Wild Burdock Root

[jsidebottom]

Has anybody here tried wild burdock (Arctium minus) root? Any tips on making it taste a bit more palatable?

[wareagle69]

the answer to that is not as simple as it may seem, what time of the year did you pick it?, was it a first year or second year root, how long? how did you prepare it?
i like to thinly slice mine, you can thinly slice it or puree it, just eating it raw is not much fun, i have baked it,broiled it bbq it, mix it with several other types of vegies. the trick is to learn the different flavors, and tastes of what you are cooking for a proper blend. not sure if this helps, but knowing year and season of harvest will help

[jsidebottom]

Thank you. I harvested it in the fall, but I'm not sure if it was a first or second year plant. Nonetheless, I will definitely try out some new recipes this year!

[rwc1969]

You should be able to tell if picked in the fall whether it was first or second year. If it was a green rosette of leaves with no stem and no stickers/ seedpods, then it was first year. If it was brown and had the stem and stickers it was second year.

First year it grows a rosette and taproot, and the second year it uses the stored energy in the root to "bolt" up and make seeds. Then it dies!

I tried it once in the spring raw and didn't care for it, but that's not to say it won't be good at other times. Since I gathered it in the spring I'm pretty sure it was second year as it already had a nice rosette of leaves.