Binki
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2020
- Messages
- 69
To say that my boy favourite treat is nettles is an understatement: he craves them. He is lucky in that we have an 'on the premises' organic' supply. In the sunken garden, next to the stream. there is a patch with soil so stubbornly poor that only nettles grow, so in the end we decided to screen it out with buddleias and leave it to the butterflies (and to the herons that fish in the weir, in the hope that if the brutes ate enough fish they would spare the mallard ducklings they gobble up in such gruesome manner. As if).
For some atavistic reason, I harvest the nettles late in the year but this winter they died earlier and, to my boy's dismay, in January our last year supply was over. That meant having to harvest spring nettles, which have the advantage of being easier to clean, dehydrate faster and, judging by my boy's ecstatic expression, transforming the stems into yummy 'twiglets' for chins.
My concern is that spring sap normally contains more sugars than in late autumn but I could not find information anywhere as to whether, nettles being bitter, the amount is negligible or not. There are research papers on nettles used to lower blood sugar in humans, so perhaps this is an unnecessary worry. Has anyone has information on this?
For some atavistic reason, I harvest the nettles late in the year but this winter they died earlier and, to my boy's dismay, in January our last year supply was over. That meant having to harvest spring nettles, which have the advantage of being easier to clean, dehydrate faster and, judging by my boy's ecstatic expression, transforming the stems into yummy 'twiglets' for chins.
My concern is that spring sap normally contains more sugars than in late autumn but I could not find information anywhere as to whether, nettles being bitter, the amount is negligible or not. There are research papers on nettles used to lower blood sugar in humans, so perhaps this is an unnecessary worry. Has anyone has information on this?
Last edited: