Salsify & Scorzonera

[Tigerhair]

Ever grown these?

[diver]

what are they...I wouldn't know what to do with them

[ina]

Root vegetables - you can eat them...

I am going to try scorzerona this year (I think, I keep getting them mixed up ). We always used to have salsify (I think - the other one, anyway) in the garden at home, but they need sandy soil, which I don't have here. They are a bit similar. Also called "vegetable oyster", as they are supposed to taste like oysters - couldn't say, as I've never eaten oysters! They are dark on the outside and have white flesh. The good thing about them is that they are quite hardy and can stay in the ground for a long time, so no problem with storage.

Ina

[Millymollymandy]

Tinned salsify is a common veg in France and it's quite nice, so I've vaguely thought about growing it. I don't think I've seen it fresh though. So - sandy soil - sounds just right for my place! I might give it a go.

[Moorf]

Oooh spooky - I've just been re-reading Hugh's River Cottage Year and the bit about salsify - sounds intriguing but god knows where I'll get seeds out here (and I think they radiate seeds coming into the country )!!

Anyone fancy making me a salsify seed cake and smuggling it through?!

[ina]

Don't think the germination rate would be too great after the baking! Saying that, I once found a cherry stone in a bit of cake and stuck it in a plant pot (as you do...), and to my amazement it did germinate...

What's the climate like where you are? I somehow think they are more a colder climate veg; it was always one of the last things we still had in the garden in winter.

Ina

[kevin m.]

I grew Salsify as an experiment a couple of years ago,as I'd seen it in gardening books,but never in the shops-so I just had to try it!
Roasted,they were a bit like a skinny Parsnip-nice enough though.

[Wombat]

Moorf,

I have seen the seeds here but they are not common - maybe it was from Thompson & Morgan? What about the smaller, organic seed suppliers like Eden Seeds or the place in Snug, Tassie (Can't remember the name....) or Greenpatch(?) seeds....

Nev

[Chickenlady]

We grew salsify a few years ago and it was really nice. However, it created the most horrendous flatulence amongst all family members, so we decided never to repeat that particular experiment!

[Wombat]

You say that as if it was a bad thing.......

[Millymollymandy]

Oh no, are we talking Jerusalem Artichoke type of flatulence? Aarrrgghh!!

[hedgewizard]

The flatulence thing happens whenever we eat a carbohydrate that isn't normally part of our diet... you get an inefficient ferment while the bugs in your gut adjust their balance. If you stick at it, the problem goes away... how many vegetarians do you know who toot uncontrollably every time they have beans?

[ina]

Just what I keep telling non-vegetarians! Anyway, it's salsify I'll be growing this year - got the seeds now...

[Millymollymandy]

The flatulence thing happens whenever we eat a carbohydrate that isn't normally part of our diet... you get an inefficient ferment while the bugs in your gut adjust their balance. If you stick at it, the problem goes away... how many vegetarians do you know who toot uncontrollably every time they have beans?

No no no, there is something "special" in Jerusalem artichokes. I don't get that problem when I eat, say, asparagus (I eat that fresh about once every 5 years, say) or avocadoes (once in a blue moon). It isn't just farting, the word you used, fermenting, is a jolly good example. It hurts and is very uncomfortable. That's why I won't eat them any more, I can cope with a good farting session ( ), indeed, quite enjoy the look on my husband's face but not with the fermenting-festering-alien is whizzing around in my guts-feeling.

[ina]

I suppose, to test this properly you'd have to eat them, say daily for a month or so - then you'd know whether your guts can adapt to this particular vegetable... Just in the name of science?

You might of course by then have a whole UFO load of aliens whizzing around your intestines.