Juicing Nettle?

[Lavendula]

I take the dried herb capsule, drink the tea, but I am trying to eradicate it from my garden. Maybe I could juice it. Any ideas?

[Revvell]

Send it to me please. :)

You could juice it; you could blend it... you could send it to me please. :)

[kaybee]

whoa girl--if youre taking the capsules...AND since youre a raw foodie, perhaps you have a dehydrator, why not treat it as a friend and let it stay and continuously harvest its leaves? then you get fresher herb from a known source and you dont have to buy the capsules or the tea anymore....? unless you need the space for other things, then you could juice it or smoothie it, or dry it or whatever. Now that Im becoming more aware of the identity of alot of the wild plants in my garden and their medicinal/nutritional uses, I hate pulling ANY of them up.. but maybe you need to make space for other stuff...?

[Revvell]

.. but maybe you need to make space for other stuff...?

Yesssssss, you dooooo! Send to meeeeee!

[sport]

I do not think that you can just juice it on its own as it would be very strong (at least I would be afraid to try it) but I do juice it with other green things and add it to smoothies.

[Lavendula]

Do I feel stupid? It's not nettle, but thistle, the sharp hairy, stickery ones. Thank you all, anyway. I was just looking for a streamlined way to use it, I do like the taste.

[sport]

Do I feel stupid? It's not nettle, but thistle, the sharp hairy, stickery ones. Thank you all, anyway. I was just looking for a streamlined way to use it, I do like the taste.

I have not heard of people using thistle. Can it be done.

[Suz58]

I have juiced nettle on its own, it is amazingly strong and salty tasting.

[Lavendula]

It is thistle. It has taken over the garden area, it was in some horse manure I got a few years ago. I just forget what they looked like, and feel pretty stupid. I use nettle, but I buy it. I guess I will have to cultivate a patch when we move to our two acres, we sent for our passive solar house plans. It is a dream that will take a while to realize, but, a wonderful dream nonetheless.

[Arky]

Ok, I realise you have nwo stated that it's thistle, not nettle, but having said that, may I just add a few comments on juicing nettles? :)

I've personally juiced nettles many times (even David Wolfe does, if that matters to you ;) ). They are a wonderfully-rich source of minerals and EFAs. Some sources even claim that nettles contain acetylcholine - a critical compound for the brain. All I can tell you is that nettle juice is some of the finest green juice you can possibly lay your hands on, at any price, and I believe it can stand toe-to-toe with Wheatgrass, for nutritional power, no problem.

I find it has an 'earthy' taste that is infinitely more palatable than the nausea-inducing aroma and taste of wheatgrass (I should point out that I consume both nettle juice and wheatgrass juice. I'm not knocking wheatgrass juice, just highlighting how it compares with nettle).

You will find that SLOW-grown grasses (for example those grown during winter weather conditions) seem to yield significantly higher levels of EFAs than fast-grown summer grasses. Don't take my word for this, you can easily prove it for yourself by observing the difference in juice texture and appearance between grass grown from identical seed, at differing simes of year. I am happy to say that nettles appear to yield a wonderful amount of healthy EFAs - they are enormously rich in chlorophyll and, when juiced, the oil/fat content sits on the top of the juice in a thick 'scum' (which sound derogatory, but, I assure you, is very much the opposite, in this case).

The only other thing that springs to mind from my experience with nettle juicing is that you have to take care to juice only the leaves and the UPPER parts of the stalks. If you attempt to juice the entire stalk, you will find out for yourself why nettles have been used for thousands of years to make string and rope - so unbelievably tough are the fibres that they will EASILY stall your juicer or damage the plastic auger assembly or housing. Been there, done that! :) But get it right, and nettle juice is FANTASTIC stuff, WELL worth the effort.

Oh, and BTW, there's absolutely NO issue with the juice 'stinging' your mouth or throat - all the formic acid is completely neutralised during the juicing process.


Arky.

[Lavendula]

Thank you arky. I am glad for all the answers, and excited to actually juice some now. I guess the oil on top might be like what I call the parsley velvet I love so much. Is there any danger of nettle taking over my yard? I have to be careful, maybe I can grow some this year. Does Victoria have anything to say about nettle? I wonder what alkoids( or is it alkaloids) are in it.

[RawKnitster]

Victoria Boutenko said nettle leaves are good to have in green smoothies. Now is the perfect time to pick them.

[Arky]

I must admit that although I fully understand the merits of smoothies, in comparison to juices (and vice-versa), I have tried nettles in my smoothies and I find them much too 'furry' - the nettle leaf fibres seem to be rather less palatable, when blended, than do other green leaves. Try it and make your own decision; you may find they slide down just fine! :)

All the best.

Arky.

[Ilse W.]

As for thistles, I don't know if they can be used for anything. The stuff you get in capsules comes from milk thistles. The ones we generally get here are canadian thistles. My yard, former prairie, is full of them. The county people told me that you should never PULL them. Where the root breaks, it will produce TWO thistles in place of the one you pulled. That's why the problem gets worse over time. It is better to cut them just above ground level. If you keep doing it, eventually the roots run out of energy and can no longer send up new shoots. I never compost thistles, they go straight to the burn pile.

[Arky]

Ilse, I recently found a plant that seems to resemble a cross between a dandelion and a thistle - the leaves look very much like dandelion leaves except for some very small (and not very sharp) bristles, which are only obvious to the touch, not to the eye. Unlike dandelion, the plant grows as a firm upright stalk, about half an inch thick, with the 'dandelion leaves' radiating out at right angles (pretty much horizontally). Looks a bit like a dandelion christmas tree :)


I'd love to know it this is edible as, intuitively at least, it appears very nutritious.

I'll try to post a photograph as soon as I can find my cameras memory card.

I think some varieties of thistle can be cooked, but I don't know if they're edible raw.

Basically, I'd like to juice and/or blend this plant, if I can.


Arky.