Pokeweed shoots, the greatest vegetable you've never had

[@FeralForaging]

I've looked forward to finally sharing the information in this video for two years now. I'm so happy you're getting to watch it! Have you eaten pokeweed before? If so, what part? Also, if you try the shoots after watching this video, let us all know how you liked them! (Don't forget to check out my Interactive Forager's Calendar in the description!)

[@evanburke499]

I've eaten leaves and shoots. The shoots after boiling can be breaded and fried and are similar to okra.

[@thankmelater1254]

@@evanburke499 Do you wear gloves to collect it, or how do you handle it?

[@thankmelater1254]

@@evanburke499 Thanks for saying that. I do not like the taste of okra. But since it's wild and free for the taking, and nutritious, I can make myself like it with the right preparation and ingredients.

[@jul.escobar]

Thank you for covering this plant! I've waffled on it for years due to cross competing teachings. I appreciate the clarity and education your brought us 🙌 🌱💚

[@ThoughtfulBiped]

I knew an herbalist years ago who collected and dried the berries. Her advice was that you should only swallow whole dried berries, like a pill, to "poke" your immune system when you felt like you were getting sick. You do not want to chew them as the seeds contain higher doses of the toxins. The seeds, if not chewed, will pass through your digestive tract and the berry flesh will digest giving you a lower dose, putting your immune system on alert. I am not an herbalist and do not have any experience with this. I did, however, watch her do this a number of times and never witnessed her having any adverse reactions. I have some poke plants in my garden and they are beautiful, stately plants, but I have been apprehensive about eating them. I think I will give it a shot after watching this. I hate to see such potential abundance going to waste. The birds love the berries and they paint the property purple with their droppings during that time of year. Sometimes you just need to let things grow for the benefit of the rest of the local ecosystem. Everything isn't all about humans after all.

[@billietyree2214]

I’m 90 and I remember being a kid during the depression. Poke was on the table often, along with wild onion/garlic and others. Maybe that has something with being in my 90th year?

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

Yes it's a delicious plant especially fried in butter. People in the modern worked don't appreciate nature's gifts. I was born in a house without electricity and with no sealed roads.. things were cooked on a wood stove and oven or over the fire. You'd always be in the forest or on the verge of the forest looking for plants to eat. Berries, herbs, wild fruit, birds and rabbits and hare, it wasn't bad and such a life gives you appreciation of patience and joy for small things.. such as waiting for a peach to ripen on a wild peach tree . Checking it every day. My parents were both quite evil neglectful and vicious people but I can say even with all that malice and maltreatment I had a great time myself sometimes the forest was the only way I'd find something to eat in the day as food was "rationed". Nature has many good things to spare if you are in need

[@thagingerninjer5391]

I’m 39, and I grew up having it, too. I grew up poor on a farm in Arkansas, so we ate what we grew, raised, and foraged.

[@alanchizik8328]

​@@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367I think a lot of it is lack of education related to foraging. That info was bred out of people generation after generation of relying on others for food.

[@flannigan7956]

My at goo'ness

[@nexrift7140]

History repeats itself

[@kmc6506]

Older generations used to call it "Poke Sallet" but younger generations thought that their parents/grandparents were mispronouncing "salad" so they "corrected" it to "Poke Salad" but the older generation was correct. Salad is eaten raw. "Sallet" is an old word that means cooked greens. Poke sallet should only be eaten cooked. So just call it poke, or poke greens or poke sallet but don't call it poke salad because that gives people the idea to eat it raw and that could be unsafe.

[@k9spot1]

that’s a cool fun fact. thanks

[@PhoenixBorealis]

What a neat fact, thanks for sharing! :)

[@user-dm1tv6nl2e]

So that's what Elvis was saying. Thanks for this!

[@IAmMrGreat]

Where do you get that "sallet" means "cooked greens" from? I can't find anywhere it actually says that, but the two old recipes I found were indeed cooked rather than just mixed. And when I say "anywhere" I'm not including a 3 year old Quora comment. The wikipedia just says that both salad and sallet stems from the french word salade of the same meaning and that the french word stems from the latin "herba salata" meaning "salted herb".

[@kmc6506]

@IAmMrGreat I'm old enough to remember a world without internet when knowledge was on paper instead of a screen. I distinctly remember reading an article about poke sallet in the late 70s or 80s where the author explained the difference between sallet and salad, but that was about 40 years ago and I don't know who wrote it or what publication it was in. However, your question motivated me to look online and by searching Google Books I found this line in "A Savory History of Arkansas Delta Food" by Cindy Grisham: "Once it is cooked, it is poke sallet, which is derived from an Old English term that basically means a mess of young greens cooked until tender. Thus it is pokeweed before it is cooked and poke sallet afterward." Another book, "Foraging Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods" By Christopher Nyerges has the following on page 154. "A big misconception about eating poke resulted from the popular 1968 song by Tony Joe White called "Polk Salad Annie." The song was about a girl who picked pokeweed and knew how to prepare it. But if you're from the South you knew that White should have spelled it "Poke Sallet," since "salad" suggests you eat poke raw - you can't! - and "sallet" refers to cooked greens, which is the proper way you must prepare poke." I know that the English language is very diverse, and words like salad and sallet may be used in different ways in different times, places and dialects. In my personal experience, I've lived all my life in Arkansas, and people here of older generations were/are more likely to say "poke sallet" while younger generations are more likely to say "poke salad." I know those old people are not just mispronouncing salad because they also use the word salad when referring to greens that are eaten raw. I wish I could knew where to access that article I read 40 years ago and I wish I knew what that writer's sources were, but anyway I hope I have answered your question.

