Please explain Poke Sallet

[farrier!]

I asked my 90+ year old neighbor about it. She also said it needs to be boiled 3 times to be not poisonous. After learning that I decided I really did not need to try any......

 

[chickabator]

we eat it every spring. I know the little birds around here eat the berries like crazy we don't . it does taste good and yes it is suppose to have toxins in it but when you boil it it takes it out of it. none of us have ever gotten sick . I know people that take the stalks when they are young and fry them like a breaded mushroom and them but I won't go that far. dh is wanting to try that though.

 

[mamagardener]

Is everyone talking about Pokeweed? If so I have plenty in my yard, I didn't know you could eat it I thought it was poisonous.

 

[crazychickx]

Yes, pokeweed....no one ate it where we grew up.
It is interesting how the cooked dish is spelled differently in different regions.

thanks for the responses.
I guess it is an acquired taste?

 

[ChooksChick]

I found this article about it, which also talks about the spelling...

Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, is a rambunctious native plant with a reputation for loosening up the gastrointestinal tracts of organisms other than birds--including pigs, pets, and people. In spring, fresh and tender Pokeweed leaves can be picked and prepared as "poke sallet," the latter word being an Old English term for "cooked greens"--as opposed to a "salad" that is uncooked. Woe be the person, however, who mixes toxic Pokeweed root fibers with the green leaves or fails to boil the shoots long enough to drive out all the acids and alkaloids. Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, berry stains on Yellow-breasted ChatThese compounds are slow-acting but violent in their effects, which can vary among vomiting, abdominal spasms, diarrhea, convulsions, and even death by respiratory paralysis--none of which seem the slightest bit pleasant to us. Although children sometimes eat a Pokeweed berry or two, they seldom suffer the most severe reactions, possibly because the pulp contains lesser quantities of poison and the kids don't chew up the toxin-laden seeds. Curiously, birds such as Yellow-breasted Chats (left) consume prodigious portions of Pokeweed seeds with impunity, although they may end up painting their plumage with purple Pokeweed pigment.

The whole article can be found at:

http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek020915.html

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I have a personal vendetta against pokeweed. It is next to impossible to irradicate from my yard and keeps sneaking into my garden. I hate the stuff. Y'all are all welcome to come by and dig up as much as you want. Blech!

Why is it nasty stuff like this grows like crazy and the real plants I put in never thrive?

 

[JewellFarm]

It's polk or poke, around here. People say it both ways. My husband loves it fried, but I don't like it. I've never tried it a salad tho, good idea. It grows in the very early spring. You want the small tender leaves from it. Never eat the berries, always heard they were poisonous. They grow very tall later in the spring and summer months and they get big huge purple berries on them. If you ever see one you will know what it is.

 

[farrier!]

ChooksChick
Thanks for the article!!! Pretty much says it all. Around here it seems it is what you ate because there was nothing else, not because it was any good.....

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Thanks for the link- I thought that was what had invaded here! It's spreading like crazy, too.

*Ranchhand heads out with the big loppers....*

 

[Carolyn]

The plant itself is poisonous if you eat roots or berries. We only pickthe leaves in the the early spring before it starts to form it's seed head. My father taught me to pinch the young seed head out to allow for a longer harvest season. Boil it in water and drain at least 2 times. At this point you can cool and freeze what you don't want to use.
Saute some chopped bacon in a skillet, add some sliced green onion then your poke and one to two eggs and stir and cook until the eggs are done. Salt and pepper to taste. Great with some fried cornbread and maybe pinto beans.
It can also be served as a green veggie like cooked mustard or spinach. Don't try to make it into poke salad...I don't think it is meant to be eaten raw.