Edible Weeds: Nettle

The common nettle has a long and somewhat glorious history. It is and
has traditionally been used as food, to make tea, to make paper, cloth
and ropes, to make fish nets, used as an expectorant, as a diuretic, in
wound treatment, treatment of gout, as a laxative, treatment of
prostate cancer, treatment of hepatitis and gall bladder inflammation,
treatment of worms and the important one, to make BEER. You can still
buy beer made from nettles in the North of England.

The
oddest use is in the treatment of severe arthritis where the patient
has his or her skin flayed with the nettle. This increases circulation,
and stimulates the lymphatic system, the nerves and muscles. As one
author noted, it may be the pain of the nettles takes away the pain of
the arthritis!

The leaves as you may unfortunately know produce an unpleasant stinging sensation which can be reduced by rubbing a dock or plantain leaf, or heating the area. The sting is caused by small hairs containing formic acid which spike and irritate the skin.

The formic acid is neutralised by heat and drying so dried nettle or cooked nettle contains no danger. Nettles are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, silica, sodium, sulphur and tannin. Vitamin C, beta carotene and the rest of the B group of vitamins are also in high concentrations.

Nettles boast the highest amount of protein than other plants at a rate of 10%.

To use to eat:

Use only the young leaves. The older leaves feel develop a grittiness caused by cells that are an irritant to the kidneys.

You can use nettle leaves anywhere you would use spinach. They are great steamed with beans and rice. Add them to soups. You can make a nettle soup with nettles, onion and potato with some stock and maybe a pinch of nutmeg They can be added to celery, zucchini etc to fill out the meal. To make beer, you can find plenty of recipes on the net.

Last note:

If you can’t bring yourself to eat them, they are very rich in nitrogen and make a great addition to the compost heap or to make a green nutrient rich tea with which to feed your plants. Remember to remove any flowers and seeds if you do not want to spread the nettle. Nettles prefer to grow in rich soil that is not acidic.

Wear gloves to collect nettles although it is said if you grasp the nettle firmly by bare hand, the hairs are broken and cannot puncture the skin. I have yet to confirm this last observation.