Content
- The edible deadnettle as an enrichment of the diet
- Eating the leaves of deadnettle
- How to use the sweet flowers
- Collect nettles and use as fresh as possible
- Prepare deadnettle for eating
- Tips & Tricks
Both flowers and leaves of deadnettle are edible
The edible deadnettle as an enrichment of the diet
Deadnettle are non-toxic in all parts, moreover, all plant parts, from the root to the flowers, are edible. Almost all year round, you can gather deadwood nettles and bring them to the table for eating.
Eating the leaves of deadnettle
The leaves of the dead nettle have a mildly spicy taste, which reminds a little of champagne. They can be used in many ways:
Blanched or lightly steamed leaves go well with fish dishes. Tangerine leaves blend very well with the spice saffron.
How to use the sweet flowers
Maybe you know it from the childhood. At that time the mostly white flowers were pulled out of the nettles and sucked out at the lower end. That gave a very sweet honey taste on the tongue.
The honey-sweet taste of the dew nettle flowers makes it a very pretty, edible decoration for wild herb salad or fish dishes.
Due to their sweetness, they are also very good at beautifying desserts of all kinds.
Collect nettles and use as fresh as possible
The best collection times are March to May and September and October. Pick only those deadnails that do not grow directly on the roadside or on pastureland. Even along busy roads through meadows and forests you should not pick the nettles for dinner.
Always pluck only four to six leaflets from the topmost plant whisk. They are the most aromatic and tender.
Deadnails lose their aroma when stored or dried for longer. Collect plants that you want to eat just before use.
Prepare deadnettle for eating
First, read and wash the leaves and flowers only very briefly. Then you best dry them in a salad spinner.
For salads and sauces, the leaves are minced. The flowers are placed on the food as a whole.
Tea can be made from both fresh and dried herbs.
Tips & Tricks
The Dead Nettle is used in Naturopathy in inflammatory diseases. It contains a number of minerals as well as essential oils, flavonoids, mucus and tannins. Just like the stinging nettle, the deadnettle has a diuretic effect.