[@asdisskagen6487]

Poke used to be sold in cans as "poke salet" all the way until 2000 (Arkansas’ Allen Canning Company), when it became too difficult to obtain sufficient stock to make processing profitable. I am not able to have a garden, but there is a huge grouping of poke at the edge of the wooded area behind my house and I regularly collect the greens to eat. I haven't tried the stems and look forward to adding those to my rotation. Thank you!

[@3dPrintingMillennial]

I saw Allen's branded Poke salet in NC as late as 2014.

[@mrsmc2612]

Wow! I didn't know that

[@bryantcompton1642]

Yes, the leaves are very good for the digestive system.

[@leifcatt]

In Okla. it's spelled Polk Salet. I don't know why.

[@sonder2164]

I can poke. Love it.

[@steverogers6131]

I'll never forget my mother yelling at a landscaper in the yard. " Hey, poke ain't a weed around here" Thanks for the info

[@sunitafisher4758]

🌸 oh my goodness that’s so funny Thank you for sharing such a beautiful memory 😊

[@holliisixx]

She sounds cool, damn

[@rachelann9362]

I live in a rural area in VA with TONs of this stuff on our property.We also have some native berry brambles (not tasty, but edible.) We have wild aramanth, black cherry tree, walnut trees, what I believe is a native persimmon tree. Some very THICK growths of various docks, burdocks, lambsquarter. Tons of purslane and wild violet. And so so much more. I haven’t done much in the way of foraging due to health issues, but I do love the animals, birds, amphibians, turtles, reptiles and insects it attracts. My husband gets annoyed with how varied our yard is, but I absolutely love it and refuse to help him make it boring and not fauna friendly. This year we had a mama deer rest her fawn in our yard!

[@aliannarodriguez1581]

That’s called a tapestry lawn and it’s gaining in popularity as they are much prettier and more interesting than a golf course lawn (also referred to as plastic lawns).

[@danr5704]

Better leave the wild cherry alone or have lots of toilet paper

[@rachelann9362]

@@danr5704 the critters sure love them!

[@TygerBleuToo]

Having a mama bring her baby to your place is a great compliment. 👏

[@coffeebeforemascara]

I really appreciate you calling out osu's lack of citations

[@DarrellBentley-f7e]

Pick the young leaves take them home wash them and clean them and cut them up, but not the lead the stem the young stems and then we dip an egg roll in milk flour and we fried best eat you ever had in your life

[@FeralForaging]

It drives me crazy whenever I see articles that fear monger wild plants, but especially when it is all just based on hearsay! 🙃

[@bonaface]

gawdamn shots fired at ohio!! that's so skibidi I nearly spit out my coffee!

[@babystepsgarden6162]

The berries were used to make fake wine by coloring other alcohol in the 1800's.

[@theorangeheadedfella]

@@bonaface ☹️

[@JCC_1975]

If poke salad was that deadly then I'd be long dead. I'm 49 and have eaten this my whole life. It's really good. My pawpaw used to teach is how to harvest and prepare things most people call weeds. I really miss him. RIP pawpaw 💜

[@brandon9172]

Did pawpaw teach you how to harvest pawpaw too

[@JCC_1975]

@@brandon9172 Did yours teach you to be this disrespectful or does it come naturally?

[@brandon9172]

@@JCC_1975 I'm not quite sure what was disrespectful about that, but I apologize. It was a play on words. You called them pawpaw, which is also the name of a fruit that grows in eastern America. Very popular fruit to forage for.

[@tracy419]

​@@brandon9172yeah, I didn't think it was disrespectful either. I never heard of pawpaw until a few years ago, and still haven't tried any. But we did plant a couple of trees and finally have our first fruit coming in this year👍

[@Neeko_Z]

Salad.. so leaves were raw?

[@renebrock4147]

Both sides of my family have been gathering, cooking, and eating poke for as long as anyone can remember, as have most of the older families around here. I know of very few who boil it, especially not in several changes of water. In most cases, the poke is gathered, then the leaves stripped. The stems are either skinned (because the skin can be stringy), chopped and sautéed or fried, breaded or not, and the leaves just roughly chopped and fried separately. My Dad even had a recipe for pokeberry wine for medicinal uses. The first time I ever saw that 'several waters' nonsense was actually in National Geographic in the 1980s. The whole family laughed at that, but that seems to be where most of that nonsense started. As I recall, the article was about someone who was 'foraging ' in Central Park. Anyway, thank you for working so hard to educate yourself and everyone else, and thank you for such well-made videos.

[@thankmelater1254]

Does it require rubber gloves or some kind of protection, to collect it?

[@yuioni9632]

@@thankmelater1254 No. It can be handled by hand. Don't mess with the berries though. But as said, once the berries develop, harvesting time is over. Edit: I've harvested it myself and grew up eating it in my foraging family.

[@Snowwarrior]

I have a burn on my arm from the sap today after picking some. Called tolerance, how you prepare it. Doesn't mean its edible nor healthy to eat if it doesn't kill you. Can you do this with poison ivy? im sure

[@thankmelater1254]

@@yuioni9632 Thank you, yuioni. I'll look for this plant in the local park. I'll wear gloves I guess because there's various plants there which cause burns anyway. Plus being new to it makes it more likely to have a reaction.

[@thankmelater1254]

@@Snowwarrior OK, I'm going to wear a raincoat to gather it if I find some. They say there's lots of it in this area. I'd be surprised if my dog hasn't nibbled some. He grabs all kinds of greens as we walk. He loves doing that.

[@wantboost]

My grandmother uses to make this for me when i was growing up. Probably some of my best memories were cooking with her in the kitchen as a kid and it's where i got my love and drive for scratch cooking. I might only be 37 but almsot every meal of every day is scratch cooked, Especially now that i have a son. I can't even recall the number of foraged foods she cooked but i have to say seeing this video brought back some good memories. I cant thank you enough for the appreciation towards what you do. Its a shame others dont understand nor embrace the flavors of foods they can literally find all around them.

