I’ve only added a few things to the Page due to health issues, next post will appear in a couple of weeks.
I’m beginning to suspect that the info about saving stalks for a year is incorrect. Looking through an old booklet suggests that “people of old” processed their nettles in the fall. I’ll try to write a summary and translate it because there is a lot of interesting information in there, including a few chuckles:
In Swedish from Carl von Linné 1749: “Nätslor voro här plÃ¥ckade till grönkÃ¥l, sÃ¥som det allmänt sker i Sverige om vÃ¥rtiden, sÃ¥ længe denna nätsla är späd och ännu ej en fingers lÃ¥ng… Somliga lägga till denna sin nätsle-kÃ¥l bladen av ängelöken eller körfvel, at kÃ¥len mÃ¥ fÃ¥ en angenämare smak; andra bruka plÃ¥cka bladerna af sqvaller-kÃ¥l … och Ã¥tskilliga andra växter, utan Ã¥tskillnad, hvarigenom ofta händer, at folket, som äta kÃ¥len blifva vimmerkantiga.”
Quick translation: “Nettles were then picked for spring greens, as is the custom in Sweden, as long as the nettle is freshly sprouted and not yet as long as a finger. Some supplement their nettle “cabbage” with field garlic or cow parsley to make it taste better; others use the leaves from goutweed and various other plants, without discernment, the result of which often being that people who eat the soup become rather giddy.”
Love the bit about the soup eaters becoming giddy. Pia you have such interesting stuff!