Never Buy Rosemary

Author: eriwei29_006cwv

  • Cleavers, or Catchweed Bedstraw, and Making Coffee

    Cleavers, or Catchweed Bedstraw, and Making Coffee

    This is the plant that leaves little round stickers on your shoes, socks, and pant legs, thanks to cleavers’ velcro-like texture. Cleaver seeds don’t do any damage to soft items, but all parts of them are tenaciously sticky. (Compare their harmless nature to the goatheads/puncturevine I’ve seen in Eastern Washington, which will stick to and puncture tires.)

    I had read several plant identification pages and books that mentioned roasting the seeds for a coffee-like beverage (without much explanation). Then I saw an Instagram reel by @blackforager Alexis Nicole Nelson. She shared that cleavers are related to coffee (they’re in the same family, Rubiaceae) and that she enjoyed the flavor of the cleaver coffee she made (which was the color of a very light tea).

    I had to give making cleaver coffee a try, but if I was going to enjoy it, I wanted this drink to be strong and dark, genuinely more like coffee. Here’s what I did, inspired by Alexis’ video to follow a similar method.

    Common name(s): cleavers, bedstraw, scratch bedstraw, catchweed, sticky willy, stickyweed, hitchhikers, and many more!

    Scientific name(s): Galium aparine

    Origin: found in many locations around the world, cleavers are either naturalized in or native to North America.

    Making Cleaver Coffee

    The first time I made cleaver coffee, I picked all the seeds off of a couple of small vines, making only maybe a tablespoon of seeds. Then I roasted them in a non-stick saucepan, where they stayed green for ages and then suddenly burned about 15-20 minutes into the exercise.

    Then I crushed the seeds with the back of a spoon and put them in maybe 4 oz of hot water. It made a vaguely brownish liquid that, at best, just tasted like burned water.

    I suspected a few problems:

    1. Not enough cleaver seeds/Too much water
    2. Burned the seeds
    3. Didn’t grind the seeds finely enough to get a good steeping

    I tried again later with a huge bush of cleavers I found growing in my backyard. I picked about 1/4 cup of seeds from those sticky vines. This was a long process, to be honest, as the seeds are small, not that prolific, and want to stick to everything. It probably took an hour to do this.

    Then I sloooooooooooowly roasted the seeds in a non-stick pan over about 45 minutes so they became evenly but not dark brown. I ground them into powder using a mortar and pestle, and put 2 tablespoons of the powder into a fine-mesh tea strainer. I left the strainer in 8 ounces of water for 10 minutes.

    This attempt tasted better – it tasted like strong roasted water, much more like tea than coffee. Adding milk and sugar didn’t really make the flavor more coffee-like.

    small green and brown fuzzy cleaver seeds in a glass jar
    green and brown cleaver seeds in a pan, before roasting
    browned cleaver seeds, after roasting
    ground up cleaver seeds in a glass jar
    a half-full coffee mug containing a dark brown liquid like coffee, made from cleaver seeds

    Does anyone else who says “cleavers can make a coffee substitute” in their books or webpages actually try to do it themselves? Alexis is the real winner here for trying and inspiring me to try, and I’m glad she enjoyed it. For me, it was not worth the hour I spent picking seeds, or the 45 minutes I spent roasting them. A fun experiment, but one I won’t repeat. Would you try this? Let me know on Instagram!

    This experiment also made me wary of analogies between plants based on them being in the same plant family. Cleavers are in the same family as coffee, sure, and they even have paired seeds, like coffee beans are paired. But that plant family, Rubiaceae, also includes the cinchona tree (from which we get quinine, the bitter agent in tonic water), gardenia flowers, and 13,500 other species. (Rubiaceae is one of the largest plant families in the world.)

    Other Uses for Cleavers

    Cleaver tinctures and teas are said to help with lymphatic issues in the body. I am not knowledgeable on this subject, so encourage you to look elsewhere if that interests you.

    I just like to pick a few leaves to snack on during my walks. The flavor is very mild, and the texture is just fun to chew on (your mileage may vary).

