They grow by the wayside, in flowerbeds, under hedges or in meadows: Edible wild herbs are anything but weeds! Wild herbs provide us with important nutrients in spring. Our favorite recipe for wild herb salad.
Why go to the supermarket when the best ingredients for a delicious salad grow right outside your door?
Spring and summer hold many wild treats for us just waiting to be eaten.
Especially after the long and cold spring, our body needs new strength. Whether we want to fight spring fatigue or are simply curious about new recipes: Edible wild herbs are the solution!
Once you've acquired a taste for it, you won't be able to keep your hands off herbs you've collected yourself.
Edible wild herbs can be transformed into dressings, dips, salads, soups and much more. And that not only tastes delicious, but is also incredibly healthy.
Today we tell you what to look for and which wild herbs are suitable for salad.
Table of contents
Why are edible wild herbs so good for salad?
By cultivating plants, the diversity of our diet was lost. This makes food not only more boring, but also unhealthier. Because many edible wild herbs contain secondary plant compounds that are very healthy. In cultivated plants, these healthy nutrients are lost.
Wild herbs and wild fruit are packed with vitamins, minerals and other vital substances. Wild plants are quite pristine because they have to fend for themselves in nature. In order to protect themselves from predators and to be able to assert themselves against other plants, they form many secondary plant substances.
Wild herbs are therefore rich in biophotons, chlorophyll, bitter substances, enzymes, minerals, vitamins, protein and secondary plant substances. They thus bring not only healthy ingredients into the salad bowl, but also much more flavor.
Let's look at two examples. Namely, a salad from dandelion leaves and a portion of spinach from nettles.
100 g dandelion leaves vs. lettuce
- Dandelion leaves: 0.2 mg vitamin B1, 7.9 mg beta-carotene, 36 mg magnesium
- Lettuce: 0.06 mg vitamin B1, 1.4 mg beta-carotene, 9 mg magnesium
100 g nettle vs. spinach
- Nettle contains 713 mg calcium, 80 mg magnesium, 300 mg vitamin C.
- Spinach contains 99 mg calcium, 58 mg magnesium, 52 mg vitamin C.
In both cases, the wild herb is clearly ahead.
A colorful salad with wild herbs contains many more nutrients and vitamins than a normal lettuce.
And let's be honest: we can eat lettuce all year round. In winter and spring, the lettuce comes from glass houses and has hardly any taste anyway, let alone good nutritional values.
Dare to use herbs and flowers from nature. You will not regret it.
Tip: If you are interested in herbs, I can give you the book The Power of Herbs* recommend. It contains 350 recipes and ideas for herbs and wild herbs.
For example, how you can make herbal salt, herbal oil or creams from herbs. But also how you can turn weeds into recipes and experiences of over 30 herb women. I love this book!
Collect edible wild herbs: What you need to know!
First things first: Not every wild herb is edible! Collect only herbs that you are sure about! You risk otherwise stomach upsets and in the extreme case even poisoning. The best known and most common confusion are wild garlic and lily of the valley leaves.
If you want to use wild herbs in your salad, keep that in mind:
- Identification: it's important to be able to pinpoint the wild herbs you want to use in your salad.
- Quality: Always collect wild herbs in clean places, away from roads, sources of pollution and agricultural land to ensure they are free of pollutants and chemicals. By the way, this also applies to classic walking routes.
- Cleaning: Clean wild herbs thoroughly to remove dirt, insects and other impurities. Rinse the herbs before eating with lukewarm water off. But do not soak them in water. This will lose nutrients and vitamins.
- Combination: combine wild herbs with other salad ingredients to balance the flavor and make sure they are not too intense.
- Dosage: Use wild herbs in moderation and depending on their flavor, as they often taste more intense than traditional salad ingredients.
- Season: All wild herbs have their season, so you should only collect the plants that fit the current season. In spring, collect only the very fresh shoots - they are packed with nutrients and are true vitamin bombs.
- Preserve: Eat wild herbs soon. If you don't want to eat them until later, put them in a plastic bag or a tupperware box. Store them in the Refrigerator on.
Collect only so many edible wild herbs, how you can eat. So everyone gets something out of it - you too. After all, next year there will only be new herbs if enough remains standing.
Tip: Wait until the herbs bloom and collect some seeds. You can grow them in the garden or on the balcony in a flower pot. This works especially well with dandelions.
Delicious: wild herb soup with potato
The best edible wild herbs for your wild herb salad
We've collected the best edible wild herbs and turned them into a delicious wild herb salad. Before we get to the recipe, here's some info on the edible herbs that end up in our salad bowl.
Now I'll tell you which herbs taste especially delicious in a wild herb salad. Then I'll introduce you to a few wild herbs in detail.
| Wild herb | Taste |
|---|---|
| Dandelion | Slightly bitter |
| Wild garlic | Intense garlic |
| Chickweed | Nutty |
| Goutweed | Similar to carrot greens |
| Deadnettle | Spinach-like |
| Nettle (only very young shoots) | Spinach-like |
| Lesser Celandine | Slightly acidic with a peppery note |
| Gundermann | Spicy |
| Sorrel | Acidic |
| Garlic rocket | Peppery to garlicky |
| Ribwort | Slightly bitter |
And now let's look in detail at a few wild herbs for salads. I regularly collect these for salads, herbal salt and soups.
Edible wild herbs: The dandelion
Take a knife with you on your next walk. Because dandelions really do grow everywhere. You can collect them all year round.
Especially tasty and tender are the leaves in the spring until May at the latest.
