Isatis root can also be used as a vegetable? This year's spring seasonal vegetables are too weird

Spring is here again. Although the flowers are the same every year, everyone loves seasonal goodies. Of course, tasting spring vegetables is also an important part of spring.

This year, the market for spring seasonal vegetables seems to be particularly hot. When you open the online grocery shopping platform, in addition to the classic Chinese toon, spring bamboo shoots, and grass heads, you can also see isatis root, mulberry leaves, and water poplar flowers...

Some screenshots of spring and seasonal vegetables on Hema

Wait, isn’t isatis root a medicine? Aren’t mulberry leaves eaten by silkworms? What is water lily? Can it be eaten?

Flower eating season

Traditional spring vegetables are mainly the tender sprouts and young shoots of plants that grow in spring. In addition to simple sprouts, eating flowers is becoming more and more popular nowadays.

Chinese toon, the most classic spring special, the young shoots are what you eat丨Fumikas Sagisavas / Wikimedia Commons

Magnolia

The purple magnolia ( Yulania liliiflora ) of the genus Magnolia in the Magnoliaceae family is also known as the magnolia of spring and magnolia. After washing the petals, you can make tea, soup, and tempura. It tastes fragrant and slightly bitter.

Purple Magnolia | Jim Evans / Wikimedia Commons

The flowers of the same genus magnolia ( Y. denudata ) are white and are eaten in a similar way to the purple magnolia.

Magnolia petals are somewhat toxic and should not be eaten too much. It is said that magnolia can relieve rhinitis. The "rhinitis flowers" sold on the market are magnolia buds. As a patient with severe rhinitis, I tried it once and it was very unpalatable. I suggest you don't buy it.

Magnolia丨William (Ned) Friedman / Wikimedia Commons

Sea lettuce

This should be the earliest popular Yunnan flower material. Ottelia acuminata , also known as water hyacinth , is a submerged plant of the genus Hydrophyte in the family Hydrocharitaceae and a species endemic to China.

Because sea lettuce has strict requirements for its growth environment, it can only grow in clean and transparent water. With the changes in the environment over the years, the distribution area of ​​sea lettuce is gradually shrinking, and it has now been included in the IUCN Red List.

The wavy-leaved sea lettuce growing in Lugu Lake | Ping an Chang / Wikimedia Commons

The main edible part of sea lettuce is the scape , which is the axis of the inflorescence. Sea lettuce is fragile and easy to break after leaving the water, so merchants usually roll it into a ball and sell it in a package. Sea lettuce tastes crispy, smooth and tender, with a slightly sweet and sour taste. It is also easy to prepare and can be served cold, stir-fried or boiled in soup.

A must-have dish in Dali restaurants: Watery Yanghua丨Mx. Granger / Wikimedia Commons

broom

Broom refers to the flower of Caragana sinica in the Fabaceae family. Caragana sinica is a nectar plant, so the nectar of Broom has a sweet taste; but the petals themselves have a bitter taste, and generally need to be blanched before cooking, and the main cooking method is scrambled eggs.

Caragana 丨 Dalgial / Wikimedia Commons

Caragana, also known as gorse, is non-toxic, but Cytisus scoparius , also known as gorse and belonging to the same leguminous family, is poisonous. The gorse is native to Europe and is a symbol of the Plantagenet dynasty. It has been introduced and cultivated in China. The gorse contains spartine and cytisine, which are somewhat toxic.

If you do not purchase from a reliable market, the origin of the ingredients is unclear, and you cannot distinguish between Caragana and Gentiana, it is recommended to eat with caution.

Jinqueer丨Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / Wikimedia Commons

Cruciferae also has a spring limited edition

The members of the cruciferous family are the most common vegetables we eat on a daily basis, such as cabbage, cauliflower, etc. However, even the common cruciferous family has its own spring specialties, such as shepherd's purse and isatis root greens.

Shepherd's Purse

The first of the spring limited editions is shepherd's purse ( Capsella bursa-pastoris ). Shepherd's purse belongs to the genus Capsella in the family Cruciferae, and its freshness period is very short; the flowering and fruiting period of shepherd's purse is usually from March to June, and once it blooms, it means that the leaves are old.

Shepherd's Purse｜Red Queen

If ordinary people want to dig wild vegetables, it is difficult to identify the tender leaves of shepherd's purse . The most intuitive way is to crush the leaves and smell them. The one with a distinct special shepherd's purse aroma is the shepherd's purse itself. The most common way to eat shepherd's purse is to make wontons and dumplings. After blanching, it can be mixed with cold dishes or stir-fried dishes. Because of its aroma, it will not taste bad no matter how it is cooked.

