# Pokeweed



## Rings Я Us (Mar 7, 2018)

Anyone ever harvest Pokeweed in the spring and make Poke Sallet?

Pokeweed grows  in areas in the south, Midwest and some of the east I guess.
It's a.poisonous weed that can be picked when small or young and tender then washed and cooked a couple times before eating. Cooking takes the toxic stuff out.
People add in bacon or onion and garlic to season.
Pokeweed used to be processed and canned to be sold in certain regions of the country.
You can eat leaves and young chutes after their made safe by the cooking and rinsing process.
I found a few areas near me where Pokeweed grows but never ate it.  I hear the chutes taste Luke asparagus and leaves are similar to spinach.

People used to eat Pokeweed in spring because it was the first fresh greens to come after winter.


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## cmayna (Mar 7, 2018)

And here I thought it was some new Asian Cannabis dish one might find here in crazy Kalifornica, now that the green stuff has been legalized.  LOL :p


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## Bearcarver (Mar 7, 2018)

Those things grow like crazy around here, but nobody eats them, because it's not worth the hassle to make them safe to eat, when there are so many other things that don't need to be boiled 3 times to get rid of the toxic substances.

We even keep kids away from them, because the poison can be absorbed through their skin.

Not Worth it.

Bear


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## Rings Я Us (Mar 7, 2018)

Yeah the berries are bad too..I guess you can make ink or dye from them however. 
I've seen video of people picking, washing boiling and cooking Pokeweed.. Looks more like a traditional thing or something localized in some areas more so. I guess they even have Pokeweed festival somewhere. :p


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## Bearcarver (Mar 7, 2018)

Rings Я Us said:


> Yeah the berries are bad too..I guess you can make ink or dye from them however.
> I've seen video of people picking, washing boiling and cooking Pokeweed.. Looks more like a traditional thing or something localized in some areas more so. I guess they even have Pokeweed festival somewhere. :p




Yeah, When we were kids we called them "Inkberries", and we used to smash them up & draw pictures on rocks like Indians used to. We didn't know they were toxic, but luckily we tried not to get any on us anyway, so as far as I know none of us got sick from them. I figure just because somebody says you can boil the Poison leaves 3 times to make it safe to eat, doesn't mean you have to. I pass.

Bear


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## AllAces (Mar 7, 2018)

Poke Salad Annie ate poke and it made her tough and mean.


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## Bearcarver (Mar 7, 2018)

AllAces said:


> Poke Salad Annie ate poke and it made her tough and mean.



LOL---Another good reason for a Bear not to eat it !!

Bear


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## yankee2bbq (Mar 7, 2018)

Yeap here in Arkansas we eat poke salad, drizzled with warm bacon fat!


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## Rings Я Us (Mar 7, 2018)

AllAces said:


> Poke Salad Annie ate poke and it made her tough and mean.





yankee2bbq said:


> Yeap here in Arkansas we eat poke salad, drizzled with warm bacon fat!



I so have to try it once..:D


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## AllAces (Mar 7, 2018)

Apologies to Tony Joe White.


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## gmc2003 (Mar 8, 2018)

bearcarver said:


> Those things grow like crazy around here, but nobody eats them, because it's not worth the hassle to make them safe to eat, when there are so many other things that don't need to be boiled 3 times to get rid of the toxic substances.
> 
> Bear



I wonder whose family was used as tester's to find out it took boiling them three times to remove the toxicity. 

Just try it one more time little Johnny. I swear this time it's perfectly safe. You know Grandma never lies.

Chris


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## Braz (Mar 8, 2018)

AllAces said:


> Apologies to Tony Joe White.


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## Bearcarver (Mar 8, 2018)

gmc2003 said:


> I wonder whose family was used as tester's to find out it took boiling them three times to remove the toxicity.
> 
> Just try it one more time little Johnny. I swear this time it's perfectly safe. You know Grandma never lies.
> 
> Chris




Better yet, Whose families got to try the "Boiled once" version, and the "Boiled Twice"Plate???

Bear


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## Rings Я Us (Mar 8, 2018)

Haha... 

I think native Americans may have started the whole thing.


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## Rings Я Us (Mar 8, 2018)




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## okie362 (Mar 8, 2018)

I have 5 acres of it if you want some.  We eat it every spring and it's delicious.  Sauteed in bacon grease and eggs scrambled in.  It should be coming up in abundance within a couple weeks in fact.


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## rimfire63 (Mar 29, 2018)

We eat it a couple of times every spring. Just for traditions sake since the wife and I both grew up on it. 
Wife wont cook it though, she makes me do it. Says she doesn't want to poison us. 
I think she just likes seeing me in the kitchen. Lol.


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