Wednesday 31 March 2010

'Tis the season to pick nettles!

The young nettles springing up at the moment are perfect for picking and, true to the versatility of this plant, making a whole range of recipes. Spring nettle mania struck here in Leamington Spa at the weekend. Here's what I made:
  • Nettle vinegar - simply cover the young leaves in apple cider vinegar and store somewhere warm for a few weeks. This vinegar will be high in minerals.
  • Nettle tincture - cover the leaves in vodka (or brandy) and store somewhere dark and cool for about four weeks, giving it a gentle shake daily. According to a handout on nettles from Sarah Head this is good for adrenal support in stress remedies.
  • Nettle and apricot iron tonic - this is a recipe I saw suggested by Sarah Head recently. I covered a mixture of nettle leaves, organic apricots, plus peel of one orange with red wine. This is also stored away in a cool dark place for four weeks. This will be a remedy for iron deficiency.

More nettle posts:

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3 comments:

  1. Hi - great post on nettles. Weather permitting I'll be out this weekend doing some collecting too. I was interested in your apricot & nettle iron tonic, specifically using red wine - would the wine not spoil once opened, and if not, would it keep a reasonable length of time?

    Sounds like it would taste lovely!

    Best wishes, Martin

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  2. Hello Martin,

    We had a taste of one that Sarah had made earlier at the last Mercian Herb Group meeting, and it did indeed taste lovely.

    I think its fairly common to use red wine for tinctures. I guess it may not keep from a wine-tasting perspective, but I think it keeps in terms of shelf life (although maybe not as long as those using vodka/ brandy?). I've got a couple of red wine tinctures I made about a year ago, and they seem fine.

    Enjoy your nettle picking :)

    Warm wishes,
    Elizabeth

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  3. How comforting to see herbs nestled in liquid and shining through to warm us even before they are used.

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