Spring Wild Vegetables: Choose the Right Types, Healthy and Delicious!

Spring is here, and it's the perfect time to go out and enjoy the scenery. It's also a great time for foodies to "carnival". At this time of year, flowers bloom, plants sprout, and the green mountains and plains are dotted with a variety of wild vegetables. Most of them are fresh, juicy, and delicious, and are very popular among people. Many people believe that wild vegetables are pesticide-free, have few diseases and pests, and some are both medicinal and edible, so they dig some wild vegetables to eat in spring.

So which wild vegetables are safe to eat? Which wild vegetables are edible? Let's take a look!

Purslane: It is sour and cold in nature. It can clear away heat and dampness, cool blood and detoxify. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that it has antibacterial effects, and has inhibitory effects on Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, and Salmonella typhi, as well as common pathogenic skin fungi. Purslane tastes sour and sweet, and is often used to make soup, porridge or cold dishes.

Toona sinensis: It is warm, bitter and astringent in nature and has the effects of dispelling wind and dampness, stopping bleeding and relieving pain. It has medicinal effects all over the body.

Shepherd's purse: It is sweet and flat in nature, and has the effects of cooling blood and stopping bleeding, clearing away heat and promoting diuresis. It has medicinal effects all over the body.

Dandelion: Also known as bitter vegetable, it is bitter and cold in nature. It has the effects of clearing away heat and detoxification, removing blood stasis and promoting blood circulation, and draining pus. Dandelion tastes slightly bitter when eaten raw. It can be boiled in boiling water and cooked to remove the bitterness. Dandelion can be stir-fried with meat, scrambled eggs, or made into soup, or added with some soybean powder to make small tofu. It can also be boiled in boiling water and eaten with noodle sauce. However, dandelion is bitter and cold in nature, so people with weak spleen and stomach should eat less.

Elm money: It is mild, sweet, and slightly spicy. It has the effects of strengthening the spleen and calming the mind, clearing the heart and reducing fire, and relieving cough and reducing phlegm. There are many ways to eat it. It can be steamed. After mixing it with flour, steam it in a pot for half an hour and then add seasoning to eat. It can be used as a filling for dumplings and steamed buns. Elm money can also be eaten raw directly, or it can be eaten directly after washing it and adding seasoning.

Bracken: It is cold in nature and sweet in taste. It has the effects of clearing heat, strengthening the stomach, smoothing the intestines, lowering qi, dispelling wind, and resolving phlegm. Bracken is known as the "king of mountain vegetables". It is not only delicious, but also rich in vitamins and dietary fiber. Bracken roots and a small part of the stems are edible, but bracken with unfolded leaves should not be eaten. Bracken is poisonous. Fresh bracken is best blanched.

Amaranthus: It is pungent and slightly cold in nature, and has the effects of clearing away heat, detoxifying, promoting dampness and reducing swelling. It is named because its tender stems and leaves are picked as vegetables. Amaranthus contains rich vitamins and inorganic salts, and is beneficial for many diseases such as hypertension, pharyngitis, acute hepatitis, tonsillitis, etc.

Dandelion: It is sweet and mild in nature, and has the effects of clearing away heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and dispersing knots, and promoting the flow of dampness and relieving stranguria. There are many ways to eat it. You can blanch it in boiling water and eat it cold, or you can eat it raw with seasonings, or make soup or stir-fry it. However, dandelion tastes a bit bitter, so you can blanch it in water and add some sugar and vinegar to make a cold dish. In addition, the whole body of dandelion is a treasure. The roots, stems, and leaves can all be dried and used to make tea, which is also very effective.

(Wild vegetables drying in the ancient stilt house in Pengjiazhai, Xuanen County, Hubei Province. Photo by Song Wen, Xinhua News Agency)

Although wild vegetables are delicious, it is not advisable to eat too much. According to statistics from relevant departments, the vast majority of deaths from food poisoning caused by poisonous animals, plants and mushrooms occur at home, and the main reason is the wrong picking and eating. So before you eat wild vegetables, there are a few things you need to pay attention to:

First, do not eat wild vegetables that you are not familiar with. Make sure whether they are poisonous before eating. Some wild plants are highly toxic. If accidentally ingested, the mildest symptoms include chest tightness, abdominal distension, and vomiting, and the worst are life-threatening. In addition, there are many types of wild vegetables and they are easy to confuse. For example, poison hemlock and water celery are similar, but poison hemlock is poisonous.

Second, due to the pollution of the growing environment, wild vegetables growing near factories, garbage dumps, polluted rivers, and wastewater often contain toxins and are not suitable for consumption. Do not pick wild vegetables in areas with poor sanitary conditions or around roads. It is also not recommended to eat wild vegetables in parks because they are irrigated with recycled water used for greening. The recycled water is recycled from domestic sewage and industrial wastewater and does not meet drinking standards at all.

Third, bitter wild vegetables are mostly cold in nature and have the effect of detoxifying and reducing internal heat, but excessive consumption can damage the spleen and stomach, so people with weak spleen and stomach should not consume them excessively. Wild vegetables are high in dietary fiber, and infants and young children have weak digestive abilities, so they should not eat too much. Although wild vegetables have certain edible value and efficacy, you need to be careful when picking them. For example, honeysuckle and aconite are very similar in appearance, and accidentally eating the latter may cause food poisoning.

Having said so much, do you know about wild vegetables in spring? Spring is the season for tasting new things. Everyone likes to eat wild vegetables to enjoy the taste of spring, but remember that although wild vegetables taste delicious, you need to be cautious when eating them. Before eating wild vegetables, you must understand the relevant knowledge and control the amount of consumption. Do not easily eat wild vegetables that you do not understand or have not eaten, and do not pick wild vegetables randomly.