Fried rice cake with shepherd's purse | Ser Amantio di Nicolao / Wikimedia Commons

Isatis root greens (Sophora japonica oil No. 1)

Isatis indigotica is a new favorite in the vegetable market in the past two years. The well-known Isatis indigotica is a traditional Chinese medicine, which comes from the root of Isatis indigotica . The stems and leaves of Isatis indigotica can also be used as dyes. In ancient China, it was often used to dye cloth; in Xinjiang, some ethnic minorities also use it to dye eyebrows.

Woad丨Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / Wikimedia Commons

However, this kind of Isatis root vegetable is not simply "Isatis root", but is cultivated by the somatic cell fusion of Isatis indigotica and rapeseed .

Rapeseed belongs to the Brassica family and is a type of vegetable. The taste of Isatis root greens is similar to that of Chinese kale, which is also a type of vegetable. The recommended cooking methods, such as stir-frying and cold salad, are also similar to those of Chinese kale. In other words, Isatis root greens (Songyou No. 1) is a type of rapeseed hybridized with Isatis root.

Brassica

Half of the vegetables in the supermarket belong to the genus Brassica in the cruciferous family, and Brassica vegetables can be roughly divided into cabbage type, kale type, and mustard type:

For the distinction of Brassica, click on the picture to jump to the article

The cabbage type includes green leafy vegetables such as cabbage, green vegetables, choy sum, and turnips. The leaves are light green, the smell is light, and the flowers are bright yellow.

Cabbage types include kale, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, etc. The leaves are blue-green with white frost, the smell is light, the taste is strong, and the flowers are yellow-white.

Mustard greens include mustard greens, baby greens, Chinese mustard, kohlrabi, etc. They have dark green leaves, a strong smell, a spicy taste, and golden flowers. In the Chaoshan area, some mustard greens are directly called "spring vegetables". The famous spring vegetable pot uses local fresh mustard greens.

Other Spring Limited Vegetables

Mulberry Leaves

One of the things I gained from shopping at Hema this spring: mulberry leaves that can be eaten by humans and babies.

Mulberry ( Morus alba ) is a native species in China. In addition to silkworm breeding and mulberry, it has a long history of being used as a herbal medicine and food. Mulberry leaves have no pungent smell, are almost hairless, and the young leaves are suitable for eating . In Korea, mulberry leaves are also made into tea and brewed into mulberry leaf tea.

Mulberry leaf tea丨백만볼투/Wikimedia Commons

There are sparse hairs along the veins on the back of mulberry leaves. Therefore, if you want to pick out mulberry leaves that are good for your baby, the key is that the leaves should not be too old . Use your fingernails to gently pinch the petiole. If you can break it, it is tender enough. Mulberry leaves are eaten in the same way as other wild vegetables. They taste good when served cold, in soup, with scrambled eggs, or fried.

Mulberry leaves and mulberries | GerardM / Wikimedia Commons

Bidens pilosa

When I realized that the secret of spring vegetables lies in their non-toxic and tender leaves, my eyes unconsciously shifted to the green belt (ahem.

The young leaves of Bidens pilosa , a common herb found in wastelands, roadsides and green belts in southern China, are edible. They can also be blanched and used for cold dishes, stir-frying or making soups.

Bidens pilosa flowers | Ixitixel / Wikimedia Commons

B. alba , a nectar source , is eaten by Africans as a vegetable and cooked with young shoots and leaves. Ugandans cook young leaves with yogurt. Young leaves are similar in nutritional value to kale and can be used as salad greens, but older leaves are less tasty and may cause gastrointestinal discomfort.

However, Bidens pilosa is usually regarded as an invasive weed. Some studies have suggested that Bidens pilosa may affect the growth of other plants by changing the structure of soil microbial communities.

Spring all year round is not just a wish for the landscape, but also for the taste buds. With the continuous advancement of breeding technology, more and more wild vegetables and seasonal specialties will gradually appear on our dining tables.

For example, the artificial cultivation technology of Dendrobium candidum has taken shape, and now the seedlings and leaves of Dendrobium can be seen and bought as vegetables in the market. For example, grass heads , melon tips , and ground spinach , which were originally seasonal wild vegetables, have also spread all over the country and are grown all year round due to mature cultivation technology.

Eating spring into your stomach is probably a kind of respect for spring.

Author: 媗媗

Editor: Mai Mai

Title image source: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / Wikimedia Commons

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)

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