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Weird vegetable
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Posted by Halinka Victoria (My Page) on Thu, Dec 15, 05 at 5:53
My mother has given me a plant which she got from an Italian lady who called it "spinach". It has heart shaped leaves about 6 cm long, which are slightly furry in texture and grows to about 1mt2. It did die back a little in winter but has now resprouted with great vigour. I have cooked it like bok choy, with oil, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, etc. but the family are a bit iffy about it. It is good in most recipes that use spinach, but is a coarser type of vege. Mum's is so prolific, she feeds the excess to the chooks. They love it almost as much as sorrel. I would love to know what it is and a bit about its use in cooking and is it an Italian spinach? When I can master photos on the web, I'll take one but at the moment it's still beyond me.
Thanks, Halina |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Weird vegetable
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Hi Halina,
Is it a vining plant? Does it grow upright. Does it have a stalk or is it a rosette?.
I would have said one of the amaranths, except that yours sounds like it's either a biennial or a perennial and amaranths are annual, I think. |
RE: Weird vegetable
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- Posted by finbar Central Italy (My Page) on
Thu, Dec 15, 05 at 16:46
| Italians tend to call lots of dark green leafy things spinaci. The same way they tend not to differentiate between many lettuce varieties - they're all called insalata. |
RE: Weird vegetable
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RE: Weird vegetable
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| I thought about that one but it's an annual, although it self seeds readily. Halina's description suggests a perennial. Hmmmm....still scratching my head. |
RE: Weird vegetable
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| Dont scratch to hard Ray LOL |
RE: Weird vegetable
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Thanks everybody. The plant grows upright but tends to flop and needs a little collar at the base to keep the leaves out of the soil. I realise from all the scratching of heads that my description is pretty pathetic. It's now night so tomorrow I'll have a more thorough inspection and take a photo. Will try and enlist the family's help to get it posted on this site.
Halina |
RE: Weird vegetable
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Halina, you need to first get your photo onto your computer. Then posting the pic can be done in a few different ways.
1. Go to the Photo forum and follow the instructions there. The problem with this is that it will only accept small files so you have to have a way of reducing the photo using something like Photoshop or equivalent.
2. You can upload your photo to various online photo places like Yahoo Photo (there are many such sites) then place a link to this in your post.
3. If you have your own website, and you should have space for one that comes along with your internet account, you can upload your photo there and then post it directly here.
I'll send you an email with instructions. I can't post them here because GWeb will think I'm posting a photo and it will get jumbled. |
RE: Weird vegetable
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Thanks Ray. I have taken four photos and they are now on the computer in "My Documents" but I'm flumoxed as to where to go next. Will wait for your email and have a go tonight.
Halina |
RE: Weird vegetable
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| A few possibilities: Tetragonia expansa - New Zealand spinach (not really spinach but used as such) also called perpetual spinach. Chenopodium bonus-henricus - Good King Henry spinach (not really spinach either) Beta vulgaris - Italian spinach (a type of beet, but used as spinach. I think the last one best fits the description you gave. Cheers,
Dee. |
RE: Weird vegetable
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Dee,
It has an upright habit, so can't be Tetragonia, and is either a biennial or a perennial, so can't be Chenopodium bonus-henricus which is an annual. There are so many varieties in Beta vulgaris, from beetroot to silverbeet, that it certainly could be one of them. |
RE: Weird vegetable
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From the description of it being "furry" I'd go along with Ray's suggestion that it's a type of Amaranth, but then they're usually pretty upright.
Halina, I totally failed to post photos direct to garden web, my server just didn't like it so opened a hotmail account & set up my own 'group' That was really easy. Hopefully Ray's instructions will work but if they don't try that.