[@jonbloodworth474]

Fun fact, you can make a pest repellant for your garden with the boiled water. You would want to use the more purple plants and the roots are the best according to Youngsang Cho, founder of JADAM. His instruction say to take a 1:5 ratio of plant material to soft water, and boil it down to about a half to a quarter the water you started with. Use some sterilized bottles and you have a natural, shelf stable, home made, free pest repellant.

[@asnormal1362]

I'm thinking that repellent might not be advisable for use in your veg garden due to the toxins.

[@jonbloodworth474]

@@asnormal1362 it degrades in a few days with normal weather and can be washed off without much trouble especially if you use a cleaning spray of sorts

[@robertcotrell9810]

I'm a relatively new gardener, and pokeweed always strikes me as a handsome plant. I'll have to try cooking it now. Maybe it's worth keeping around after all!

[@catherinedufresne3543]

I dream of finding or even making a channel like this for my region (western WA, U.S.). You give the info in a way that is accessible without patronizing, and it is clear to me that you put in a lot of thought into the visuals. It's especially hard to convey texture and flexibility in verbal or video format, and you did a fantastic job here. The blending of traditional use and modern western science is also helpful (that shade thrown at OSU lol). I've never even seen pokeweed in real life, as it's not native to where I live. But by golly, I'll know what to eat if I'm ever in your neck of the woods! Thanks for posting these, keep up the good work.

[@BeckyA59]

I'm in WA also, never heard of it!

[@bexgoshorn274]

I’m in Oregon and we have it growing in loads of backyards :)

[@SteelsCrow]

@@bexgoshorn274 You need to say what part of Oregon, it's got at least 3 different climates. I live just east of Portland. Hot dry summer, cool and drizzly the rest of the year. Never seen this plant, but I'll look for it.

[@zorra578]

our foragers here are mushroom hunters, check out Mushroom Wonderland they're based in the Kitsap peninsula

[@MelW123]

I'm in western WA too. I've never seen it here either

[@pjkentucky]

When I was a kid I knew and old lady who would fry the stalks in corn meal. They were tasty.

[@peteblack7052]

That's how my family has always eaten them too! Imagine my surprise when I was informed, at about the age of 30, that they were quite deadly.

[@pjkentucky]

@@peteblack7052 she still soaked the stalks. The greens are as good as spinach as far as I'm concerned.

[@jamesbooth3360]

I remember a patch in our yard in the rural Mississippi Delta when I was about 4 (1960). My Mom, a pharmacist, and my Dad, an MD with an MS in pharmacology, told me to never eat those berries. Poke sallad was a staple of poor people's diet and was frequently served without issue, but I guess they knew "Don't eat the berries!".🤣

[@sandraking9650]

​@@peteblack7052not deadly! 😅

[@grape_protogen]

Considering he's said it works in a lot of places Okra does, and I enjoy a bit of okra, I could imagine how that'd be delicious. If at some point I spot a Poke plant within the right time frame, I'll definitely be thinkin of this.

[@peggybaxter8480]

Growing up in Appalachia poke was a mainstay for my family. We boiled the greens then fried them bacon gtease. We coated the stems in corn meal and fried them. No boiling first. I'd love to have some right now!

[@sandraking9650]

Had the leaves today !

[@Itsabeautifulday3201]

I cook it for my family now and my husband loves it. I fry the greens with bacon grease bit of bacon and onion and garlic salt and pepper. It’s delicious! I live in Missouri. My grandma was from West Virginia, she used to pickle it for me all the time when I was a kid ❤

[@TheSovereign2011]

That's how we did with the stalks. Cooked them like fried green tomatoes.

[@FireSilver25]

Thanks so much for this info! I’d like to add that as an Indigenous person I think it’s important to leave some kind of offering as a thank you to the plant. Even if it’s plentiful. Some water or tobacco is typical.

[@josephstaton4820]

I'm a Blount county native. Polk weed used to grow around the edge of our garden. My mother would batter and fry the stalks like okra.

[@wanderwonders1221]

I'm from Blount County, TN and my Pa-paw used to scramble the young shoots/leaves with eggs.

[@shenanigansagain5273]

That sounds interesting. I love fried okree.

[@env0x]

i was just thinking they look like they have the same texture/taste as okra. but without the little balls in them.

[@linda-arlenehoxit7646]

I do know a person who mistook poke berries for blueberries. Fortunately, the taste made her change her mind. She felt it, but was okay. Call to poison control anyway once someone nearby found out what she did. So with a little imagination, at least for one person, this is a blueberry look alike. In the used correctly department, for Grandpa, it was the first green vegetable available in the spring. Thank you for sharing a solid, responsible account of pokeweed.

[@normalhuman9878]

Luckily, most of the toxins are in the seeds, which are too tough for the body to break down

[@guyward3928]

Thank you. That was very informative. I grew up eating poke leaves and still do. I can’t wait to try these.

[@davesrvchannel4717]

I live in Hazel Green Alabama in a forest. It’s so nice to see a channel like this and with nearby food sources. I look forward to watching more videos.

[@shenanigansagain5273]

Grew up in rural Arkansas, we eat poke salad every year. Our rule is pick it before the berries appear. Boil it, change the water, boil it again adding salt pork and seasonings. We've never had a problem. Gonna give the shoots a try.

[@michaeljlangford]

Great, even though I was a Southern boy, nobody taught me these things. I'm 75 now, but I still enjoyed learning this.

