The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-04-23
Wild GREENS
May. BE USED
TO ADVANTAGE


tageously in the household. Before
modern methods of marketing, stor-
ing, and preserving made it possible
to have vegetables throughout the
year, these plants were eagerly
sought for by housekeepers to fur
nish relief from the monotonous win
ter 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
green's.
Foremost among these plants is the
dandelion. Its use as vegetable is
so common that it is sold in many
city markets. Occasionally 1t is Gull
tivated by market gardeners, but
much more frequently the plants sold
are wild ones and ought to cost less
than cultivated green's. 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 taken from the lawn, there is the
further advantage of removing trou-
blesome weed-providing always that
the digging is carefully done. Only
the dandelion 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. The water
in which they have just been rinsed
should never he poured out OF the
pan over the greens, but the green's
should be lifted out Of the water so
that the dirt which has settled to
the bottom 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 boil
ed.
The most common way of using
dandelions is as potherb or greens.
AS with most green vegetables, it is
mistake to cook them more than
is needed to make them tender. If
they are boiled with one-eighth tea
spoonful QeveD of cooking soda to
each quart Of green's used, they will
keep their color better. Young dan
delions 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 can
ned by the method. In many homes
1t is common practice to preserve
dandelions green's with salt in stone
crooks, putting in first layer OF
green's, then layer of salt, then
more green's, and SO on, until the
crock is filled. The dandelions are
then covered with close-fitting plate
or board, on which a. weight Ca clean
piece Of marble. or a jstne) 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 milkweed shoots, young
horse-radish leaves, marsh marigold
sometimes called American cowslip).
poke sprouts, pepper cress, pursrane
or 'pusley," and in the southwestern
states some sorts Of cactus leaves and
stalks. If the bitter or acrid flavor
is too strong, as is frequently the case
with. horse-radish leaves Of poke
sprouts. for example, it may be les
sened by changing the water once or
twice during the cooking. Rightly
cooked, all of the plants mentioned
are harmless. Marsh marigold is
sometimes said to be harmful, but
this is not the case with the cooked
green's.
A little water in the season a few
other potherbs appear which, though
cultivated rather than wild, are SO
seldom utilized that to use them
means as much saving as if no care
had been spent to raise them Among
these are the tops of turnips, radishes,
beets. and onions, all Of which may
be cooked like spinach or dandelion.
The onion tops should be cut up into
inch lengths before cooking. They
are excellent served on toast. Cab
bage sprouts are also favorite when
they are obtainable
There are also a few salad plants
to be had for the picking Like all
1ood materials eaten without cook
ing, they must be very carefully wash
ed before using. Water cress is per-
maps the one most generally known
1t is also cultivated. 1t should never
be eaten if it has grown where there
Is any chance Of contamination from
typhoid fever or other disease. This
is true of any vegetable that is I'M
cooked, but must be remembered es-
pecially In connection with plants
growing near water, since the latter
may have carried the disease germs
q long way from the place where the
illness was. Peppergrass or pepper
cress is another wild plant useful for
other salads, if too sharp to
use alone. Sorrel may also be useo
to give a pleasant acid taste to let
tuce or other mild favored salads.
though the ordinary wild wind is too
sour to use in quantity as potherb
like the varieties cultivated for that
purpose. ss@ VII
OF plants cultivated in the flower
garden the leaves and unripe seeds Of
may ben mentioned as a
seasoning for salads.
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