Mayo people urged to discover the health benefits of stinging nettles
COUNTYRFILE
AT the front of the tumbled stone of a derelict cottage we found the first new shoots of stinging nettles.
At this time of year they certainly live up to their name, for the young stems are stout and wiry, and endowed not only with sharply stinging hairs (called spicules) but also with a highly concentrated mix of chemicals, including serotonin and histamine, which tend to weaken as the plant grows.
Stinging nettle really is a powerhouse food, being filled with all manner of beneficial substances. As children we ate them often, generally boiled into some kind of green mush that was stirred into mashed potato.
There were a lot of us. There was little time that could be spent on preparing our nettles properly so as to make them not only tolerable but very tasty, as indeed they can be.
The best way to gather nettles is to use a strong glove and grip the growing stem just firmly enough, so that the leaves are stripped away as you pull upward.
The tender part of the stem will come away in your hand as well, and the tough parts will be left behind.
It is almost inevitable that a certain amount of livestock will be found among the leaves. The best way to get rid of insects and bugs is quite simply to leave your harvest to wilt a little. As moisture is lost, anything living will quickly depart.
At this time of year there will be few things chewing on nettle leaves. In contrast, by the end of March those same leaves will be full of life.
A double handful of leaves and upper stems will be sufficient for a good feed for two people.
For the fullest flavour simply blanch your nettles in boiling water, doing so only briefly.
A bit of experimentation is needed here. It only takes a moment for the spicules to be destroyed so that they can no longer sting. After that it is a matter of personal taste.
I like the green taste of chlorophyll, which can easily be lost with too much cooking. Less time in the pot will give your nettles a bit more 'bite', whereas overcooking can make them soggy.
Those who like to pick today with half an eye on the future might want to dry a quantity – as many or as few as ever you would use, I suppose.
Again, this is a simple task. Simply cut your crop at the base, tie them into manageable bundles and hang them upside down in a dry place. Preserved like this they will last nearly forever.
A clever friend likes to chop her nettles while they are fresh, stir them through olive oil and place the mix in the freezer in portion-sized containers. There they are, perfectly fresh whenever they are needed.
Dried nettle leaves make an excellent tea. In fact, for a refreshing drink on a hot summer day, cold, slightly sweetened nettle tea can be hard to beat!
From May through midsummer our nettle patch will be in flower. At this time the plants concentrate nutrients in flowers and pollen.
The flowering plants also produce cystoliths, microscopic structures composed of calcium carbonate. There is evidence to suggest these can impair kidney function.
Anyway, by the time midsummer and flowering time rolls around there will be others more dependent on the nettle patch than we ever will be.
Red admiral and small tortoiseshell butterflies lay their eggs on nettles, as do several species of moth.
For this reason alone a stinging nettle patch at the back of the garden will make a valuable contribution to your local environment.