eating stinging nettle roots
By Stephan
@stk40m (1118)
Koeln, Germany
October 5, 2011 12:20pm CST
today I pulled out stinging nettles in the garden. While doing so I noticed that their roots are quite thick and I wondered if they might be edible. To my astonishment I found out they are and that they are even used in medical sciece:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/stinging-nettle-000275.htm
well, I then put a few of the roots (after having rinsed them with water) into the blender (see photo) and tried the stuff. I have to say it smells like medicine, tasted a bit sour and salty but I was not disgusted. Have you ever eaten stinging nettle roots, too and if so what were your impressions?
Cheers
stk40m
1 person likes this
5 responses
@fangirl20 (17)
• United States
5 Oct 11
I have never even heard of that before! I'm curious now... There have always been strange/ bizarre ingredients that chefs use in their foods, but this is the first time I'm hearing of using nettles!
Do you think you can use them in any sort of recipe?
1 person likes this
@fangirl20 (17)
• United States
5 Oct 11
There are so many different things you can make... wow.
I'm not usually one to try different types of food, I rarely eat take out. (So far, I've only ever eaten South East Asian(Indian/Pakistani) food and Chinese. I'm starting to try Italian, at the behest of my friends.)
I think I'm going to have to make an exception here. This definitely needs to be investigated!
1 person likes this
@stk40m (1118)
• Koeln, Germany
6 Oct 11
if you try it be sure to choose the correct plants. Stinging nettles are commonly known though so that shouldn't be much of a prob :D Also, take care of the stings. They say it is sufficient to cook the leaves and stem to get rid of the stings but I haven't tried it yet, I only tried the roots so far which don't have stings.
@celticeagle (168334)
• Boise, Idaho
5 Oct 11
I believe the Native Americans used the stinging nettles for medicine. They really help with alot of things like pain in the joints and urinary tract infections. I thought it interesting that by applying the stinging nettles to the painful area it helps with the pain. Interesting information.
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
23 Nov 11
I have never tried that, but it sounds like it would be a lot better than some of the man-made junk that is available. I will have to look into it to see if it will help. Thanks for sharing that!
@stk40m (1118)
• Koeln, Germany
24 Nov 11
Glad to share :-)
unfortunately I had to remove all the stinging nettles to make way for other plants. And I had a very bad feeling about it. The caterplillars that inhabit them and the butterflies into which they would turn later through metamorphosis ... there are actually about 50 nettle dweller species ... but I was even more worried about the birds which need them and other insects for their young next spring.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
6 Oct 11
When I was a child my classmates and I spent some time in an iron age village. We had to live like the people who lived in the iron age and we had to eat the same food as them. One day our teacher asked us to collect some stinging nettles and in order to cook stinging nettle soup. Our teacher helped us cook the soup and when it was ready we had to eat it. We didn't like it, I guess that it was too different from burgers and french fries and other kinds of food that we were used to 
@stk40m (1118)
• Koeln, Germany
7 Oct 11
yep, it doesn't suit everyone's taste. Escpecially eaten alone it may be a bit unappetizing for some. I think that we live in a world where taste often is more important than health aspects. I mean, often the saying is true that if something tastes bad it is indeed bad but that's not always the case. Personally I always say: just because something tastes good that doesn't necessarily mean that it is good. I like sweets for example but I know that the sugar in it (which is the reason why it tastes ''good'') is not good. Some animals, birds for example, barely have a gustatory sense, they rely on experience or on their genes :D
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
18 Oct 11
I have never heard of using the roots of Nettle before, just the leaves. I have some growing here as you know so I will have to remember this if I ever pull any out. The plants I have are still very small, but with the start of spring time now, they are starting to finally grow larger. I will be able to harvest some leaves soon hopefully. 
@stk40m (1118)
• Koeln, Germany
18 Oct 11
the roots are somewhat lignified and I think that will be even more the case when the nettles get older. Hence I found stowyk's suggestion to dry and pulverize the roots very good. In fact yesterday I came across a (German) website which says that by drying (and pulverizing) plants they are made nonperishable and that our ancestors did exactly that.
In addition, did you know that around 50 caterpillar species eat this plant? That's amazing, isn't it!
There are many weeds/ plants the roots of which are edible or have other uses. Like parsnip or Daucus carota (Wild Carrot) which is the mother species for our carrots. They also grow en mass over here.