    Identification Notes

    In the Pacific Northwest urban environment, I haven’t run into anything else remotely close to cleavers. A vine of cleavers has multiple leaf nodes of opposite somewhat-oval leaves, usually 3-6 leaves per leaf node. Every part of cleavers has a velcro-like surface texture when touched, when tasted, and when applied to any surface it can stick to, including itself. Cleavers have both single and paired seeds, as the above photo shows.

    Cleavers often grow in disturbed soils in sunny areas, but they thrive in many different environments.

    Sources and Further Reading

  • Apples and Crabapples

    Apples and crabapples are prize finds for the urban forager in late summer and autumn. While many people can identify an apple or apple tree on sight, crabapples often present a little more of a challenge, and many people worry about the edibility of crabapples too. We’ll get to all that.

    Here are some of the common species of apples and crabapples:

    Apples: Malus domestica (domesticated from a mix of crabapple species, identified by a variety of species names including M. pumila and M. communis)

    Crabapples: Malus sylvestris (European crabapple), M. fusca (Oregon crabapple), M. sieversii (Central Asia/Kazakhstan), M. baccata (Siberian crabapple), and others.

    small bright red crabapples clustered together under some leaves

    Are Crabapples Poisonous?

    No, crabapples are not poisonous. Some varieties of crabapple have very small fruit that one could mistake for inedible fruit! The larger the crabapple, the harder it would be, in my opinion, to mistake it for something else. But crabapples themselves, of any size, are not poisonous. In fact, crabapples can be delicious! The variety I’ve photographed above tastes a lot like a Granny Smith apple.

    You’ll also hear that apple (and crabapple) seeds contain cyanide and you shouldn’t eat them. However, that’s not quite true.

    Apple seeds contain a compound called amygdalin which, in our stomachs, can break down and become cyanide.

    But as Islamiyat Folashade Bolarinwa, a senior lecturer in food science at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology in Nigeria, told NPR, you’d have to chew the seeds extremely well for this breakdown to happen, and you’d have to eat the seeds of anywhere from 18 to 40 apples all at once!

    If you were drinking cider or consuming another food where seed bits may have been crushed into the final product, the risk is tiny (you’d have to drink 20 liters of cider).

    In conclusion: don’t worry about it! But also don’t try to give yourself cyanide poisoning.

    Identification Notes

    The easiest way to identify a crabapple is to cut it in half before you eat it. It should look like an apple, with a thin tough skin, dense flesh, and seeds in the middle, and it should smell like an apple, sweet and tart.

    Just like apples, crabapple cultivars are bred for different flower colors, fruit colors, and even leaf colors. In addition, leaf and fruit shapes and sizes can vary by species. When in doubt, don’t eat it right away – take it home, do some plant identification sleuthing online.

    closeup of a crabapple cut in half
    The inside of a tiny crabapple looks a lot like the inside of a full sized domesticated apple – seeds, core, thin skin, dense light fruit flesh.

    Harvesting

    Look for apple and crabapple trees on vacant lots, in abandoned or unmaintained wooded green spaces, in parks, and in your neighbors’ yards.

    Apple trees outside of a commercial orchard are subject to a variety of potential pests, including worms, fungi, and bacteria. For this reason, I prefer to use harvested apples in cooked recipes. I may need to do a lot of slicing, coring, and peeling to get down to the usable bits. But that’s not always the case!

    In particular, any apple that falls on the ground during picking should be washed and cooked before eating. I’ve never had any problem with eating a good-looking apple off the ground, but the longer an apple sits there, the higher the likelihood it’s exposed to feces or bacteria or any number of things you don’t want to put in your mouth. Look out for yourself and others.

    An apple picker is an absolutely invaluable tool if you do a lot of apple or large crabapple harvesting. Mine has an aluminum telescoping pole that extends up to 12 feet! You lift the tines over the fruit and pull down to detach it from the tree. You can pick lots of fruit without a ladder this way. Highly recommended.

