If you’ve ever been out walking in the woods and brushed against stinging nettle, you’ll definitely remember the experience! The fine nettle hairs that grow on the stems are powerful irritants, and the burning red welts that they leave behind take some time to forget.
When they’re picked carefully and processed with drying or blanching, those troublemaking tubules collapse and leave behind a workable and wonderful plant that has dozens of nutritious and medicinal properties. Nettles have been used for centuries by people around the world, and they’re still a favourite of wild food foragers today.
As a steeped tea, the fresh or dried leaves make a refreshing and energizing drink, containing high levels of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, and beta-carotene and very high amounts of the vitamins A, C, D, and B complex. The leaves have been traditionally used to treat painful muscles and joints, allergies, eczema and arthritis, as the formic acid, histamine, acetylcholine and serotonin in the nettle’s sting also give the plant its powerful healing properties. And if that isn’t enough…the mature plant has a strong and fibrous stem that has been used since ancient times for making rope and a linen-like fabric. Fantastic!
We gather the fresh new nettle tops to use in teas and recipes, and now is the perfect time for picking them. The air is fresh and cool, and the forest edges are just bursting with new growth. There’s nothing better than going out with a huge bag, a pair of scissors…and some tough leather gauntlet gloves! We have some great patches in our area that we return to each spring, and have also cultivated the plants right in our garden for convenience. When picked fresh and blanched, they make a great substitute for basil in pesto recipes and make an incredibly delicious base for spring soups. The season is short, as the plants should only be picked young and fresh, so nettle time is an intense and busy time. What we don’t use fresh, we dry in front of the wood stove and package for use all year long.
If you’ve never tried nettles, make a point of doing it! If you’re on medication for chronic conditions, you may want to check with your doctor first, as the powerful properties of the plant have been known to have contraindications with some drugs. If you’re interested in finding out more about this delicious and highly useful plant, there’s a great article here, and also some interesting facts here.
If you’d like to to try some of my tasty spring tea yourself, fresh Skywater Spring Tea and Wild Foraged Nettles are now available in 100g bags in the Farmstand Shop!
