Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-05-10
GREENS AS FOOD.
Many wild Plants Can be Used to Ad-
vantage In Household.


pany the advent Of spring can be used
advantageously In the household. Before
modern methods Of marketing. storing.
and preserving made 1t possible to have
vegetables throughout the year. these
plants were eagerly sought for by house,
keepers to furnish relief from to monot-
onous winter fare. Even now they will
form a welcome change. and above all.
they may be had for the trouble Of pick
ing. as substitutes for purchased greens.
Foremost among these plants Is the
dandelion. Its use as a vegetable Is so
common that 1t Is sold in many city mar
kets. Occasionally 1t Is cultivated by gar
deners but much more frequently the
plants sold are wild ones and ought to
cost less than cultivated greens. When
some one in the family can dig them near
home. there can be no doubt as to the
economy Of using them. II they are TAX
en- from the lawn, there is the further
advantage Of removing troublesome
weed-providing always that the digging
IL carefully done. Only the dandelioD
should be pulled, not the grass around
it. and the root should be removed. not
broken off at the top, else several crowns
of leaves may grow In the place Of one.
AS in most stem and leaf vegetables. the
texture and flavor are both best when
the plants are young.
Growing as they do close to the sur
face Of the ground. dandelion greens are
likely to be full OF earth and grit. and
must be carefully washed and rinsed in
several waters. SS1e water in which they
are rinsed should never be poured out Of
the pan over the greens. but the greens
should be lifted out Of the water 50 that
81 l;rk dob he. 1NI no hot
may not get back on the leaves. and for
the same reason the cooked greens"
should be lifted out of the water in
which they are boiled.
The most common way Of using dande-
lions is as a pot-herb or green's As
with most green vegetables, 1t Is q mis-
take to cook them more than Ia needed
to make them tender. If they are boiled
with Is teaspoonful OeYeD Of cooking
soda to each quart of greens used. they
will keep their color better. Young dande-
lions may also be used uncooked as salad
custom less common in this country
than in Europe, where the tender plants
are sometimes blanched like asparagus.
If more dandelions are available than
can be used while they are fresh, they
may be preserved for future use. They
may be canned by the method used by the
canning clubs for spinach. or they may
be put down" in salt according to a
household method. In many homes it is
common practice to preserve dandelion
green's with salt in stone crooks, putting
in first a layer Of greens, then a layer of
salt. then more greens, and 50 on. until
the crock Is filled. The dandelions are
then covered with a close fitting plate or
board, on which a weight "a clean piece
Of marble or a stone) Is placed to keep
the greens packed solid.
Other wild plants used as pot-herbs are
| curly dock, pigweed or lambs quarters,
| chickweed. mustard shoots, purple milk
weed shoots, young horse-radish leaves,
marsh marigold sometimes called Ameri-
can cowslip), poke sprouts. pepper cress.
purslane or "pusley." and in the south
western States some sorts Of cactus
leaves and stalks. If the bitter or acrid
flavor 10 too strong, as Ia frequently the
case with horse-radish leaves or poke
sprouts. for example. 1t may be lessened
by changing the water once or twice dur
ing cooking. Rightly cooked. all of the
plants mentioned are harmless. Marsh
| marigold is sometimes said to be harm
| full. but this Is not the case with the
cooked green's.
I A little later In the season few Other
pot-herbs appear which, though cultivat.
ed rather than wild, are 80 seldom uti.
lized that to use them means as much
saving as II no care had been spent tc
raise them. Among these are the tops Of
turnips. radishes, beets and onions, all OF
which may be cooked like spinach OF
dandelion. The onion tops should be cur
up into inch lengths before cooking. They
are excellent served on toast. Cabbage
sprouts are also a favorite when they arr
| obtainable.
There are also = few salad plants Il
DO had for the picking. Like all foot
materials eaten without cooking. they
must be very carefully washed bef0r'
using. Water crees Is perhaps the mos
generally known. II IL also cultivated
1t should never be eaten II it has beer
grown whore thare Is any chance Of con
tamination from typhoid fever or othe
disease. This IL true Of any vegetable
that Is uncooked, but must be remember
ed specially in connection with plant
! growing near water. since the latter ma!
have carried the disease germs q lonl
way from the place where the illnes
was. Peppergrass or peppercress IL an
4 other wild plant useful for flavoring 9th
or salads, II too sharp to use alone. Sor
rel may also be used to give . pleasan
acid taste to lettuce or other mild-flavor
ed salads, though the ordinary Wild kim
is too sour to use in quantity as q pot
herb like the varieties cultivated TO
that purpose.
OF plants cultivated in the flower gar
den the leaves and unrtpe seeds of mas
turtium may be mentioned a. season
ing for salads.