[@SandraGarner-q3r]

I didn’t mention that this was only one of the foraged vegetables that my grandmother gathered for me. I almost lost my daughter when pregnant. I had poke weed 3 times a week if we could find them. Sassafras tea which came from my uncle’s farm in Kentucky. It’s the roots that are good and beneficial not the bark or leaves. And of course liver and lot lots lots of onions. Thank goodness I like liver the way my mother and her mother cooked them. There’s an art to making it. But that’s just 3 things that my grandmother made sure I ate to cleanse my blood. And it worked. There is another factor but can’t remember right now. But I was able to carry my daughter to full term. The land will heal you if you know where to look.

[@jeffmosier3145]

I thought I would mention , coming from a nurse...me , that Sassafras Root Tea is carcinogenic meaning that it can produce cancer in the human body. I will admit that I don't know how much or how long you have to ingest it to inquire cancer production. There was a short period in my life as a kid in the country and the neighbor kids down the road , 7 of them in the household showed me how to get the roots , clean them and make the tea. We drank it from time to time in the year we lived there. I was 30 when I went to college to earn my Nursing degree and I'm now 58 and wouldn't drink it for nothing. Too me that's just plain , well you know. Another even more carcinogenic food that people eat the crap out of and that's Pumpkin Seeds. So that's a giant no for me. Once your educated in the world of nutrition , foods , natural vitamins from food , supplements , minerals , Electrolytes , medicines etc. , you quickly realize that the FDA is not really looking out for people but looking out for huge corporate kickbacks and also learn that the CDC sleeps in the same bed with the FDA under the same roof with the CDC and Big Pharma. When you stand back and look and see and hear , there's nothing great about this country, nothing at all but planned and programmed illness and death that fuels Cronie's and Bureaucrats pockets aka "The 1% , the Blue bloods" and also coined as "The Paladiens" by the endowed , in the know minded people on this planet while the census of this enlightened population shrink due to the dumbing down of this country and rest of the world.

[@angelab4652]

Please please tell me how to prepare liver. So it's edible, besides liverworst.

[@themarlboromandalorian]

Mayonnaise.

[@TractorJack]

Really, that's the secret? Does it need to be marinated?

[@gentianvandewerken929]

Belief has a lot to do with it!lol

[@HaphazardHomestead]

Too bad you don't care for the leaves. I've eaten a lot of pokeweed over the decades, with picking and cooking passed down to me through generations. Those young shoots at 4:45 are perfect. They are not more toxic just because they are close to the roots. They are the most mild flavored of all the pokeweed harvests, but they aren't the most efficient picking for lots of food. I agree about the tender shoots, even the thick ones -- so delicious! But I like the big leaves, like you had on the stalks you were harvesting, too. They can provide a lot of food for a long season, especially if you keep the plants cut back for awhile so they keep sending up more shoots or keep branching out with new growth. Cutting an old not edible patch down to the ground in the late summer gives a good fall harvest, too. Such a great plant! Happy foraging!

[@delve_]

Hey it's you! I recommended your video on poke as a supplement to this one in another comment. Don't know if you recognize me, but I commented on your video before. Love your channel! Much respect to you and your dad :)

[@randomsaltyperson1148]

Hey there!!! Love your channel too! Glad to hear from you! Are you still going to post videos on your channel? Haven't seen you upload one lately 😢

[@FeralForaging]

Hello! Your video on Pokeweed is one of my personal favorites! For anyone reading this who IS interested in foraging and cooking the leaves, be sure to check their video out. I'll have to do more experiments with the extra young shoots myself, thank you for letting me know about that!

[@chrisgabriel9871]

😅

[@chrisgabriel9871]

​@@FeralForagingprobably

[@JodiMontano]

I did a lot of research on this plant before eating it the first time. Your video is the best I've seen, but even you are more cautious than necessary. I sautéed about 2 cups of fresh leaves 3 days ago, August 12th, without preboiling. My plant is full of berries. Onion & garlic salt and pepper in avocado oil, then scrambled with eggs. I experience zero ill effects. Maybe some people have a sensitivity to it that I don't, but what's the point of eating it if you cook all the nutrients out of it first? I've also used the berries, swallowed whole, for arthritis pain.

[@factoryreject8438]

Years ago I had some neighbors with a little boy who at the time was about 2 or 3 years old. I was out on my front porch when I saw the boy's grandma dragging him out of the bushes & the boy was covered in purple from head to toe. The grandma caught the boy eating poke berries. Everybody was terrified & they rushed him to the hospital. He just got a mild tummy ache 😂

[@loripiontek]

I've heard this so many times know, that I laugh at the "omg! they're poisonous! "types!

[@patricioiasielski8816]

Funnily enough this plant has a giant, massive, brother called Phytolacca dioica (the Ombu) that grows like a tree around here in it's native range. Gorgeous plant.

[@FeralForaging]

Oh man, that thing right there IS a tree!! 😅That's crazy. I wasn't familiar with this relative of P. americana. Thank you for sharing it!

[@deborahharvey854]

Is it edible?

[@leifcatt]

When I worked on oil rigs in Okla. in the 90's, we would gather Polk Salet and Sand Plums from site locations. Sometimes we would find Lambs Quarters or Nodding Onions.

[@justpurplethings8175]

The berries are also edible, it's the seeds (when crushed/opened) that are poisonous. In Appalachia the juice of the berries is made into a jam/jelly, wines, used as dye in food or clothes. Hypothetically speaking you could eat the berries whole as long as you didn't crush the seed and passed it through your bowels intact. You must collect the juice through extraction/double boiler method, or through gentle hand squeezing.

[@sheraleethomas]

Wow! How does the juice taste? I take the berries whole as you say, so have never tasted their juice.