    • small bright red crabapples clustered together under some leaves
      A crabapple tree found in a public park. Crabapples come in a variety of sizes.
    • a few yellow-green apples hanging in a tree
      A backyard apple tree.
    • a blue tined apple picker with three yellow green apples in the basket
      An apple picker helps you reach good fruit without a ladder.
    • closeup of apples that have been bruised, infested with worms, or otherwise damaged
      These apples are still good to eat and use for food and drink, once the damaged parts have been cut away.

    Crabapple-Apple Wine Recipe

    I have cobbled together this recipe from multiple sources of Jack Keller, famous among home winemakers for his “country” wines and homebrewed wines (as well as traditional grape wines and champagne).

    He kept a truly encyclopedic winemaking website during the 1990s and 2000s, and also wrote a book, Home Winemaking (Bookshop.org affiliate link), which was published after his death. The book, in my opinion, is pretty different from the website, with the book recipes using more specialty winemaking ingredients. However, the book maintains Jack Keller’s distinctive voice, and his commitment to making wine out of anything. I think that’s something foragers can really appreciate!

    For the past few years I have been iterating on Jack Keller’s Asian apple-pear wine recipe, and this year I made it with crabapples too! I added some knowledge I gleaned from his book, but this recipe comes in large part from his website, which is mostly archived on the Internet Archive.

    Never made wine before? You can follow the below recipe but you may have questions about the processes or terms used. Consult Jack Keller’s winemaking process descriptions or UGA Extension’s Winemaking at Home page for more information (not all steps are relevant to this particular recipe).

    The timeframe for making a decent wine is at least one year. Patience is key!

    Equipment needed

    • Large pot holding at least 2 gallons
    • Something to mash or squeeze fruit with (such as a potato masher [Jack suggested a 4″ x 4″ piece of hardwood!]) while it’s inside the nylon straining bag
    • Nylon straining bag
    • Primary fermentation container (2 gallon bucket with lid is best)
    • Secondary fermentation container (such as a 1 gallon glass or plastic carboy)
    • Airlock with plug to fit your secondary fermentation container
    • Siphon hose with bottle filler cane
    • Bottling equipment of your choice (bottles with appropriate fliptops, bottle caps, wine corks, etc.)
    • Sanitizer for bottles and caps

    Ingredients (don’t mix these all together, follow the instructions!)

    • 3 lbs granulated sugar
    • 3 quarts water
    • 4 lbs washed and chopped apples (depending on the quality of the picked apples, you may need 5-6 lbs of apples to get 4 lbs of good fruit)
    • 1 lb washed and chopped crabapples (again, you may need to start with more crabapples than listed to get 1 lb of good fruit)
    • 6 oz chopped golden raisins
    • 1 tsp malic acid
    • 1 tsp tartaric acid
    • 1 crushed Campden tablet
    • 1 tsp yeast nutrient
    • 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
    • 1/2 tsp (if splitting the packet amongst multiple wines) or 1 packet Red Star Cote des Blancs yeast (or Lalvin BA11) (I have also used Red Star Cuvee)
    • 1/4 tsp Irish moss (optional)

    Instructions

    Boil the water and dissolve the sugar in the large pot.

    Put chopped crabapples, apples and raisins in a large nylon straining bag. Tie bag and put in pot with sugar water.

    Mash apples and crabapples lightly with a masher, blunt end of a rolling pin or wine bottle, or other implement.

    Bring sugar water back up to almost boiling, then turn off, cover loosely, and leave to cool for 2 hours.

    Transfer the nylon bag of fruit and sugar water into the primary bucket and cover. (Until you transfer your wine to secondary fermentation, always cover loosely with a towel or lid, do not seal the bucket! If your lid has a hole drilled for the airlock, you can cover it or plug it with a napkin or cotton ball.)

    Let cool to room temperature (or overnight).

    Add crushed Campden tablet, malic acid, tartaric acid, and yeast nutrient. Cover primary bucket, wait 12 hours, and add pectic enzyme. Cover primary, wait another 12 hours and add yeast. Cover.

    Over the next 7 days, stir the mixture daily, squeezing bag gently with clean hands.

    After 7 days, remove bag and squeeze out juice gently into the primary.