We're all keen to try new vegies that are so prolific! |
RE: Weird vegetable
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Thanks again everyone. I have copied Ray's and Sarah's suggestions and will work on this tonight. Had another good look at the vege. today and noticed an extremely tiny little yellow flower tucked in between the leaves and stems. It is less than half a centimetre in size. I also inadvertently described the leaves as furry but I should have said they were thickish in texture, not furry. There are many stems and it is now half a metre and growing stronger every day. It grows easily from cuttings and anyone who wants some, just let me know. With a lot of luck, I'll get a photo up soon.
Halina |
RE: Weird vegetable
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Well, now it sounds like Warrigal Greens, New Zealand Spinach or whatever you want to call it, as suggested by Goldhills and Dee. I though at first that this plant was an annual but a bit of research has revealed that although it often behaves as an annual, in the right circumstances it is perennial. It's a native of Australia and New Zealand.
Have a look at this link Halina. Scroll down to Tetragonia. There two images. Is this the plant? |
RE: Weird vegetable
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| Could it be Miner's Lettuce? Mine is about ready to be chucked out. But it should have dropped so many seeds that it'll come back next autumn. :) |
RE: Weird vegetable
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You are right, Ray, it is a Tetragonia, or New Zealand spinach, or Warrigal Green! I'm amazed that I have never come across it before. Thanks everyone for all your efforts and outstanding diagnosis. I tried hard to get the photos on last night but although the c'puter said I had exported from the file correctly, it wouldn't let me post it into Cornucopia. Will wait until the family gets together at xmas and see if we have someone who can help me understand the process. The terminology throws me.
Thanks again. Halina |
RE: Weird vegetable
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- Posted by deejaus Melb.Vic. Aust (My Page) on
Sun, Dec 18, 05 at 16:59
Ray, I was interested when you mentioned that Chenopodium bonus henricus is an annual. Acocording to my sources it is a perennial. I did a bit of Googling and opinion seems divided on which it is. How on earth are we supposed to know who to believe!? I've never grown it myself, so I don't know. I will have to assume that it depends on growing conditions as to what it does but I'd still like to know which it is really classed as. Anyone?
Cheers,
Dee. |
RE: Weird vegetable
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| If planted in the garden, will Warrigal Greens get out of hand? The photos showed quite large areas of it. |
RE: Weird vegetable
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- Posted by rlme Vic, Aus (My Page) on
Mon, Dec 19, 05 at 0:57
| to get the pic up, 1. go to www.imageshack.us
2. click on "browse"
3. select the image from where is it located
4. click host it |
RE: Weird vegetable
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| I'm a new member, so hi all! On the warrigul greens tangent, I'd definitely class mine as perennial and I'd definitely class them as having potential to get out of hand. But I never give mine the opportunity to do so - too tasty :) But they do self-seed prolifically, so if anyone wants some seeds, let me know. My question is: all the books I've read about growing/cooking with warrigul greens state they need to be blanched before use because of some acid they store which I've forgotten what it is. Is this really necessary in other's opinions? I'm thinking it would be a shame if it's only goody vitamins that end up being poured down the sink... Clare |
RE: Weird vegetable
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| Welcome, Clare! How do you normally prepare your warrigal greens? Apart from your pesto. ;) I guess the blanching is necessary to get rid of the oxalates. |
RE: Weird vegetable
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| Hi Spatzbear. Oxalates - that's what that gunk is! I guess I'll continue to blanch away... Other recipes I use warrigul greens for include curries (beaut in green chicken, also any indian which calls for saag or methi), pastas and just as a green veggie side dish either just a-bit-more-than-blanched or fried down with some garlic. I've read a recipe that adds sour cream to that last one, but I haven't tried it yet. As for the pesto - that was a bit of a joke entry to the Adelaide Royal Show, but it worked much to my surprise! Pretty easy to make and can be given the hoity title of "Bushtucker Pesto" if you use macadamias and/or bunyas instead of pine nuts :) Just process blanched warrigul greens, basil, nuts, garlic and olive oil to taste, add parmesan and stir through cooked pesto. Yum! |
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