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Just picked about 2 pints of rape flowers and was about to make them into a wine when I decided to look it up. According to CJJ Berry Charlock (related species) flowers are posionous.

I am off a different opinion and have eaten charlock flowers on many occasions and am still here. Still, don't want to make a wine that kills me, well not unless drank in huge quantities over a long period of time. So any ideas?

After a lot of research (well, 10 minutes on Google) I came up with ...

Rape is toxic to dogs and cats. On the other hand, it's sometimes used as a grazing feed, so it looks like it's OK for sheep and cows. I can't find any statement on human toxicity which usually means that there's no statement to be made ie rape is NOT toxic to humans.

However, don't take my word for it.

But it would be a bit daft - the stems and leaves are definitely edible, as are the seeds (or rape oil would be a bit risky). As the flowers are the bits which form the seed, it seems odd that a plant would produce toxins at one short stage and not at any other.

Mike

Cheers for looking, this was pretty much my reckoning too. I assume that most brassicas are totally edible and was not really sure what Berry was on about with Charlock being in the poisonous camp. I can't think of any chemical process that would happen during fermentation that would make it become poisonous either. I mean the opposite normally happens if anything.

Ended up making the unfortunately named Rape Champagne, which I might rename to cruciferous champagne. It was very refreshingly nice.

Cruciferous Champagne sounds sooo much better, I am glad you did not die through drinking it.
Do you have a recipie?, the stuff is growing out of the hedgerows where I live I will not have to raid a farmer's field to get it LOL

Catalysthere wrote:Cruciferous Champagne sounds sooo much better, I am glad you did not die through drinking it.
Do you have a recipie?, the stuff is growing out of the hedgerows where I live I will not have to raid a farmer's field to get it LOL

use the elderflower champagne recipe on the main site and substitute the elderflowers for any flowers - I had to leave it for longer than a day, in fact it was more like a week.

[quote="Andy Hamilton"} cruciferous champagne. [/quote]

Sounds like something from Harry Potter! Is it majic to drink?

It is pretty delicous, but does make you burp!

Does it make girlies burp?
I shall definitely try it then just to find out.

Now, where's my basket gone?

Mix it with homegrown's last receptacle here

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... 29&t=19563

and you can start making brassiere flower wine

Ha Haaaaaa, I think that's a great (although a bit surreal) idea, have you been on the magic mushrooms? (Joking)

No, just naturally loopy