Eating the offcuts
The Independent was yesterday asking ‘Is it time to dig for victory again‘. This is a bit of a trend: the media is getting quite interested in the whole idea of self-sufficiency of late, probably spurred by the looming credit crisis (although the Indie is taking a green tack instead). PM, the other day, ran a story on the booming industry for fruit trees, which are being bought up like never before. The vendor they spoke to said it was a sure sign of impending recession. Not good.
Anyhow, the Independent report threw up some interesting stats, like the fact that the whole dig for victory campaign was spurred by the fact that blockades meant Britain could no longer rely on the 55 million tons of food it had previously been importing. My impression was that this pretty much fed the population - albeit frugally - but in actual fact it only provided around 10% of the country’s food needs.
So perhaps this 10% is the magic number for which we should all be aiming - to produce a tenth of our annual consumption of vegetables in our own homes, gardens or allotment plots.
It doesn’t sound like much until you realise that the campaign focused on growing only the speediest crops with the highest nutritional value, not the wide variety a home farmer might use today. And even then it required a certain amount of going beyond the minimum and eating the parts of plants that these days we would rarely touch.
“Little things once commonplace like pinching off the tops of broad beans – a fabulous spinach substitute – or trimming the tops from radishes and serving them as a vegetable are worth reconsidering,” says garden historian Caroline Holmes. (Source: Independent)
I’ve often wondered how much of what we cut off our food and throw away we could actually eat. Like the stem on a head of broccoli, for example, which makes up a great part of the weight for which you pay in the supermarket. It probably wouldn’t be very nice if you boiled it, but could you blend it into a soup?
I almost trimmed down the leaves from the tops of the sprouts at Christmas as they’re supposed to be like a slightly stronger cabbage, and I read the other day about drying the leaves from your raspberry canes to make fruit tea, which is very tempting.
As for the broad beans suggested above, though… well that’s a ‘hmmm’. Looking at them in the plot last night they looked far too much like sage to make them tempting as a stand alone vegetable.
But maybe I’ll give it a go. For old times’ sake.
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May 28th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Hello from Canada from a former resident of Lincolnshire - interesting blog you have! We’re attempting to be as self sufficient as possible too. Regarding things eaten in wartime - back in the 1970’s (I think) my dad subscribed to selected reprints of British wartime newspapers: I loved reading the recipes - how to feed a family of four with just a cauliflower stalk etc. We are definately alot more wasteful nowadays. However, one thing we can do is change - as you’re proving! As for broccoli stalks - just peel them and steam them in chunks. Alternatively, peel them & shred them with carrots & onions - over here you can buy bags of this “broccoli-slaw” ready shredded in the supermarket produce department - but why not make your own?
Raspberrry leaves do make a good tea - but I recall reading that pregnant women shouldn’t drink it because it stimulates the uterus. Even better is blackcurrant leaf tea - it has, in times past, been used as a substitute for regular black tea.
And yes, the tips of broad bean plants (& peas!) make very good eating - in fact they’re sold in little packets in gourmet food stores here!
Good luck with your project - I’ll enjoy reading all about your progress!
July 9th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I didn’t even know it was normal practice to throw the broccoli and cauli stalks away, until I spotted a friend of mine doing that very thing (mind you, she also throws away every bit of green leaf from leeks and spring onions!). I’ve always eaten it; I may throw it into the pan ahead of the florets, as it takes a little longer to cook. Broccoli stalk tastes a little more like kohlrabi, and can be eaten raw, maybe grated, as you might kohlrabi.
Radish leaves are tasty chopped up into salad greens; I also make a fantastic bright green soup with the radishes and their leaves blended raw into a cooked stock of an onion, carrot and celery stalk or two.
Turnip leaves are delicious as a cabbage substitute (I’ve eaten them in coleslaw, as well as cooked), and brussels tops are even better (in fact, I’ve not consistently grown cabbages as I’ve not needed any more brassica leaves); I’m sure I’ve seen brussels tops for sale in shops.
Parsnip and carrot tops, blended into gravy, make it tastier; parsnip tops are also nice as a green veg.
Beetroot leaves are a spinach substitute, being more or less the same as chard.
Thinned out seedlings are delicious, of course, in your salads, and I heard a radio food programme article recently reporting a French chef in this country growing masses of seedlings to feed his customers as seedlings. And I love the pricked out tips of beans and peas.
Once the courgette flowers stop rotting, I’ll be eating those, too! If only summer would come back….
Interesting blog!
Cheers…