Processing and Tasting wild edible plants via http://www.twineagles.org/

In this article made by Jeaninne Tidwell I found a very easy explanation about how to process and taste edible plants:

Quoting: http://www.twineagles.org

Processing Edible Wild Plants

So you've gathered some amazing and beautiful wild edible plants; now its time to process them. If the plant needs washing, depending on what kind of plant it is, rinse or soak the plant material in cool water. For drying your bounty, there are many ways of hanging, lying or drying such as using screens, paper bags, bundled bunches, or food dehydrators. Its mostly berries that get frozen although you can freeze leaves as well. Find some recipes to get started. We have a variety of recipe pages on our site that you can find below.

Tasting the Wild! Eating your Harvest

Are you getting hungry yet? I know I am! Lets talk about the eating part – one of my favorite aspects of edible wild plants. Some plants can be appreciated when you combine them with others and some plants are wonderfully savored on their own. Some are solely edible while others are also medicinal. Get to know the properties of the plant you will be working with.

Consider taking a moment to presence gratitude for your harvest. Feel the connection with the food you're eating and send your mind's eye back to the spot where it grew. Can you recall all the details of that special place? This powerful connection includes you in the system of giving and receiving, life and death.

It's time to cook it up! Some plants need cooking before eating and some don't. It's different for each plant so here's where research comes into the picture. Once you've got a body of experience with wild edible plants, try to practice foraging and browsing on wild edibles directly in the field, like the other animals do. Again, using recipes for cooking edible plants is a great way to learn and experiment!

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The european raspberry (Rubus idaeus)

Raspberry fruit (Rubus idaeus) picture taken by:  abejorro34

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Stinging Nettle (Ortica dioica)

Stinging Nettle, called in Finnish Nokkonen is a very interesting herb with many medicinal properties.

According to "Wikipedia:  Stinging nettle or common nettle, Urtica dioica, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant, native toEurope, Asia, northern Africa, and North America, and is the best-known member of the nettle genusUrtica. The plant has many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on its leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles, injecting histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation when contacted by humans and other animals. The plant has a long history of use as a medicine and as a food source".

The plant has many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on its leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles, injecting histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation when contacted by humans and other animals. The plant has a long history of use as a medicine and as a food source.

Where to find it? 
Actually Nettle likes to live around people. They live in soil rich in nitrogen and spread easily. The presence of nettles may indicate that a building has been long abandoned.

Urtica dioica subsp. dioica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Urticaceae
Genus:	Urtica
Species:	U. dioica
Binomial name
Urtica dioica L.

How does Stinging Nettle looks like?

Front view

Side

Leaf shape. Note that the leaves are hairy

Flower

Flower detail

What happens when you touch a Nettle?

In a practical way the sensation when you touch a Nettle is like if you got cut by paper. (Stinging sensation). Followed by itchiness and irritation. 

Picture taken from wikipedia: 

Stinging nettle irritation

 Medicinal properties of Stinging Nettle:

NOTE: Always wear gloves while manipulating this plant.

"Stinging nettle is an astringent, diuretic, tonic, anodyne, pectoral, rubefacient, styptic, anthelmintic, nutritive, alterative, hemetic, anti-rheumatic, anti-allergenic, anti-lithic/lithotriptic, haemostatic, stimulant, decongestant, herpatic, febrifuge, kidney depurative/nephritic, galactagogue, hypoglycemic, expectorant, anti-spasmodic, and anti-histamine." http://www.herballegacy.com/Vance_Medicinal.html

What does that mean:
It can help you to pee, can cure muscle pains (cure arthitis), used in shampoo to cure dandruff, to increase the testosterone levels, promotes lactation.

Urtication:
Urtication with nettles, is the process of applying stinging nettles to the skin in order to provoke inflammation (rubefacient (something that causes redness)). In Colombia, the Shamans of Putumayo use Nettles for their ceremonies because they attributed very good healing properties as well as for reumatism.

How to Take It: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/stinging-nettle

"Pediatric

Although available in many combination formulas to treat colds, asthma, and allergies in children, a specific safe and effective dose for children has not yet been established. Talk to your doctor before giving stinging nettle to a child, so the doctor can determine the proper dose.

Adult

Stinging nettle is used in many forms, including as teas, tinctures, fluid extracts and creams. The freeze dried leaf capsule is very popular among male physicians". 

How to use it on the kitchen:

Pick young leaves and use them like spinach. You can also boil them and put them in smoothies, make pesto, etc. 
Here you can find some recipes about how to use Stinging Nettle: http://www.thekitchn.com/stinging-nettles-8-recipes-for-145582

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READ FIRST: Important information about wild plants

Hello and welcome to this database of wild edible plants. The purpose of this database is to have a digital record of my learning about edible plants available for the public. The incorporation of wild edible plants on our diet can be an open door for a more sustainable lifestyle in total communion with nature

In this database you will find pictures and descriptions of each of the plants I will be finding in the woods as well as other people material that I find relevant (with their respective credits). In the beginning I will focus exclusively on the plants that can be found in the Finnish forest but I hope in the future this database can grow and incorporate also wild edible plants of other countries.

Before starting I want to make sure you read the following disclaimer:

Please seek professional advice before using any plants if you are at all unsure. If you doubt which plant you have in your hands leave it out! This site and the author is not responsible of the missuses of the information provided on this blog.

1. I am not a herbalist, I am a passionate learner about plants. Therefore I will not encourage the use of wild herbs that have not been identified successfully.
2. Make sure to follow the identification steps before using any wild herb.
3. This site and her owner are not responsible for the misuse for the information provided in this database.
4. If you have any doubts about the use of a herb or did not succeed identifying a plant, leave a comment below and I will try to help.

"Be Mindful
Stretch beyond your comfort zone
Live in the sacred
Earth is Mother"
Frank Cook

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