    Allow to settle for another day.

    Siphon into glass carboy and add water to fill carboy to 1 inch from the top. Install airlock. Store in a cool, not cold or freezing, place if at all possible.

    After two weeks, rack and refit airlock.

    In two months, rack again. If wine is not clear (looks hazy), add 1/4 tsp Irish moss, mix thoroughly, and let sit.

    Finally, rack once more two months later. Stabilize the wine (stop fermentation), wait 10 days, and add 1/8 to 1/4 pound sugar (depending on your taste) dissolved in water–2 parts sugar to one part water. (If the wine is not stabilized at this point, adding sugar will cause fermentation to start again and can lead to fizzy wine. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but if you want still wine, make sure it’s stable!)

    Bottle and age at least six months, and up to a few years!

    Serve chilled.

    Sources and Further Reading

  • Lambsquarters – An Edible Green, Not Dangerous

    Lambsquarters – An Edible Green, Not Dangerous

    When I first learned about this edible weed, I knew I had seen it around town. But I just couldn’t find it. Months went by, no sign of it.

    Then in mid-August, I looked under the leaves of my bolted bok choy in the garden. There were three tiny lambsquarters! Since then, several more have sprouted up around my yard, between the garden pavers and next to my cultivated plants.

    Lambsquarters are in the same family, Amaranthaceae, as amaranth and spinach, and the same genus, Chenopodium, as quinoa! The leaves are edible and have an extremely mild green taste, which some say is similar to spinach. (I didn’t think it tasted like much at all. Not bad, for sure, but not notably delicious either.)

    In addition to the leaves, lambsquarter seeds are edible like quinoa! (However, the seeds are tiny compared to quinoa, and challenging to separate from the plant matter.)

    I’ve seen multiple sources cite toxicity concerns with this plant (oxalates and saponins). On the other hand, multiple sources say it’s all perfectly safe to eat. So what are we to believe?

    closeup photo of a small lambsquarters plant. light green, slightly-dusty-looking leaves in a variety of shapes from spear-tip to jagged leaf. both stalks of the plant have a dense cluster of seeds/fruits at the top.

    Also known as: lamb’s quarters

    Species: Chenopodium album is called common lambsquarters, but there are numerous Chenopodium species that people refer to by that name. C. berlandieri (pitseed goosefoot) is one such example, also common in North America.

    Origin: Chenopodium album comes from Europe. C. berlandieri is indigenous to North America. C. quinoa comes from the Andean mountain region of South America.

    Why Do Some Sources Say Lambsquarters Are Dangerous?

    I have read several articles that claim that lambsquarters contain toxic chemicals and that you should be cautious about consuming them. Specifically, they caution about the saponins in the seeds and the oxalic acid/oxalate in the leaves of lambsquarters. Such articles note that saponins could be “toxic” and general consumers may be advised to go easy on foods containing oxalic acid.

    The Wikipedia article on Chenopodium nuttailliae (called huauzontle in Mexico) says, absent citation:

    Like quinoa, another plant in the genus Chenopodium, huauzontle contains saponins, albeit in lesser quantities. While saponins are toxic to humans, huauzontle contains such small amounts that they pose no risk. Additionally, saponins are difficult for the human body to absorb, and are mostly rendered inactive when cooked.

    I don’t have any reason to disbelieve that saponins and oxalic acid are present in lambsquarters and they could be bad for some people or in high quantities. However, nobody is getting down to the kind of specifics I want to hear:

    How much saponins would it take to have an adverse effect and how much is in a normal serving of quinoa or lambsquarters seeds?

    Are oxalic acids bad for everyone in any quantity? (I haven’t read any source yet saying this. Oxalic acids are present in some kidney stones, and some doctors advise people with kidney stones to avoid foods containing them. Scientists first isolated them from oxalis plants, and if you’re interested, I’ve written more about a couple of our local oxalis species, common yellow wood sorrel and creeping yellow wood sorrel.)