[@PraxisPrepper]

Thanks for this video. I've been eating a lot of wild edibles for a number of years but have always been a bit nervous about this plant. This video was great.

[@megandonahue9220]

Thanks for sharing this! I found that around 50% of the plants on the US invasive plant list are edible or medicinal. Kudzu and cattails were my biggest surprise.

[@aliannarodriguez1581]

I think that’s why a lot of them were brought over in the first place. Sadly, most of those invasives are only edible for humans, they leave a wildlife desert behind as they spread. Even national parks are rapidly being overrun now. Forests I visited less than 20 years ago look completely different now.

[@emkn1479]

Just started foraging for this plant this year. Happy to know it’s more edible than I’ve heard. One note though about the timing on that report…it’s A LOT warmer A LOT earlier now than it would have been in 1980. Meaning that the season could have naturally been later than it is now.

[@reed6514]

I was wondering about that, too - the climate changes

[@kathrynkerr3317]

Thanks for this. I'm from a family of poke green eaters, generations. I don't particularly enjoy it, but I love the plant, let it grow in my yard for the birds. Most years I eat a little in honor of my mother. I'll have to think about the shoots.

[@williamchildress1459]

I just came across your video on poke stem cooking. I love the poke plant. Next time you cook poke leaves boil them 3 to 4 times about 30 to 40 minutes each time and drain between boilings. Fry some fat back and save the grease. Stir fry some diced onions and stir fry it with the poke leaves. This is something my great great mothers taught me. Also when I was young I lived in Wilmington NC and blueberries grow wild all over the place. We came back to SC and I was out in the yard and I thought the poke berries were blueberries so I ate a lot of them. And my mom asked me what I had ate I told her blueberries and my father realized what I had eaten. And I had to be rushed to the hospital and have my stomach pumped. I am lucky that is all that happened. But keep up the videos. I love them on wild foods.

[@arvettadelashmit9337]

When I was a child, our whole family gathered Poke that was cooked with other greens. You are correct, Mother only cooked the leaves. We were using those big brown paper grocery bags to collect them in. We had to fill many of those bags with Poke to get enough to make one meal for seven people (three adults and four children). I did not like eating it (because it always tasted bitter and gave me diarrhea). There was no such thing as ball point pens back then. The berries of Pokeweed can be crushed to make a beautiful wine/purple colored ink (which was used when you were out of regular black or blue ink in late summer and fall. Poke ink will not be kept very long in a bottle (it will spoil). The berries are very staining and can be used as a dye. I'm 76 years old; and, ball point pens did not become common until I was in the seventh grade. I still remember my first BIC, 19 cents, black ball point pen (and no more stained fingers on my right hand from doing my school assignments). Pokeweed isn't as common now as it used to be. The strip mine where we used to hunt and gather poke is now a large housing development. The County road crews now do a good job of keeping the sides of the roads and ditches clean and clear of weeds and brush. I have not seen any wild trumpet vines growing anywhere wild, since I was very young here in Eastern Kentucky.

[@Mindy56743]

I grew up with eating this plant. I don’t like the leaves either but breaded and fried stalks is amazing! I grew up with fried okra and the shoots of the poke weed were 100 times better! It is my favorite way to eat this plant

[@ceciisuppose1530]

i really appreciate the amount of info you put in this. I have adrenal insufficiency, so vomiting and GI symptoms are actually a pretty big concern for me so I have been scared off a lot of foraging because of fearmongering about stuff like this. You taking the time to address these concerns and specifiy very clearly how exactly to gather and prepare them to avoid issues is really great

[@dwightwiginton3682]

Hello, friend! I'm in Northwest Alabama. Glad I ran across you! I'm an old soldier and a widower. I'd love to learn more. Never too late to learn!

[@DannyHorn-x1x]

Your correct young man us old timers call it parboiling great video

[@noneyobizniz8991]

This is great! I remember learning in Boy Scouts that you could eat this plant in some form, but I never learned exactly how. This is great to learn! Also, it should be noted that the ripe berries actually can be used to make a natural reddish dye for fabric.

[@NathanYospe]

According to some British accounts, the dyes from the berries of a few other species in the genus were used to produce some of the more colorful tattoos in various Polynesian cultures. Given the toxins present in those dyes, this raises some questions. One thing that has been confirmed from museum pieces is that the (now threatened) native species of pokeweed found in Hawaii was used to produce a red-purple dye used in clothing.

[@BjjBoogie]

We used to wear white t-shirts in gym/P.E. class and have fights with the poke berrys if we ran that day. We would have purple sploches all over our skin and shirts by the time it was said and done. Mom used to get onto me about it, due to it not washing out. 😃 Turns the skin purple too.

[@notmyworld44]

I've also heard of the old southerners making pies out of the berries.

[@amandaflower2]

I take black poke berries as medicine. It works as a blood purifier. Helps with arthritis pain. I just swallow anywhere from three to nine of these. I don't chew them. There is some information that the seeds can cause problems when chewed although I have a friend who does chew them with no ill effect. Overall poke is a great plant. Great video.

[@lisaslayton3880]

Thank you for this video. I have been hunting a video on poke.I used to gather it and take to my Mom. I have gobs growing around my property. I will definitely give it a try.

[@micahrobbins8353]

I had never planned on trying poke even though it's common to my area because of the toxicity. I think I'll give it a go next year though now that I have a resource to clarify what the actual risks and processes are

[@wamlartmuse17]

I've heard about people eating poke weed since I was very young. I've been afraid to eat it due to lack of information. I ran across a video about poke berries for pain. The guy explained how to use them. You're not supposed to eat more than 8 a day, don't chew the seeds, because they are the most toxic part of the berry, & I believe he said eat 3-4 at a time. Sometimes my knee hurts, so one day I tried 2 berries & spit the seeds out. I'd recommend trying 2-3 to start. It takes a couple hrs to work but it works well when it does. I only eat 2-4 in a day.

