Another Favorite Mountain Food Is Poke Greens (Or Polk Greens)
Posted by Bucky in West Virginia
So far I have mentioned Ramps, and Morel mushrooms as wild West Virginia favorite foods. It is time for another. Pokeweeds, also known as poke, pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot, polk salad, polk sallet, and inkberry is a spring tradition around these parts.
Young pokeweed leaves can be boiled three times to reduce the toxin, discarding the water after each boiling. The result is known as poke salit, or Poke salad, and is occasionally available commercially. Many authorities advise against eating pokeweed even after thrice boiling, as traces of the toxin may still remain. For many decades, Poke salad has been a spring favorite West Virginia cuisine, despite campaigns by doctors who believed pokeweed remained toxic even after being boiled.
My Granny and I have been eating this stuff for years, and I bet her Granny used to eat it also. It tastes a lot like spinach. I like taking a heaping spoonful, putting it in a bowl, giving it a good dose of salt and pepper, and then smothering it with vinegar. Tasty! My wife is fixing some tonight, and I can’t wait!
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If it tastes like spinach but has the potential to be dangerous, why not just eat spinach?
Where’s the fun in that?
It tastes similar to spinach, but a bit more of a tang…must be the toxins…lol.
Change in plans, we are eating Tuesday night, so if no knew posts get made, you will know that the toxins got the better of me.
Toxins, hmm — sounds delish LOL. Well, personally, I haven’t tried it. But you say you’ve been eating it for years, so I guess it is safe to eat.
I love it –I had it when i was younger
but now it is hard to come by….
Now we are cooking …..
You pick it in May when it first comes up before any flowers start, which is when it is not safe to eat anymore. I can this every spring and mix one jar with one can of spinach or turnip greens mixed with a bit of bacon. It has it’s own distinct flavor.
I am eating some now as I write this. You can eat the young ones year round and even fry the young stalks in flour salt and pepper. Dont eat raw. Boil the 2-3 times first. I have eaten them raw and even the berries in small amounts but I don’t suggest it. I am 39 and healthy as a horse. They taste better than spinach. The texture is about the same.
mmmm, pokegreens. I haven’t had them in so long. I just finished reading the book “Icy Sparks”(yes, it was an Oprah Book club book, but it really was good) and it reminded me of them. I think I’ll be out to harvest them this spring. I can’t wait.
My dad has eaten it since he was young and he introduced me to it at a young age as well. We live in Kentucky and it is available for us in spring too. My dad like to boil it 3 times and then put it into a pan, add some eggs and essentially scramble them together. We also like to put a little hot sauce on top for seasoning. It is amazing. I do think it tastes like spinach, but there is just something different and better about it. I recommend you try the egg thing!
I’m from Tenn and 48 yrs old and I’ve eaten poke greens al my life and I boil it three times then fry it when bacon gease and eggs so being fried takes care of any toxin that might be left, but like I said I’ve eaten all my life and nothing has happen to me yet
boil young tender greens mix with cornmeal and egg and a little bacon grease .form into patties and fry like salmon been eating them my whole life am 66 and hope to see 67
I live in Kentucky and have been eating poke since I can remember. We cut up the leaves and stalks….mix them with flour and corn meal and fry them in bacon grease. I have never tried it boiled…hear it makes it slimmy. We haven’t been poisioned yet!! The one thing that makes me look forward to spring is poke!!!
OMG you might DIE eating this. But you also might die from the billion other ‘toxic’ chemicals found in apples, ham, corn, beans…sheesh. Next thing you know the new hellcare plan will ban the growing of ‘dangerous food’ and you’ll go to jail the same as for pot or executed for growing tobacco.
