Purslane: The international vegetable

[Jaymes]

Our own Rancho Gordo, Steve Sando, gets a mention in the NYT! Pretty lofty company. And, it's not for his beans, driving home the point that Mr. Sando is a man of many agricultural talents.

Also, he's got a Bean Book coming out, and has been researching the many possibilities of growing prickly pear cactus for commercial use -- eating, sure, but also medicinal.

Congratulations, Steve. Well done!

NYT article about purslane

Edited July 5, 2006 by Jaymes (log)

[Jaymes]

And I must add that although I did initially enjoy reading the article because of the personal connection, I have to admit I knew (and really still know) nothing about purslane.

In the piece, it says:

Purslane is a succulent. Bite into its smooth fat leaves and you get a burst of tangy, almost sour juice that's refreshing with summer food - potato salad, tuna salad (or tartare) - or tucked in with a burger.

From Provence to Greece, Turkey to Kuala Lumpur, Mexico to Galilee, purslane is gathered in the wild and sold at local farmers' markets under many names.

Does anyone here know about this "burst of tangy, almost sour juice"?

Do you cook with it frequently?

I wonder if it's easily available in US locales that don't have gourmet farmers' markets, like San Francisco's. It doesn't sound like something that would ship well.

Steve, is this something that you can ship? I'd love to try it, and don't recall seeing it around here. Although it could be available and I just didn't recognize it.

Edited July 5, 2006 by Jaymes (log)

[rancho_gordo]

Steve, is this something that you can ship?  I'd love to try it, and don't recall seeing it around here.  Although it could be available and I just didn't recognize it.

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I was weeding my tomatoes one year and thought I'd try and sell the stuff. I did, for about $3 a pound! Ask most gardeners you know and they're bound to have some for you. Here on Napa it drives the vineyard people nuts. But it's my favorite kind of thing- a weed, self-sustainable and loaded with nutrients, including Omega 3!

Raw, I think it's only an occasional "treat". It's pretty intense. Cooked with tomatillos and pork, it's a great vegetable. But I'm going to try Marlena's recipes and see if I don't like it better raw.

It's probably not for sale, but ask any of the farmers at your market if they'll bring some in for you.

[JAZ]

I have to admit that I was a little put off by this:

Some complain that purslane can be, well, a tad slimy.

The taste profile sounds good to me, but I'm not a fan of slimy vegetables. Is that quality lessened by cooking?

[rancho_gordo]

The taste profile sounds good to me, but I'm not a fan of slimy vegetables. Is that quality lessened by cooking?

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It's a succulent so it has that quality but it's not slimy like cactus or okra. But there is a little something there.

[shelora]

Congratulations Gordo!!! You so deserve the recognition. You rock!

Purslane slimy?? Never. It's succulent. I had some in my salad this evening. The organic salad growers around these parts have started addiing it to their greens, some sell it solo. I love the stuff.

And damn good, as you say, with tomatillos and pork.

[chefzadi]

First of all, there are different varieties of purslane, so if someone had a slighty slimey and someone else didn't...

Second, congratulations Gordito.

[JAZ]

First of all, there are different varieties of purslane, so if someone had a slighty slimey and someone else didn't...

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What are the differences between the varieties? The article mentioned a couple different ones, but is it like chard, where the flavor is mostly the same and the color is different? Or do the different varieties taste noticeably different? Or is it more a difference in texture?

[Abra]

Congratulations, Steve! I'm really looking forward to your bean book.

[Jaymes]

Congratulations Gordo!!! You so deserve the recognition. You rock!

Purslane slimy?? Never. It's succulent. I had some in my salad this evening. The organic salad growers around these parts have started addiing it to their greens, some sell it solo. I love the stuff.

And damn good, as you say, with tomatillos and pork.

After all this chat, I'm determined to try it. But this post makes me wonder if perhaps in your salad, uncooked, it's less slimy, and that it's the cooking of it that makes the juices run, and adds to the sliminess. Fresh okra and pickled okra, for example, seem to me to be much less slimy than it is when you boil up a pot of the stuff (like my mother used to do). I enjoy fried, and pickled, okra, but cannot get through even one bite of the boiled stuff without gaging.

[rancho_gordo]

Thanks again one and all. The book announcement is premature but you can bet I'll be asking for some help once the ink is dry.