[@peoniesandlilacs9414]

We ate the stalks and fried it in cornmeal and flour. So good. Ate them since the 70s. My parents probably ate them since the 50s.

[@FeralForaging]

Oooh, fried sounds delicious!

[@Itsabeautifulday3201]

@@FeralForagingpickled was always my favorite! My grandma used to make it special for me when I was a kid.

[@travismoore7849]

My grandpa got polk stalks when they were about ten to a foot inches tall mainly green not purple. Then just removed the leaves and chopped the stalks, washed them, then rolled them in cornmeal and flour and some salt. Then fried them oil in a skillet.

[@chrisferrell6159]

I've eaten it all my life. The best fried okra I've ever had 😂

[@Gena-t4l]

I thought it looked like okra. WHY the hell doesn't he call it okra???? I'm thinking I'm missing out on something great. I can only eat okra deep fried, I can't stand just cooked okra.though I know people who love any form of okra.

[@cameronschyuder9034]

@@Gena-t4lbecause it’s not okra, and he doesn’t want to mislead ppl to think it is

[@chrisbay6672]

This is definitely a vegetable I HAVE had. My grandma used to make us stop on the side of country roads when she spotted this stuff growing.

[@rhondajhunter9091]

My in-laws, from Arkansas, all foraged for pokeweed in early spring, most of them boiled and drained it at least three or more times before tasting it. My husbands aunt always did the water change 7 times, and of course it was tasteless. She added it to scrambled eggs with bacon. My father-in-law picked leaves of 6" plants, cooked them using one water change, and fixed them like spinach, adding a little lemon pepper. That was good!

[@garyf285]

I harvest the berries. I put them in quart baggie and put them in my freezer. I use them for medicine. Native Americans used them for arthritis.

[@Ojb_1959]

Grew up eating Poke Salet leaves that my Grandma would cook like spinach with eggs and bacon. Eating the shoots is new to me. Thanks!

[@vitalucas9452]

When I was a kid in Ontario Canada, there was a hit song on the radio, called "Poke salad Sally". We always wondered what Poke Weed was. We assumed it was a little plant that only grew in the deep south. Anything I read about it years later said it was poisonous. Remarkably it started to grow beside our driveway. I used the berry stems in flower arrangements. It's a huge oramental bush like plant, 5' tall. I wish I had one now. Thanks! Subscribed!

[@mirzamay]

Acrid, my favorite flavor. I found the berries to be very useful for fibromyalgia, chronic pain and exhaustion especially in the winter. I give my old little doggie one and it puts a pep in her step. Of course she swallows it right down, like I do, and doesn't chew. The seeds pass right through. Just never ever chew or crush the seeds, that is where the poison comes from. Use it responsibly. Keep away from children, label it, etc.

[@kathycranor5297]

Family has been fixing the poke leaves for generations. I didn't know you could eat the stalks. Looks good. Can't wait for spring.

[@jonlouis2582]

We've had Poke every day for weeks. The only reason we haven't had any this week is because it's too hot to cook. I look forward to it every year!

[@BUHNANUHBREAD]

I just bought my house 2 years ago and this stuff grows wild along the fence in my backyard....I just let the animals have it since the birds are the ones who most likely planted it with their droppings, lol...They planted a few Mulberry trees too!! Haha

[@sesame.sprinkles]

This is crazy interesting to me! 🤯 In Korea 🇰🇷, Phytolacca (자리공) has historically been used in poisonous concoctions called sayak (사약), a capital punishment for the noble classes and royals. ☠ So people are told to stay away from these plants here... Now, I'm tempted to give them a try when there are young plants again...

[@QuartzVideozYT]

Korea really is an interesting peninsula. The land of fans with automatic timers because some people think having an electric fan in a closed room is going to end you.

[@peggybaxter8480]

Growing up in the country we looked forward to the poke season. Mama cooked the stalks and leaves. I loved it then and now!

[@amandagcharles]

I’m in north Alabama as well (sand mountain ) I had a poke grow taller than my house last year. I just left it to grow and see what happened and it just kept going.

[@valestivale4711]

its interesting to see that the older commenters are the ones more likely to have tried this before! I always knew the poke plant for being toxic, so I never tried poke salad or anything but i might give this a shot when im camping

[@howard5755]

I've always been told to boil them through 3 waters. Worked pretty well so far.

[@peteblack7052]

My brother, I'm very concerned that despite your claim that you are "preparing them properly" I haven't seen a scrap of fatback in this video. For real though, great video. Thanks for the knowledge.

[@YunxiaoChu]

?

[@TaneKarnes]

Bacon​@@YunxiaoChu

[@reppi8742]

@@YunxiaoChufatback is using to cook with - it is a fat.

[@mahbuddykeith1124]

@@YunxiaoChuFatback. Hard pork fat. Basically, cooking it in rendered lard.

[@user-dm1tv6nl2e]

Hahaha, good one XD

[@fangthedergon1863]

I think a part of the bad press for poke weed is that, at least in the southern US where I grew up, it was considered desperation food for the poor, and kind of looked down on. Never tried it myself, but I am going to give it a try next time I find some ripe for harvest.

[@artosbear]

God there's several good ones coming up in the back yard...I'm waiting for the berries so I can spread em around more and next year I'll be very happy to harvest them. Gonna leave the mature earlier plants alone for another year or two

[@lasetlivingstin7752]

Caught your vid on the algorithm...Only tip I can give is to mix & cook them with greens...Granny is gone, but she called them poke salad...

[@notmyworld44]

All across the rural deep south it was called "Poke Salat" (with a T on the end), but I never knew of it being eaten as a salad, and I always wondered why they called it that.

