Post by Rik Wallin on Apr 6, 2007 10:41:35 GMT -6
EPAZOTE (Chenopodium ambrosoides)
JANIE'S NOTE: Before entering this section, I want to say that I found this herb listed in only one of my herbals...Magic and Medicine of Plants by Reader's Digest (which lists it as Chenopodium ambrosioides). I have found this book to be overly cautious regarding FDA warnings, etc. but thought I would include the info it has:
"Both the plant and the seeds may be fatal. Symptoms include nausea, dizziness, convulsions, and paralysis." It also says that the plant was listed in the U.S. Pharamcopeia from 1820 to 1947.
Use your own discretion...
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From the September 1995 issue of Veggie Life...
FEATURED HERB (by Anne Westbrook Dominick)
Epazote, crucial to Central American cooking, is one of those easy-care herbs gardeners dream about. It prefers poor soil and thrives on neglect. You may not even notice it growing there--and might mistake it for a common weed--but when you brush against it, its startling methylic odor changes your mind. In the kitchen, epazote makes the difference between a "good try" and a delicious authentic dish.
As late as the early 1980's this herb was found only in groceries serving a large Hispanic population. Also known as Mexican Tea, it originated in South America, spread northward through Central America, and now has naturalized in many parts of the United States--particularly where it spread from former plantings. Yet, until quite recently, seeds for home gardeners were hard to find. Today, many seed companies with a serious herb section carry Chenopodium ambrosoides.
Growing it is easy. An assertive annual, once started it will self-seed almost any place, even areas with very cold winters, where it readily germinates every spring. For top production, newly purchased seeds should either be sown in the fall or put in the freezer for a couple of weeks before planting.
Epazote does best in full sun and poor, well-drained soil. If you plant the seed half an inch deep, and thin the young plants to a foot apart, it will be four feet tall by mid-summer and produce tiny yellow-green flowers. A member of the goosefoot family and a close relative of lamb's quarters, its young leaves and shoots can be cooked as nutritious greens. Leaves of any age can be used as a seasoning.
While epazote's freshly picked flavor leaves a distinct unusual aftertaste--even unsettling after the first time it's tried--a finely minced sprig added to salsa or dried bean recipes creates just the right subtle overtones. It dresses up a lot of recipes through South and Central America, and it's indigenous to Mexican cuisine where it seasons many tortilla concoctions, a wide range of sauces, and almost all bean dishes.
Epazote, as a folk remedy to relieve the gas which often accompanies legume meals, has been scientifically proven. Now a pharmaceutical crop, specific oils in Chenopodium ambrosoides are distilled, making it far more powerful than the few leaves we add for taste, and used in the medicinal world to purge the intestinal system. And therein lies another of its common names: American wormseed.
As a cooking herb, a couple of plants are more than enough. For winter use, the entire plant can be snipped off before it blooms and hung upside down in a shady, dry location. When the foliage is thoroughly dry, crumble and store it in an airtight jar in a closed cupboard. The stumps left in the garden will continue to grow for the rest of the summer, and will seed next year's crop before winter arrives.
SOURCES FOR EPAZOTE
Abundant Life Seed Foundation, PO Box 772, Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-385-5660
Herbs-Liscious, 1702 S. 6th St., Marshalltown, IA 50158 515-752-4976
Native Seeds/SEARCH, 2509 N. Campbell Ave. #325, Tucson, AZ 85719 520-327-9123
Nichols Garden Nursery, 1190 North Pacific Highway, Albany, OR 97321-4598 503-928-9280
Pinetree Garden Seeds, Box 300, New Gloucester, ME 04260 207-926-3400
Shepherd's Garden Seeds, 30 Irene St., Torrington, CT 06790 203-482-3638
Seeds of Change, PO Box 15700, Santa Fe, NM 87506-5700
JANIE'S NOTE: Before entering this section, I want to say that I found this herb listed in only one of my herbals...Magic and Medicine of Plants by Reader's Digest (which lists it as Chenopodium ambrosioides). I have found this book to be overly cautious regarding FDA warnings, etc. but thought I would include the info it has:
"Both the plant and the seeds may be fatal. Symptoms include nausea, dizziness, convulsions, and paralysis." It also says that the plant was listed in the U.S. Pharamcopeia from 1820 to 1947.
Use your own discretion...
------------------------------------------------------------
From the September 1995 issue of Veggie Life...
FEATURED HERB (by Anne Westbrook Dominick)
Epazote, crucial to Central American cooking, is one of those easy-care herbs gardeners dream about. It prefers poor soil and thrives on neglect. You may not even notice it growing there--and might mistake it for a common weed--but when you brush against it, its startling methylic odor changes your mind. In the kitchen, epazote makes the difference between a "good try" and a delicious authentic dish.
As late as the early 1980's this herb was found only in groceries serving a large Hispanic population. Also known as Mexican Tea, it originated in South America, spread northward through Central America, and now has naturalized in many parts of the United States--particularly where it spread from former plantings. Yet, until quite recently, seeds for home gardeners were hard to find. Today, many seed companies with a serious herb section carry Chenopodium ambrosoides.
Growing it is easy. An assertive annual, once started it will self-seed almost any place, even areas with very cold winters, where it readily germinates every spring. For top production, newly purchased seeds should either be sown in the fall or put in the freezer for a couple of weeks before planting.
Epazote does best in full sun and poor, well-drained soil. If you plant the seed half an inch deep, and thin the young plants to a foot apart, it will be four feet tall by mid-summer and produce tiny yellow-green flowers. A member of the goosefoot family and a close relative of lamb's quarters, its young leaves and shoots can be cooked as nutritious greens. Leaves of any age can be used as a seasoning.
While epazote's freshly picked flavor leaves a distinct unusual aftertaste--even unsettling after the first time it's tried--a finely minced sprig added to salsa or dried bean recipes creates just the right subtle overtones. It dresses up a lot of recipes through South and Central America, and it's indigenous to Mexican cuisine where it seasons many tortilla concoctions, a wide range of sauces, and almost all bean dishes.
Epazote, as a folk remedy to relieve the gas which often accompanies legume meals, has been scientifically proven. Now a pharmaceutical crop, specific oils in Chenopodium ambrosoides are distilled, making it far more powerful than the few leaves we add for taste, and used in the medicinal world to purge the intestinal system. And therein lies another of its common names: American wormseed.
As a cooking herb, a couple of plants are more than enough. For winter use, the entire plant can be snipped off before it blooms and hung upside down in a shady, dry location. When the foliage is thoroughly dry, crumble and store it in an airtight jar in a closed cupboard. The stumps left in the garden will continue to grow for the rest of the summer, and will seed next year's crop before winter arrives.
SOURCES FOR EPAZOTE
Abundant Life Seed Foundation, PO Box 772, Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-385-5660
Herbs-Liscious, 1702 S. 6th St., Marshalltown, IA 50158 515-752-4976
Native Seeds/SEARCH, 2509 N. Campbell Ave. #325, Tucson, AZ 85719 520-327-9123
Nichols Garden Nursery, 1190 North Pacific Highway, Albany, OR 97321-4598 503-928-9280
Pinetree Garden Seeds, Box 300, New Gloucester, ME 04260 207-926-3400
Shepherd's Garden Seeds, 30 Irene St., Torrington, CT 06790 203-482-3638
Seeds of Change, PO Box 15700, Santa Fe, NM 87506-5700