tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30790016.post6462432162546414829..comments2024-03-28T03:26:28.724-04:00Comments on Princeton Nature Notes: PokeweedSteve Hiltnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13814809440369173963noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30790016.post-152421900492280372012-09-22T09:05:07.407-04:002012-09-22T09:05:07.407-04:00To a low-income family in the South such as mine, ...To a low-income family in the South such as mine, poke "salad" was a plentiful and free food in spring and thus not to be ignored. We also ate squirrels, rabbits, and deer--likewise quite plentiful--and the occasional bullfrog or o'possum (only very seldom). We also are and preserved other wild-harvested foods including blackberries, raspberries, plums, and muskedines. I even remember helping my mother make buttermilk once or twice (with a churn, no less).Harbor Sparrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16214284306282493116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30790016.post-75156445189951044332012-09-09T19:39:35.154-04:002012-09-09T19:39:35.154-04:00Back when we managed the sides of a paved bike/ped...Back when we managed the sides of a paved bike/pedestrian pathway in Durham, NC for native wildflowers, I was surprised one spring day to encounter an older African American walking down the trail with an armful of pokeweed stems he had just harvested. I was glad to see them being put to use. Traditional use of vigorous plants like pokeweed and cattail may well have helped keep these plants in ecological balance with less aggressive plant species growing in the same habitat.Steve Hiltnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13814809440369173963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30790016.post-38201161578130376852012-09-09T19:21:02.933-04:002012-09-09T19:21:02.933-04:00Traditionally, some people have eaten only the ten...Traditionally, some people have eaten only the tender young shoots of the poke plant (before any leaves take on their reddish hue), and only after boiling the "poke salad" for 20-30 minutes, first in salt water and then again in clean water. This produces a meal akin to cooked spinach, but is desirable only in spring the windows can stand open during cooking, as there is a strong aroma while boiling the toxins out.Harbor Sparrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16214284306282493116noreply@blogger.com