    Simply having any quantity in a food isn’t enough to claim danger. Lots of things are bad for you if you have enough of it – for example, water! Water is bad for you if you drink a gallon of it all at once. But water is very good for you when consumed regularly throughout the day and to prevent dehydration.

    closeup of lambsquarter at the top of a stalk, the buds of which have a fuzzy, variegated appearance of green and white

    Can I eat lambsquarters?

    A good rule of thumb when it comes to edible plants is to eat a small amount when you first try it. Also, don’t try a bunch of new plants all at the same time, or even the same day. (If you did have an adverse reaction you wouldn’t have any way of knowing which plant caused it!)

    If you know that you are extremely sensitive to oxalates/oxalic acid or saponins, or if a medical professional told you to avoid spinach or quinoa (or if you don’t feel well when eating them), then maybe lambsquarters isn’t for you.

    This seems like another case of information being passed around like a really paranoid game of Telephone, where someone tells you “Lambsquarters have detectable amounts of oxalic acid and saponins but not in huge amounts that are a concern for most people” and it eventually becomes “Lambsquarters has CHEMICALS that could HURT you, OMG.”

    I am not a nutritionist or scientist but I see a lot of people in plants repeating the same information that we all copied from each other or the same book or whatever. As far as I can tell, for the vast majority of people, you don’t need to be concerned about eating lambsquarters as part of your regular food intake.

    Usage

    Lambsquarters leaves are quite delicate and wilt extremely quickly after picking. Be prepared to use them right away. Try them cooked as a substitute or supplement for spinach, or as a little snack. So far, I’ve basically just been snacking on them when I see them.

    One of the best things about foraging is the ability to just snack on a ton of different plants. I’m always hearing how eating a wide variety of plants is good for you!

    Identification Notes

    • likely to be found on disturbed bare soils like your backyard garden, city parks, or on farmland
    • lambsquarters, including both C. album and C. berlandieri, have:
      • delicate, alternating light green leaves up to a couple inches long
      • white dusty coating on one or both sides of the leaves
      • highly variable leaf shapes, ranging from ovals to toothed leaves
      • tight clusters of flowers/seeds at the top of the stem
    • C. berlandieri (pitseed goosefoot) has “pits” on the seed/fruit which are quite difficult to see with the naked eye. Check out the GoBotany Native Plant Trust links below for closeups. I’ve mostly been assuming I’m seeing C. album because it seems to be more widespread/invasive.

    Sources and Further Reading

  • Rosemary: Why You Should Never Buy It

    Rosemary: Why You Should Never Buy It

    In the late aughts, I moved into a house in Seattle that had a large rosemary bush in the backyard.

    Then I noticed just how much fresh herbs cost in the store, for a tiny amount encased in plastic. $3 or $4 for a little spring of rosemary? When the same thing grows in my backyard for free? When most people could pick what they need off their neighbor’s front yard bush for free?

    “Nobody should ever buy rosemary,” I declared.

    At least not in the type of climate we have here in Seattle.

    closeup of a flowering rosemary branch from a large bush

    Common name(s): rosemary

    Scientific name(s): Salvia rosemarinus (also called by its prior designation, Rosemarinus officinalus)

    Origin: Mediterranean Europe

    As a Mediterranean plant, rosemary grows year-round in our temperate climate. However, it does not always weather our occasional Snowpocalypses. I have seen multiple rosemary bushes nearly completely die off during an extended freeze, with straggling tiny branches attempting to grow during the following year. But I’ve also seen neighbors’ rosemary survive snowstorms.

    Some varieties of rosemary are more cold-hardy than others, but perhaps larger, more established bushes are more likely to survive too.

    In any case, if you live in any even moderately residential neighborhood in Seattle, and probably in other cities around here, you have neighbors with front yard rosemary bushes growing wild. You could take some without anyone even noticing.

    Take a walk or ride around your neighborhood and look for a bush. Some of them even grow in public parks! (Ballard Commons Park’s sidewalk planting strips had a lot of rosemary in them years ago, for example.)