[@lasetlivingstin7752]

@@notmyworld44 When I say greens I'm talking about Collards, mustard, & turnip greens...My Granny & her siblings were frm way back, so not sure about salat or salad...She was frm 1918 & they were raised on a farm...She never said they were poison...Maybe she just knew how to cook them...She lived to be 101yrs, 2019...

[@raywhitehead730]

Good recommendations. I remember Polk Salad in stores in East Texas in the 70's. I loved the stuff. Sadly, there isn't any in Southern California.

[@notmyworld44]

Excellent report! In the rural south that plant used to be often referred to as "Poke Salat" (with the T), although I never knew of it being eaten literally as a salad. I've eaten cooked poke "greens" (leaves) several times, although it was long ago and prepared by an experienced rural person. The greens were parboiled and drained twice, then cooked a third time with crumbled fried bacon added to the water. I could be wrong, but all that parboiling and draining simply has to destroy whatever vitamins might have been in the plant. The end product was filling and tasted nice, but what real nutrition could possibly remain in it? I haven't tried the shoots. Thanks for a really fine video presentation here.

[@shanehebert396]

My grandparents used to make Poke salad way back in the day (1970s).

[@Alchemic_Spawn]

my grandma was raised on it, and she was born in the 1940's

[@john091077]

sallet*

[@hunterrichie2764]

My pawpaw told me about his older sister frying the stalks like okra. He also said the berries could be made into jelly but you need a lot of sugar for taste. Bibb County

[@jamiami3804]

I start eating 1-2 pokeweed berries about 1 month ago and it's the best, I feel so good afterward. If I was going on a trip and they said take one thing with you, I would take a bag of pokeweed berries.

[@Mark_Agamotto1313_Smith]

I love Knotweed, it has a somewhat Rhubarb-esque flavor to it.

[@peteblack7052]

I wasnt too interested in the knotweed til right now.

[@cynthiacollins2668]

I was disappointed in knotweed, but I only tried it one way. How did you cook it?

[@Mark_Agamotto1313_Smith]

@@cynthiacollins2668 I actually eat it raw, but I suppose one could prepare it the same way one prepares Rhubarb, unless you ARE Barbara, then just don't use it to make pie. (small joke there for those that don't get the reference)

[@tipsybass7060]

Knowing that it’s similar to rhubarb.. I want to try it. I have fond memories of getting caught by granny (just a neighbor that everyone called granny) with a bowl of sugar next to her rhubarb, chomping away. After so many times of being caught, she requested that I asked her before chomping… and then she’d bless me with rhubarb bars and pie.

[@Mark_Agamotto1313_Smith]

@@tipsybass7060 Was her name Barbara? Barbara's Rhubarb Bar, and the Rhubarb Bar Barbarians, and the Rhubarb Barbarian Barber.

[@joycebenson2889]

imy first experience with poke was when I stopped in a dinner in TN ...1977 ... and Poke and eggs were on the menu ... plenty growing in the back yard (..eastern shore of MD) ... And though I've foraged it before ..I rarely think to eat it . a nice reminder and deep dive ..thanks!

[@pjn7136]

I will refer to this video again next Spring when the pokeweed pokes up in my Atlanta garden again. Thanks.

[@larrymorse6875]

My Dad grew up in far southern Illinois. Died at the age of 84 from old age. Ate Polk berries all his life. (Leaves and Stems too) Said it helped his arthritis. I don't know how this came to be known as a poisonous plant, but people in the Middle Ages thought Tomatoes would kill you.

[@tipsybass7060]

Ooh I will try that with my dad. He hates healthy food, and I told him through proper food, he can live better. Hard hill to climb, no doubt

[@scottsammons7747]

Poke Salat was mostly considered a spring tonic herb where I grew up. It seemed to helpwith circulation. Wait for cow parsnip and giant hog weed! Very tasty IF you know what you are doing.

[@govindasgarden]

Amazing video my guy!! I’m going to try some this year. They are all over the place. Thanks for removing the fear.

[@HickoryDickory86]

I remember eating the berries a few times as a kid, just to give them a try (spent a lot of time "exploring" in the woods, building tree houses, catching crawfish from the creek, etc.), and never once did I have any adverse reactions. Just a few will not harm you, and you _won't_ have more than one or two, trust me. They're bitter and acrid and just overall very unpleasant. That said, they do stain a deep burgundy color, and my brother and I frequently smashed the berries and used them as warrior paint on our faces. (Again, no adverse reactions.)

[@robertpate7161]

I am also here in northern Alabama, so I remember my grandmother preparing polk. Thanks for the info, your gorgeous.

[@davetarpley3740]

I'm just learning about poke weed. Fascinating. I'm a big fan of nettle leaves, which have to be cooked before being eaten -- or even touched.

[@knightsofnee8626]

Thank you for making this!!!! I tried reading about this years ago and there was so much conflicting information I decided against harvesting.

[@FeralForaging]

Hope it helps to clear things up!

[@1254popoful]

I had these growing in the backyard of my childhood home, I always thought they were pretty, but never thought they could be edible!

[@nicknicholson1633]

Something you may not know, Poke weed is actually from France.Its name is poit salient. It's where we get the name poke salad

[@SAmaryllis]

I'd never heard of this before! Intrigued by what it might taste like. Thanks for going into detail on the do's and don't's

[@iminumst7827]

I don't even like vegetables, but those fried pokeweed do look strangely appealing.

[@whilomforge3402]

Most people wouldn’t think twice about eating rhubarb, even though the leaves have a rather concentrated amount of oxalic acid, which results in much worse effects than poke weed. I’m only 38, live in NY, and I can remember my grandparents giving us cooked pokeweed shoots for dinner, as a side. Then, we’d have rhubarb pie for dessert!