After all this chat, I'm determined to try it.  But this post makes me wonder if perhaps in your salad, uncooked, it's less slimy, and that it's the cooking of it that makes the juices run, and adds to the sliminess.  Fresh okra and pickled okra, for example, seem to me to be much less slimy than it is when you boil up a pot of the stuff (like my mother used to do).  I enjoy fried, and pickled, okra, but cannot get through even one bite of the boiled stuff without gaging.

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I still can't get behind slimy. It's not the right word. It's succulent and flavorful, like cactus but I've never seen an ooze, if that's what you mean. It's like macho spinach, if anything.

I've heard of golden purslane but all I've ever seen is the green stuff that is a weed. When it's cultivated and well-cared for, it's got nicer leaves but it's the same thing.

Here's how I cook them quick, a la Baja California:

Saute thinly sliced onion rings in lard (the real stuff, natch).

I use my molcajete to grind a chopped, unseeded serrano chile with some salt. I love heat but I'm not so nuts for surprise chunks of chile. This makes a nice paste. Add oil or lime if it's an old chile and too dry. Add to frying onions.

Add the cleaned, roughly chopped purslane. Thick stems can be used.

The verdolagas cooked down.

Now it's a substantial and quasi-vegetarian taco filling. Best on a handmade tortilla made with authentic Rancho Gordo brand 100% Corn Masa, of course! I added some cheese. All I had was manchego but I would have used cotija if I'd had it on hand.

The leftover verdolagas re-invented for breakfast the next morning with Fatted Calf sausages and two grade AA treats from my own hens.

Now start weeding and start eating!

[mizducky]

Just looked up purslane on Wikipedia, and -- whoa! check this out!

Purslane contains more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant. It is one of the very few plants that contains the long-chain omega-3 EPA.

I'm always up for finding new vegetables to add to my repertoire, and this little nugget of nutritional info is certainly an additional motivator, at least for me.

Now that I think about it, I could swear I've seen the stuff in one of the Mexican markets I frequent, under its Spanish name. I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for verdolagas the next time I'm shopping there.

[Milagai]

Here's how I cook them quick, a la Baja California:

Now start weeding and start eating!

Just looked up purslane on Wikipedia, and -- whoa! check this out!

Purslane contains more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant. It is one of the very few plants that contains the long-chain omega-3 EPA.

I'm always up for finding new vegetables to add to my repertoire, and this little nugget of nutritional info is certainly an additional motivator, at least for me.

Now that I think about it, I could swear I've seen the stuff in one of the Mexican markets I frequent, under its Spanish name. I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for verdolagas the next time I'm shopping there.

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I had also heard of the nutritional advantages of purslane

and being vegetarian, was very interested in the omega-3 thing.

I wish all the articles that encourage fish-eating to get omega-whatevers

would at least mention these alternatives for the likes of us ...

It's available at our farmer's market periodically for ~ $ 2 a smallish

bunch. The last time I got some, and added it to a salad and didn't

like it very much - the almost-slime factor....

That's why I loved ranch_gordo's recipe suggestion and will

try and get some purslane tomorrow AM to attempt it.

So many people airily say "oh, it grows like a weed everywhere"

but I wish I could get it to grow in my garden.

I tried rooting a sprig of what I got from the FM but no luck.

$ 2 a baggie, forsooth!

Milagai

[rancho_gordo]

That's why I loved ranch_gordo's recipe suggestion and will

try and get some purslane tomorrow AM to attempt it.

Olive oil is a perfectly perfect substitute to the lard!

So many people airily say "oh, it grows like a weed everywhere"

but I wish I could get it to grow in my garden. 

I tried rooting a sprig of what I got from the FM but no luck.

$ 2 a baggie, forsooth!

If you're chummy with any farmers not selling it, see if they won't give you some on the next market day. Otherwise, PM me as I actually have some seed from my sister-in-law in Holland for it.

[Milagai]

Many thanks rancho gordo! I'll be in touch and let

you know if I am able to make it and how it turned out.

I loved that chunky looking taco shell in yr picture -

hand patted or made in a tortilla press?

Milagai

[eje]

[...]

So many people airily say "oh, it grows like a weed everywhere"

but I wish I could get it to grow in my garden. 

I tried rooting a sprig of what I got from the FM but no luck.

$ 2 a baggie, forsooth!

Milagai

←

Hmm...

Well, it has grown as a weed everywhere I've lived or gardened.

Maybe you are doing too good a job weeding?

I don't think it will grow from a cutting, though. Maybe if you tried sprouting the cutting first in water.

