Bistort

Persicaria bistorta

leaf

Young leaves cooked with barley, nettles and eggs in the Easter pudding of Cumbria.

Origin

Europe and Asia

Where to find it

It carpets damp mountain meadows pink, from the Massif Central to the Vosges and the Alps, and the valleys of the Lake District.

Season (United States)

March to May

Preparation

They are washed, chopped and cooked for a few minutes, in soups or stuffings, like spinach; they are eaten cooked. Its oxalates leach into water: boiling it and throwing the water out takes a good share with it.

Molecules

Beta-carotene (vitamin A) · Lutein and zeaxanthin · Vegetable nitrates · ChlorophyllWhat slows things down Oxalates

Did you know?

Its name comes from “Easter ledges”, the local name for bistort in Cumbria.