[@webeforjesus6275]

After you boil your poke leaves you fry them in flour, put some salt on them, and they're great. I might mix an egg with them too before adding the flour, can't remember for sure, it's been a couple of years since I've made them.

[@buckaroobonsaitree7488]

I've got a nice bit growing between my barn and the forest edge of my pasture. Can't wait to try some

[@michaelhuang2477]

Your channel is very informative. Growing up I see these pokeweed berries All the time I didn't know the name, but I call them poisonberries. Now I'm interested to try to eat some the shoots.

[@TheTribeOfBenjamin]

Thank you for another detailed and insightful video. Top quality work! Ben

[@gidget8717]

I have to really check out that recipe. My family (we're from Virginia, along the va/ky line) always eat them small, no higher than 3-4 inches with the leaves still curved inward. We prepare them the same way we prepare morels. Soaked in cold water for an hour or two, drained, rolled in a 50/50 mix of cornmeal & flour, then fried until golden brown. We never eat a large quantity of it at a time, because we only gather it as we hunt dry land fish (morels). When I was a kid, I often ate enough to give my tongue a tiny blister or two (lie bumps, we called them) but I have never known of anyone getting sick. Morels grow from mid march to the end of april here so we only eat poke shoots during that time. My family never ate the leaves because everyone one thought the same thing "Too much work, and we grew much tastier greens in the garden, mustard, collards, creasy greens..." Edit~I'm 61, by the way, so I'm with you on the whole "killer plant" thing. I've been eating poke my whole life, I can't remember a spring that I haven't eaten dry land fish & poke shoots. 🤷‍♀️

[@erinmac4750]

I'm not familiar with "dry land fish." Is that a recipe or a type of fish? Honestly, I'm an urban kid with scant knowledge of the land or cooking. Hence, my interest in this channel. ✌️😎

[@gidget8717]

@@erinmac4750 it's both! 😆 In the southern Appalachian mountain area we call morel mushrooms "dry land fish" because the mushrooms have a meaty texture (unlike other foraged foods my people have traditionally eaten, ie. berries, nuts, plants...) AND we prepare it the way we prepare fresh water fish. For the mushrooms, you slice them in half lengthwise, and soak them about an hour in cold water (it both cleans them and gets any tiny bugs out) drain them and roll (dredge) them in a mixture of flour & cornbread mix and fry them in a skillet. Drain them on paper towels. Fresh water fish is excellent cooked this way also. I was an adult the first time I heard them called by their proper name, Morels.

[@Doktracy]

I have so much poke weed around and it looks to be right at the perfect stage. I’ll give it a try tomorrow.

[@Herculesbiggercousin]

Very interesting video! I have a population of American pokeweed by my house in Ohio and saved a bunch of seeds for seed bombs but was convinced the plants themselves were too risky to eat. Maybe I’ll give them a try! I’ve eaten Adam’s Needle yucca stalks and similar to your description it tasted a lot like asparagus.

[@danr5704]

I've heard of cooking stems but never did it. I love the leaves, partially shaded does get the nicest leaves. Add some pepper juice and onion while cooking and love it. No extra precautions no extra drain no problem. Poke is an old word for a bag.

[@Jane_Dow]

I grew up eating " Poke Salad " as my Grandmother would say. She only gathered the young leaves, boiled 2 to 3 times, an would can them. WE had them year round. My Mother would drain them, cook them in a cast Iron skillet w/ bacon grease, piece of salt, an 1 egg whipped & all cooked together. It was great, I loved it. Mother tried to fake me out a few times when she ran out of Poke, I caught her every time. I could taste the difference. Never knew you could eat the shoots, guess Mamma didn't like them. But I'll be willing to try. But sadly I live in the suburbs, an don't know anywhere I can legally find & pick some.

[@rasbot2]

Check empty lots and along railroad tracks.

[@Jane_Dow]

@@rasbot2 That we have plenty of, great idea !! Thanks !

[@rasbot2]

@@Jane_Dow I found poke weed and passion fruit on empty lot behind my house. Have poke weed growing in 5 gallon bucket and planted passion fruit in the front yard.

[@shirleytruett7319]

Yes I have eaten poke leaves and young stalks , poke salad is great mixed with mustard greens and take the young stalks and fry them like you do okra DELICIOUS 😋

[@dianedoyle-mccahon4979]

I have tons in my yard I just got done cutting down 9ft tall over an inch thick. When cutting up fir storm damage

[@PropheticPlaces-rm9lp]

Poke Greens Are Great and The Shoots. My Family Ate Them For Years In Kentucky. I Never Boiled And Poured Off Poke Greens Or The Shoots. I Peal Off The Poke Shoots Cut Them Up Put Them In Egg Then Roll Them In Jiffy Corn Mix And Fry Them. Delicious!

[@JHabc]

That looks delicious. I’m from Ohio and there were some giant pokeweed around an apI live in. I was terrified of it because had read that it was dangerous and could cause a rash from brushing up against it. What terrible information! I missed out, wish I had seen your channel years ago

[@gregmiller9710]

I live in the hills of SEMO and i let the polk grow wherever it wishes around in my yard...:)...

[@gloriagibb-zs4se]

Me too. Great privacy and they give nutrients to the soil... cheers

[@abc-dj3dx]

You make me do research... I love it!!!! So, I was reading that the sap of Poke Weed can effect the skin like Poison Ivy (which I can literally see on T.V. and still get a rash) and then to a natural remedy to that rash which is Jewel Weed. Great thing is I know all of these plants grow in my area. Great info to know!!!! lol, I just nerded out, guess that means I LOVED the video!