If you are looking for seeds, the plant latin for it is "Portulaca oleraceae".

[rancho_gordo]

I loved that chunky looking taco shell in yr picture -

hand patted or made in a tortilla press? 

Milagai

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Press. I'm too old to learn how to do it by hand!

It would be great if you could make up a purslane/tomatillo vegetarian recipe. I like the pork but it's not required!

[Milagai]

[...]

So many people airily say "oh, it grows like a weed everywhere"

but I wish I could get it to grow in my garden. 

I tried rooting a sprig of what I got from the FM but no luck.

$ 2 a baggie, forsooth!

Milagai

←

Hmm...

Well, it has grown as a weed everywhere I've lived or gardened.

Maybe you are doing too good a job weeding?

I don't think it will grow from a cutting, though. Maybe if you tried sprouting the cutting first in water.

If you are looking for seeds, the plant latin for it is "Portulaca oleraceae".

←

Weeding? Me? the weeds laugh at me as I ineffectually

try to shoo them away. Maybe it's the fact that I'm still sitting

firmly on the deck with mint julep in hand.

Weeds begone! (nope, doesn't work).

I'll try sprouting in water.

Portulaca, eh? Interesting! I've known portulata

as a cute little annual

with bright flowers, didn't know purslane was a relative.

Are the cute little flowers edible? I got those to grow in my

garden one year....

Rancho: will definitely add tomatillo as suggested.

Milagai

[eje]

I dunno if the decorative relative of purslane, Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora), is edible or tasty.

Couldn't find any definitive statements pro or con on the Internet.

It appears it has been used medicinally by some cultures.

[beccaboo]

After all this chat, I'm determined to try it.  But this post makes me wonder if perhaps in your salad, uncooked, it's less slimy, and that it's the cooking of it that makes the juices run, and adds to the sliminess.  Fresh okra and pickled okra, for example, seem to me to be much less slimy than it is when you boil up a pot of the stuff (like my mother used to do).  I enjoy fried, and pickled, okra, but cannot get through even one bite of the boiled stuff without gaging.

←

Have you ever eaten raw okra? As you chew it it gets slimier and slimier, and the slime grows and grows till you have to stop chewing because the slime won't fit in your mouth any more.

[Jaymes]

I enjoy fried, and pickled, okra, but cannot get through even one bite of the boiled stuff without gaging.

Have you ever eaten raw okra? As you chew it it gets slimier and slimier, and the slime grows and grows till you have to stop chewing because the slime won't fit in your mouth any more.

I guess not, because I'm pretty sure I would remember that experience.

[The Butler]

Our own Rancho Gordo, Steve Sando, gets a mention in the NYT!  Pretty lofty company.  ..

Congratulations, Steve.  Well done! 

NYT article about purslane

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Totally endorse the above and thoroughly enjoyed the whole article on purslane, especially the part about its progression from sour to sweet as the day progresses as I for one did not know that.

Well done to hard-core foodie, our own ever-charming egulleteer Marlena Spieler who wrote the piece which appeared in the New York Times 5th July.

The Butler

"Dinner is served"

[The Butler]

she also wrote an article for the New York Times about the cheesemonger at Balducci who grew up on a farm in Bangladesh. It was a touching portrait of a man with a passion, talent, and inborn understanding of cheese, from the animals to the aging to the eating.

The Butler

"Lets get but-ling"

[marlena spieler]

First of all, there are different varieties of purslane, so if someone had a slighty slimey and someone else didn't...

Second, congratulations Gordito.

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Totally right, thanks Farid! ! there are so many different types of purslane and each has slightly different characteristics.

the burst of sour juice depends upon which type of purslane you use, as well as what time of the day it is picked.

was in pompeii over the weekend, and when i looked down as i scrambled over the sun-baked stones I saw a huge patch of purslane, very nice succulent purslane, poking right out of the ruins........

Marlena

[The Butler]

Purslane slimy?? Never. .....

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There are different types of purslane. In the New York Times article we are discussing, Marlena Spieler writes that there are up to 40 varieties.

You may not be aware of these different varieties and their characteristics. For the purposes of our exchanges in this context, we might say that there are two types of purslane, slimy (or my preferred term, viscous) or not slimy... both are delicious.

As for other vegetables with similar qualities, may I draw your attention to okra and cactus?

The Butler

"Are you being served?"

Edited July 11, 2006 by The Butler (log)