Dandelion tastes slightly bitter. The most famous dandelion dish is salad. Steamed, you can eat the leaves of dandelion like spinach.
But the flowers can also be processed - they end up as decoration in salads and bring color to the salad bowl.
Dandelion contains:
- 4x as much vitamin A
- 9x as much vitamin C
- 4x as much vitamin E
- 8x as much calcium
- 4x as much magnesium
- 3x as much iron
- and almost 2x as much protein
like normal lettuce.
If you find dandelions too bitter, you can soak them in water. This takes away the bitterness. But remember: bitter is healthy! If you soak it too long, you flush out all the healthy nutrients.
These herbs should not be missing on your balcony!
Edible wild herbs: The watercress
And watercress provides the right seasoning. It tastes much more intense than conventional cress from the supermarket. Visually, watercress is a bit reminiscent of radish leaves.
Be sure to pack plenty of watercress into your recipes. The leaves are said to have the potential to prevent the development and spread of cancer. In addition, the chlorophyll-rich leaves act against free radicals of all kinds.
Watercress is also known as an anti-aging herb. A good reason to put them in our wild herb salad :)
The leaves contain a large amount of vitamin C, iron, iodine, mustard oil and zinc.
Put the cress on your sandwich or chop it for your salad. Delicious!
Wild garlic for wild herb salad
Wild garlic contains many nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium. In the green leaves are antioxidants such as flavonoids and phenolic acids, which can help reduce cell damage caused by free radicals.
Wild garlic contains sulfur compounds that have anti-inflammatory properties and can help fight inflammation. It can help promote digestion and support the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria.
As a salad, the wild herb can help lower blood cholesterol levels, which can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Wild garlic has a characteristic flavor, often described as garlicky and spicy. The leaves have an intense fragrance reminiscent of garlic and onions.
In taste, wild garlic resembles garlic, but in comparison, wild garlic is often milder in flavor and has a slightly sweet note. It is a popular herb used in many dishes such as soups, salads, sauces, pesto and pesto breads.
However, it is important to note that this wild herb has a very intense flavor when raw, which is not to everyone's liking.
Edible wild herbs: the daisy
This little flower probably knows everyone. The daisy really grows everywhere and almost all year round. In spring, the small white flowers are among the first to emerge from the earth. And in autumn they are the last to bloom.
The bitter substances of the daisy have a metabolism-stimulating effect. They activate the liver, stomach and gall bladder. Those who suffer from a lack of appetite should include daisies in their meals. Furthermore, the small flowers have a blood purifying effect.
Daisies contain potassium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, vitamins A and C. They help us detoxify the body.
From the daisy you can enjoy leaves, buds, flowers or just the petals.
These herbs help to lose weight!
Edible wild herbs: The Gundermann
Everyone has probably seen the Gundermann. But only a few know that it is one of the edible herbs.
In the past, this wild herb was used for wounds that heal poorly. Today, the purple flower is considered more of a delicacy. Its purple flowers, square long stem and heart-shaped leaves are characteristic.
Ground ivy grows in moist and humus-rich soils. It loves hedges, trees and lawns and spreads rapidly.
The slightly bitter and tart tasting leaves end up mainly in soups or in salads. The flowers are often used as decoration.
More and more often the plant is pulled whole through baking chocolate. If you let the tendrils dry, you get a beautiful decoration for cakes and pies.
Why not collect a few flowers, dry them and sprinkle with other Herbs in DIY herb or spice salt or tea blends.
Edible wild herbs: the violet
The purple flowers of the violet bring color to our wild herb salad recipe. But they don't just look nice.
They are also known to help with respiratory ailments and soothe an upset stomach.
In addition, violets can prevent colds and strengthen the immune system.
That is why violets are healthy
- Rich in antioxidants: violets contain anthocyanins, which are powerful antioxidants and can help reduce free radical damage.
- Anti-inflammatory properties: Violets contain salicylates, which have anti-inflammatory properties and can reduce pain in the body.
- Metabolism Stimulant: Violets can help improve metabolism and aid digestion.
- Calming effect: Violets can have a calming and relaxing effect on the body and can help reduce stress and anxiety.
- Vitamin C: The violets are a good source of vitamin C, which is important for the immune system and collagen production.
Who wants to preserve the taste, who makes a violet syrup!
My favorite wild herb salad recipe
And now we don't want to keep you in suspense any longer. Time for a delicious wild herb salad recipe with self-picked edible wild herbs.
The basis of the wild herb salad is a simple green salad. I do this because pure Dandelion salad is too bitter for many. At least for beginners wild herbs :).
So if you're just starting to eat wild herbs, it's best to use lettuce as a base. And advanced wild herb salad fans can also just reach for dandelion.
Instruction:
- Wash the herbs very briefly under running water. Do not soak in water!
- Chop the dandelion, watercress and green salad.
- Pluck the stems from the daisies and violets.
- Slice the radishes and tomatoes.
- Marinate the salad with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Add a little salt to the salad and you're done!
- If you like, you can sprinkle a few sprouts or nuts on the salad.
Apple cider vinegar has a digestive effect and is said to be so even help with weight loss. Ideal for the vitamin cure with the wild herb salad.
You'll love this wild herb spread!
Our conclusion
A wild herb salad tastes so incredibly delicious! Take advantage of spring to load up your vitamin stores with wild herbs. If you're unsure, leave the herbs. Beginners should only get wild herbs for salad from the market.
Some herbs have poisonous doppelgangers. Much caution is required, especially with wild garlic.
Enjoy it and good luck!
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