    Plus, you can start a whole rosemary bush from one cutting. Cut a few inches of a nice fresh-looking rosemary sprig. Plant it into one of those 4″ plant containers from the nursery, or even a plastic food container with some holes poked in the bottom. Put it in a sunny location and water regularly until you see it start growing on its own. Then you can keep it as a container plant or plant it in the ground!

    Under no circumstances should you be shelling out money on a regular basis for plastic-wrapped tiny sprigs of this delicious herb.

    Never buy rosemary.

    Uses for Rosemary

    Dry your own rosemary

    Hang rosemary sprigs to dry just until the needles are crisp and snappy (a few days, give or take). Start from the top of the sprig with your forefinger and thumb pinched lightly around the stem, and then run your fingers down to dislodge all the needles. The needles will keep in a sealed jar for several months, or if you are lazy, probably years.

    Roast vegetables

    Dried or fresh rosemary goes great with roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, or squash. Toss needles with oiled vegetables and roast!

    Rosemary simple syrup

    A rosemary simple syrup makes a delightful cocktail with gin or tequila and lemon juice. Add one or two tablespoons of fresh rosemary needles to your syrup as you’re heating it, and strain out before serving.

    Identification Notes

    • may be large, upright, and bushy, or low to the ground and trailing
    • distinctive smell when you rub the needles between your fingers
    • leaves similar in appearance, but not smell or flavor, to those of thyme and some varieties of lavender
    • slightly sticky/sappy wooden stem

    Sources and Further Reading

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  • Creeping Yellow Wood Sorrel

    Creeping Yellow Wood Sorrel

    With small multicolored heart-shaped leaves and tiny yellow flowers, spreading across any open soil, for years I thought of this plant as a useless weed. At best, it helped hold water in the soil between my other plants.

    But this impressive little plant exists around the world, in nearly every country. And it’s edible!

    It has a delightful lemon/citrus flavor and goes great in salads as a supplementary green, or just snacking on in the garden as you work.

    Most sorrels contain oxalates/oxalic acid, which may be a health concern for some. As far as I can tell, they’re perfectly safe for most people as part of a regular varied food intake unless your doctor told you otherwise.

    Also known as: creeping wood sorrel

    Oxalis corniculata

    Origin: Asia (according to recent research)

    closeup of multicolored heart-shaped leaves of creeping wood sorrel

    Identification Notes

    • three heart-shaped leaves arranged on the tips of stems. the leaves may droop down or stick out from the stem, and typically grow at ground level or only an inch or two high. leaves may be brown, red, yellow, or green in appearance.
    • small yellow flowers starting in May or so
    • may co-occur with other edible plants (e.g., chickweed) or inedible/toxic plants (e.g., spurges), so be careful when harvesting
    • similar in appearance to other types of Oxalis, including O. dillenni, O. florida, and O. stricta

    Sources and Further Reading

  • Common Yellow Wood Sorrel

    Common Yellow Wood Sorrel

    For years, I’ve seen this plant growing in the disturbed open soil of my vegetable gardens. I thought of it as a useless weed. At best, it was a plant that helped hold water in the soil in the open areas between my other plants.

    However, this is a delicious edible green!

    It has a delightful fresh lemon/citrus flavor that goes great in salads. But it’s also just fun to snack on.

    Most sorrels contain oxalates/oxalic acid, which may be a health concern for some. As far as I can tell, they’re perfectly safe for most people as part of a regular varied food intake unless your doctor told you otherwise.

    Also known as: upright yellow wood sorrel, upright wood sorrel

    Oxalis stricta

    Origin: North America

    closeup of the bright green heart-shaped leaves of common yellow wood sorrel

    Identification Notes

    • Has three bright green heart-shaped leaves arranged on the tips of stems. The leaves may droop down or stick out from the stem. May grow close to the ground, but may also extend stalks upward several inches high.
    • Small yellow flowers appear starting in May or so.
    • May co-occur with other edible plants (e.g., chickweed) or inedible/toxic plants (e.g., spurges), so be careful when harvesting to only take the wood sorrel.
    • Similar in appearance to other types of Oxalis, including O. dillenni, O. florida, and O. corniculata.

    Sources and Further Reading

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