Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-04-23
WILD PLANTS USEFUL
IN HOUSEHOLD FOODS
DnndcIIuns May be Taken From Lawn
and Cooked with Delicious Flavor
for Vegetable.

the wild plants that accompany the
advent OF spring can he used advan-
taGcousiy III the household. Before
modern methods OF marketing. storing
and preserving made IL possible to
have vegetables throughout the year.
these plants were eagerly sought ny
housekcepcrS to furnish relief from
the mouotonous winter fare. Even now
they Will form welcome change, and.
! above ALL they may he had for the
/ trouble of picking. as substitutes for
/ purchased greens.
/ Foremost among these plants is the
dandclion. Its use AS Il vegetable is 50
common that il is sold i'm many city
markets. Occasionally it is cultivatc cd
10y market gardeners. but much more
! frequently the plants sold are wild
ones and ought to cost less than cu.ti-
waited greens. when some one in the
family can dig them near home. there
can he no doubt AS TO the economy
of using them II they arc taken from
the lawn. there is the further advan-
tacc OF removing ii troublesome weed
providing always that the digging is
carefully done. Only the dandclion
should bc removed. not broken off at
the top. else several crowns OF leaves
may grow in the place Of one. As in
texture and flavor are both best when
the plants are young.
Growing. they do clos" Ia ,he
surface OF the ground dundrlipn
greens are likely TO lie full Of earth
ana frit and must be carefully washed
and rinscd in several waters The wa
ter in which they have just been rims
cd should never be poured out Of the
pan over the greens but the greens
hn III of tA
that the dirt which has settled TO the
bottom may not get back on tho leaves.
and FOR the same reason the cooked
greens" should be lifted out OF the
water In which they are boiled.
DhNDELiON SHOULD NOT
DE COOKED LONG
The most common way OF using dan
delIons rs as a potherb or green's. AS
with most green vegetables. il is
mistake to cook them more than is
needed to make them tender. If they
arc boiled with onc-eishth tcaspoonfui
tlcveb OF cooking soda 10 each quart
of greens used. they viii keep their
color better. Young dandclons may
also he used uncookcd as salad. a Gus
tom less common in this country than
in Europe. where the tender plants
arc sometimes blanchcd like aspara-
gus. II more dandclions are availab BILE
than can he used Will. they arc fresh,
they may be preserved for future use.
They may he canned 10y the method
used by the canning clubs for spinach.
or they may be put down in salt
according TO household method. In
man homes it is q common practice
to preserve dandclion greens with salt
in stone crooks. putting in first "A layer
of greens. then :, layer of salt. then
more greens and so on. until the crook
is filled. The dandelions are then COW
a =itk,
board, on which a weight "a clean
piece OF marble or a stone) il placed
to keep the greens packc cd solid.
Other wild plants used as potherbs
are curly dock. pigweed or lambs quar-
tiers. chickwe mustard shoots. pur-
pie milSweed shoots. young horse-rad-
iSh leaves. marsh mar:Sold (sometimcs
called American cowslip). poke sprouts.
pepper crcSs. pursianc or ''pusley," and
in the Southwestern States some sorts
Of cactus leaves and stalks. II the bit
ter or acrid flavor is too strong, as is
frequently the case with horse radish
leaves or poke sprouts. for example, il
may be lcSscned by changing the water
once or twice during cooking. Right
~ cooked all of the plants mentioned
arc harmless. Marsh mariSold is some
times said to be harmful. but this Is
not the case with the cooked greens.
OTHER poTHERHs APPEAR
LATER IN THE SEASON
little later in the season few
other po,hcrbs appear which. though
cultivated rather than wild. are so
seldom utilized that TO uac them means
as mu:h saving as II no care had been
spent to raise them. Among these are
the tops Of ;urlI.s. radiShcs. beets
and onions. ali OF which MAJ he cook
ed like spinach or dandeIion. The
onion-tops should be cut up into inch
lengths before cooking. They are cx-
cellcn; served on toast. Cabbage
sprouts are also a favorite when they
are obtainable.
There arc also few salad plants TO
he had for the picking. Like all food
IT Eel ials eaten without cooking they
must be very carefully washed before
using Water crcss is perhaps the one
most generally known. 1t is also cul-
'ivatcd II should never he eaten il II
has been grown where there is any
chance OF contamination from typhoid
Fever or other disease. This is true
Of any vegetable that is uncookcd but
must be remembered especially in con-
ncction with plants growing near wa
ter. since the latter may have carried
the disease germs "a long way from the
place where the illness was. Pepper
grass or pcppercrcss. is another wild
plant useful for navorinE other salads
IF too sharp to use alone. Sorrcl may
also he used 10 give q pleasant acid
taste 10 lettuce or other mild flavor
cd salads. though the ordinary wild
KIND is too sour to use in quantity az
pothcrb like the varieties cultivated
for that purpose
or plants cultivated i'm the flower
garden. the leaves and unripc seeds OF
naSturtiiIm may he mentioned as "A sea-
soninS for salads.
MOnfao,,o Mfr r.