| Archive for countrytalkandtips.myfreeforum.org ........................ smallholding, crafts and country life ................................................... IN IRELAND ....................................................... |
| blowin |
pig nuts ( the edible root , not weaner food ! )www.the-tree.org.uk/EnchantedForest/WoodlandFlowers/pignut.htmI have just responded to a thread over on the GWBT forum . I was going to start one here a bit later in the year but there is no harm in being on the lookout from now on so here is a copy of what I put there . Please take " I am not an expert ..... etc " as read . Take care because they are closely related to a whole group of umbellifers which includes eg wild celery and carrot ( I think ) together with some very poisonous stuff such as Mandrake ( certain ) . The Pig Nut is the only one which has a clearly identifiable "nut" below ground ( I am certain but pls check for yourself ). As prev described , as the main stem enters the ground it quickly changes to a thin string-like thread which often takes off at a most unlikely angle . It is brittle so will snap unless you are very gentle . The nut is at the end of this , between 1" and maybe 6" away . When washed / rubbed clean it looks like a smallish , unevenly shaped hazel nut ( but it does not have a shell ) . When dirty / in the ground they are frustratingly difficult to spot . Texture is not unlike hazel itself -- nice crunch , slightly moist , a bit cardboardy after chewing for a while . Flavour slightly nutty . To me it had a slightly peppery aftertaste . Well worth picking but time-consuming to get more than a handfull . Still , they are quite filling so you don't need many if the foraging is mainly for fun . Took me 2 years to find the first one , then I realsed I had been trampling them underfoot all the time ! They are everywhere . The plant is generally much smaller than I had expected -- possibly a local trait . I will try growing a few in the polyT or veg bed -- just to make the digging up & picking out a bit easier . If ever I can find the time to find the rootstock in the first place  .
Good luck |
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| admin |
Their leaves are appearing now . They look like young / fragile carrot . They are quite easy to spot at this stage , before the scutch & everything gets out of hand . It might also help if you clear the worst of any twigs & leaf-litter from the area .
I cannot be certain of the i/d at this size ( due to the number of look-alikes ) but it is worth noting where to check a bit later in the year . |
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| wayland |
Are these annuals? | ||
| blowin |
Perenial , I am pretty sure , but they seem to multiply by seed rather than from the tuber ( the nut ) . The nut gets bigger each year until thumbnail size but still throws only the one stem . I think ! -- Just my observation -- I haven't researched much beyond what is req'd for positive i/d before eating ! Quite important in this case -- imagine being screamed at by a plant before it went on to make you very ill indeed ( Mandrake  ) .
Makes fish and chips seem a bit tame , doesn't it
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| wayland |
Cool. So given the other family members I/D is most important. Are these the only plant of this group that grows a tuber? If they are then no probs 
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| bref |
GWBT forum?Whats the GWBT forum? |
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| blowin |
Sorry wayland -- missed your post . I believe they are the only one which has this very distinctive hazel-nut-looking bulb at the end of a long ( 1 to 6" ) , thin , root but I have also come across several cautions about the danger of confusion . I concluded that the caution meant " dangerous if you are careless enough to get it wrong " rather than " there is a very real risk of getting it wrong " . So I ate quite a few and am still here ! . I would call the risk of false i/d quite low but thought it sensible to repeat the warning because it would apparently be a very bad thing to eat Mandrake .
Bref -- http://greenwelliesbalertwine.myfreeforum.org/ . We have several members in common . That one tends to be more "chatty" and less immediately practical than ours but is great for a bit of light relief so the relationship works quite well really
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| wayland |
How about a piccy Blowin 
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| admin |
The season will be over before I can get a pic up to photobucket via eircom landline but the plants are coming into flower around here so now is a good time to look . The umbellifer (?) -- kind of flat hat or umbrella of mini flowers -- on these is very delicate . In fact the stem and leaves are too , by comparison with others of this family .
I am sure that this is the only one of the above general description which has a very distinctive "nut" , looking like a hazel nut out of its shell , at the end of a very thin string-like root between 1 and 6" long . The root itself commonly corkscrews off to the side of the stem at a most unlikely angle so it is difficult to predict where the nut will actually be . I would say that these are one of the more interesting of the wild foods --- worth a try for a bit of fun .
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| blowin |
Bringing this back to the top because the young leaves are now quite easy to spot ----- and I still can't post up a pic 
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