12 Indigenous Herbs That You Can Eat
Have you every considered eating an indigenous herb? Or perhaps flavouring that stew or soup, or making a pesto?
If not, you are missing out! So many of our indigenous plants (which you may well have growing in your garden) are edible. And not just edible, they are tasty too.
Let's have a look at twelve of them, and how you can start using them in your kitchen.
Wild Rosemary - Eriocephalus africanus
First of all, please don't expect a rosemary flavour like the one you normally use for cooking.
It has a very different flavour, and is much stronger. That said, it is used in similar ways.
Add it to a soup or stew, chop some finely and add it to a bread dough. It combines really well with cheese, so how about adding a bit to your next mac & cheese or marinating some feta in olive oil and wild rosemary?
And it is lovely in a summer punch - alcoholic or non alcoholic.
Wild Garlic - Tulbhagia violacea
It is called 'Society Garlic' for a reason. You get the garlic flavour, but not the garlic breath.
No one is going to be averting their face to avoid those fumes!
The whole plant is edible. Flowers can be tossed into a salad or used to flavour a vinegar. Leaves are great as a vegetable (try this Chard & Wild Garlic recipe). And use the stems, right down to the root, in the same way as a spring onion.
I you have this plant you know how prolific it is. Rather than dividing it and looking for yet another spot to move it to, use it as a vegetable.
Spekboom - Portulacaria afra
We all know this plant is a wonder when it comes to cleaning the atmosphere, but do you know how delicious it is?
Another plant that just keeps on growing so, the next time you are pruning it, take those leaves inside and eat them. A quick tip, the leaves are sweeter in the later afternoon after a day in the sun.
Salads, pickles, chutneys, and even ice-cream!
Get the Spekboom Ice-Cream recipe right here
Vrouebossie Geranium incanum
This very pretty plant makes a fabulous ground cover as it isn't invasive. And it attracts a whole bunch of pollinating insects, including 7 types of butterflies.
And, yes it is edible. The young leaves have a tart, lemony flavour and are great in a salad. Leave the older leaves on the plant - they are tough and bitter. The flowers can be used in salads, butter, cream cheese, to infuse sugar and as a garnish.
Sour Fig - Carpobrotus edulis
Have you ever eaten Sour Fig Jam, Or Sour Fig Confyt? If not, you are missing out.
The flowers are cooked in a sugar syrup but unlike a berry, they hold their shape beautifully.
If you have never tried it, then it's time to gather up some of those flowers. This is a plant that really does grow everywhere. Just don't take the ones that are next to a road, or in a parking lot - you don't need the pollution from all of those cars in your jam!
Num num - Carissa species
Another indigenous plant that is stunning in a jam.
Both the Large Num Num and the Simple Spined Num Num have a delicious fruit that can be eaten raw, turned into a jam, or made into a syrup that will turn your waffles into a gourmet dessert.
Another way to serve this fruit is with a lovely ripe Brie or Camembert. The sweetness of the fruit is amazing with cheese.
Wild Mint - Mentha longifolia
A lovely mint, just as good as peppermint or spearmint, and with an added bonus - it grows in the sun.
You can use it in any recipe that calls for mint. Mint sauce for your lamb, mint in marinades, drinks, chocolate mousse, with brand new peas.....just like any mint, it is super versatile.
Of course, just like all mints, it is invasive, so keep it in a pot if you have a small garden.
Buchu - Agathosma betulina
You may have heard of Buchu Brandy - the famous Cape remedy that heals just about everything!
Instead of making a medicinal brandy, why not make a delicious liqueur? A far more pleasant way to enjoy it.
Buchu is also lovely in a tea and, for a real South African version, add it to Rooibos.
Great in marinades, infused vinegars and oils and salad dressings, this is a herb with a stunning flavour.
Bulrush - Typha capensis
If there is every a shortage of food, you need to find a patch of bulrushes. The whole plant is edible, from the rhizome to the pollen.
The immature flowers can be boiled or roasted like mielies, and when the mature flowers produce the pollen, gather it, it is a great sweetener.
Pull some up and eat the rhizomes as a vegetable - wonderful in a soup or stew or roasted with other veggies. Or you could dry the rhizomes and then grind them into a flour.
Need something to eat during Spring? Use the young stems. Steam them and they taste (sort of) like asparagus.
African Brown Sage - Salvia africana-lutea
One of the most beautiful sages around, from the way the leaves grow to the fabulous rust coloured flowers.
Use it like culinary sage - just in smaller quantities.
Especially good with vegetable dishes or thick wholesome soups, this is a herb to start taking into the kitchen.
Rose Scented Geranium - Pelargonium graveolens
This is a plant that is used extensively in commercially prepared flavourings and syrups, and yes, you've guessed it, as a replacement for expensive roses.
Skip the commercial stuff. Infuse your own sugar and honey for a sweetly scented treat. Line a cake tin with the leaves before you add the batter and you get a rose flavoured cake. Add some to the milk when you boil it for custard or ice-cream, or toss some into a smoothie.
Savoury uses? Yes! Use it in Turkish dishes when it calls for Rose water.
Rooibos - Aspalanthus lineris
Of course, we all know rooibos as a tea, but there are so many more ways to use it.
Amazing in an infused oil or vinegar - ready to use as a salad dressing, or to toss your veggies in just before roasting.
Great in a marinade, just infused the leaves for 10 minutes or so to release their flavours.
And what about flavouring a bread, cake or muffin?
There is really far more that you could be doing other than putting this herb in the teapot.
Proudly South African
There you go. Twelve indigenous herbs that you can use in your kitchen, and you could already have them in your garden.
And the best thing? The government can't stop us eating them - okay, you may have to cook them on gas or wait until we have water!
If you would love to find out more about our indigenous herbs, take a look at the
'Indigenous Bundle'.
Ten Herb Club Guides, each about one indigenous herb. How to use each one in the kitchen, first aid box, for body and skin, home and garden uses and recipes for all applications.
POST CATEGORY
Become a
HERB WHIZZ
How do you learn about herbs?
By joining the
Barefoot Herb Club
Where you discover one new herb every single week!
