reminiscent of celery. I was a little bit surprised when my family (wife and son) agreed with me and quickly polished off the whole thing. I guess next year this will be one of the things on my forage list.
Although mushrooms are my main interest, I forage for many other things. In the spring, my favorites are chicory and dandelion greens. I guess I picked up that tradition as a child in my homeland (Croatia). The Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) is unknown in Europe. It is native to North America and apparently quite common. I did not have any experience with this particular plant. The only thing that I knew was that it can cause a bad rash, activated by ultra violet rays. In my book, avoiding it was a good idea.
Howver, the Alan Bergo post peeked my interest. I happen to know a forest fringe area with quite a presence of the Cow Parsnip, and according to Mr. Bergo, this is the perfect time to harvest unopened blossoms for food. I put on a long sleeved shirt, pocketed a pair of gloves and went on the trail. The Cow Parsnip is a big plant and hard to miss. I must admit that unopened blossom "sacks" reminded me of some giant insect cocoons.
It was easy to collect a handful of good samples; enough for a small meal for my family.
I prepared my findings by following the recipe (to tell you the truth, my wife prepared the tempura mix and I did the frying). The end result looked reasonably similar to what Mr. Bergo achieved.
The taste was unusual, but definitely not unpleasant. The texture reminded me of broccoli or rapini. The aftertaste was a little bitter; reminiscent of celery. I was a little bit surprised when my family (wife and son) agreed with me and quickly polished off the whole thing. I guess next year this will be one of the things on my forage list.
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