Edible Smartweeds: Lady's Thumb and Other Persicarias

[@joyfulgirl2009]

Your channel has helped me more than once and man I have to tell you now I really appreciate you so much! Such helpful info you’ve bestowed I wasn’t even aware all smartweeds are pretty much edible, showing how to prepare things like chanterelles, cooking foraged foods…I’m gonna check out your other vids! Thank you so much!

[@foragerchef4141]

@@joyfulgirl2009 Hey thanks I appreciate that

[@cwthames]

I just found your page. Thanks for doing this! Right up my alley!

[@HaphazardHomestead]

My dad ate a lot of the Persicaria longiseta as a kid, picked by his grandmother, and taught to him as "Black Heart". Of course, neither my dad nor I have ever met anyone else using that name -- it was so local to that spot in the Missouri Ozarks. He taught it to me as "one of the Smartweeds". It's great because it's around all summer (just cut it hard and it will grow back) and it grows good in the shade or tall grass of wild places. It doesn't have a complex flavor, but works really well in mixed greens.

[@MogiMann]

Thank you so much! I just Identified Waterpepper in my garden, I followed your recipe of blanching then frying in butter salted. And put the greens over leftover rice fried in sesame oil with Gomasio seasoning, topped with fresh Quail eggs. It was delicious! Kudo's to the Chef for the inspiration. All the best.

[@foragerchef4141]

@@MogiMann Hey that’s awesome!

[@MichiganDaisy-1111]

Thank you so very much for this awesome information 😊

[@Monkey-oy1us]

Rau ram is delicious!!! It’s so fragrant and we use it commonly as an herb in salads. Shredded boiled/poached chicken with julienne carrots, cabbage, mixed w lots of rau ram and tossed with nuoc cham sauce (fish sauce, sugar, chillies, lime juice, water, minced garlic) yum!!! Topped with fried shallots, toasted peanuts

[@foragerchef4141]

Yes! I know that salad. Do know you the traditional name for it? I haven’t been able to find it.

[@Monkey-oy1us]

@@foragerchef4141 it’s called: Gỏi Gà (chicken salad). During the many food desserts I have lived in throughout the years, rau răm was difficult to come by… so ive substitute with mint… a weed to most… to the Vietnamese, it’s probably the most important herb in our culture

[@paleoanonymous9026]

I think I'm going to try it using Pennsylvania Smartweed. There's tons of it around.

[@friendlydog-p4t]

My partner said "It sounds like the smartweed is holding a gun to his head off the frame trying to get him to say that no actually they're cool"

[@foragerchef4141]

Im just honest and not every wild plant needs to be life changing or have an incredible flavor. Mild, non bitter flavor is a great attribute. Watch my garlic mustard pesto video if you want to see me hate cook a plant😂. Students and I cooked a bunch of smartweeds for my retreat with Sam Thayer a few weeks ago.

[@friendlydog-p4t]

@@foragerchef4141 We appreciate the honesty!

[@jt659]

To me, both smartweed and spiderwort leaves taste like lettuce, or at least that mild. The raw texture isn't great with whole leaves, but are better chopped. Mild greens are harder to find than the intense ones.

[@foragerchef4141]

@@jt659 Agree on mild greens for sure. I don’t care for them raw but I think they’re fun cooked in blends of greens or small amounts like the gomae here.

[@christineb8148]

Is there a particular environment you'd look to find these or are they kind of all over?

[@arachel93]

I find them near water like a pond or near drainage areas a lot in the summer

[@christineb8148]

@@arachel93 that's helpful, thank you

[@az55544]

Field edges, driveway edges. Once you start looking, you will see them everywhere!

[@heyyou8248]

If mine have already been flowering, is it too late to harvest them? Or are some of the younger parts of the plant still okay?

[@flatearthterrafirma8571]

I have a lot of this in my landscaping. I leave bunches of it because it has beautiful/unique red flowers. I just made a quick soup with it per this video with some flowers included. Delicious with cayenne added.

[@heyyou8248]

@@flatearthterrafirma8571 thank you so much

[@liabobia]

Huh... Japanese indigo is also a persicaria. I wonder if it's ever eaten.