Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Poke

...no, not something your children do to each other....I'm talking about Poke weed (Phytolacca americana).  One of my students at the college asked me about Poke last week.  He wanted to know why you freeze it before eating it.  I thought perhaps ya'll might be interested in learning more about Poke.

I want to get back to writing more about herbs and how to use them.  I have decided to create a post, at least once a month, about an herb. I chose February's herb because of my student's question.  I hope this will help all of you widen your herbal knowledge.  I will try to pick common herbs, not wild-exotic-never-be-able-to-grow-it-here plants.

Poke weed

Poke, as it is known around my parts, is also called poke weed, poke bush, or polk salad/salet/salit.  Poke is an herb that can grow from 1 to 10 feet tall...or so they say.  What I see locally is usually in the 2 to 4 foot range. I've never seen a 10 foot tall example....I can't even imagine it.  Poke has large leaves and the stems are colored pink to red.  It produces a beautiful cluster of greenish-white flowers which turn into beautiful purple berries - don't eat them...they are poisonous.

In fact, poke contains phtolaccatoxin and phytolaccigenin - both are toxic.  Birds enjoy the berries and aren't poisoned by them only because the seeds have hard outer shells and can pass through a bird's digestive system intact.  Poke is very nutritious when it is harvested and prepared the right way....it can make you very sick if you don't know what you are doing...and for small children or the elderly it can be deadly.

However, many people love poke salad.  They use young poke weed leaves  that are no longer than 6 or 8 inches.  Harvest the leaves before the plant has flowers and before the stems turn red. Poke leaves need to be boiled three times, each time discarding the water (and thus the toxins that boil out). Then they are considered safe to eat.  You can even find commercially canned poke salad...sometimes called poke salet or salit.  You will probably only find canned poke salad here in the south.  We even have festivals for Poke.

Poke is very nutritious, high in calcium, phosphorus, Vitamins A and C, iron  and more.  I have heard the taste described most often as similar to spinach.  I have even heard it likened to Asparagus.

I haven't had poke.  I don't like cooked greens - I like them raw.  Nothing is better than a raw spinach salad...but cooked spinach...not my cup o' tea!  However, this is good knowledge to have tucked away just in case!

Poke has been used for many things.  It has been used both topically, for acne and arthritis, and internally for everything from arthritis to swollen glands to weight loss (possibly achieved by the massive vomiting that will ensue if you eat too much or don't get the toxins out!) .

Poke berries

Poke berries (also known as ink berries) have a glorious history!  Did you  know that the Declaration of Independence was written with fermented poke berry juice?  Native Americans used them as a dye, many soldiers from the Civil War used poke berry juice to write letters home.  You can also dye fabric with poke berry juice!

I never did find a reference to freezing poke before using it.  I don't know if this is something handed down in this young man's family or if there is really a benefit to freezing poke before cooking.  If ya'll know about this, please leave a comment and share that with me!

Blessings,

12 comments:

  1. Thanks! now I know for sure what Poke is! How long are you supposed to boil it each time?

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  2. Thanks for this info Cheri. I'd never heard of poke weed before we moved down here, but after Henry sampled some "grapes" and I called poison control I was quickly schooled.

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  3. So... I'm guessing by your comment that it would be okay to cut down and throw in the chicken coop... but not, for example, to allow the goats to try to takeover its space in their brush-eating attempt at world domination? We've got a big patch of it that developed around an old woodpile by our one pasture... and I wondered what they were. Glad I didn't try to eat one. :P

    Anyway, just curious if I can cut it down in the spring and throw it to the chooks without a problem.

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  4. Lisa,
    Don't think I ever read or heard a certain time. You might want to do some checking on that.
    Cheri

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  5. Hannah,
    I would say you could feed the berries to the chickens...don't know about the poke leaves - might want to check on that. Have you ever fed them comfrey? They usually love it and it is very good for them!
    Goats? I'd check on that also - my instinct says no. I don't think I'd feed it to mine. I don't think they even browse it in the fields.
    Cheri

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  6. Gwen!
    Now, that is down right scary! Did they recommend ipecac syrup?
    Cheri

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  7. i am from the south and never never never knew what poke bushes, ie polk salit was? but now that i have seen pics, my sister and i know this bush all too well because we use to string the boootiful berries as a necklace in the woods and play all day with our fake jewelry with stains all over our face and hands. oh boy, ignorance is bliss???

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  8. I live in Southern Indiana and poke will get very tall and sturdy here, I'd say some of it does get to be 10 feet tall.

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  9. You didn't mention the Poke _Root_, but it is the number one recommended herb (so I have found) for treating mastitis in breastfeeding Mommies. Because it is a lymphatic, it helps treat the congestion involved with the mastitis. I dried some of the root last Fall, and tinctured it (using the directions in your Medicinal Herb Course) and have used it to treat mastitis already. Wow...it really works.

    BTW, my kids and I love to make poke berry ink (with strict instructions to watch the Little Ones closely) and write secret messages with chicken feather quill pens. So, so fun! We just crush the berries then strain and discard the seeds just in case. Man, does that stuff stain!

    Another BTW, my goats wouldn't touch it. Maybe they just knew it wasn't good for them.

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  10. Our goats sometimes eat the leaves when they're very young but not after they've gotten more than a foot or so high.

    Our pastor and his wife (who are both in their 70s) have poke salad every day during late winter/early spring -- he says it's an excellent spring tonic. I remember my daddy talking about it, too, but I haven't tried it yet.

    A friend in Alabama told me I should harvest the berries in late fall and freeze them, then eat three a day during the winter to help my arthritis. I didn't do it though -- just couldn't get up the nerve to. But I'm still very city. It's taking me a long time to eat things out of my garden let alone out of my pasture! All in good time, though.
    :-)

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  11. Kay,
    Good thing you didn't try to taste them!
    Blessings,
    Cheri

    Melissa,
    Wow! It's hard to imagine!
    Blessings,
    Cheri

    Julie,
    How could I forget?! I'll amend the post and add that information.
    Thanks!
    Cheri

    Kelly,
    Don't know if I would eat three berries. Definitely don't start with three if you decide to try this!
    Blessings,
    Cheri

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  12. LOVE, LOVE the education from you and what I always get out of your wonderful blog!
    I am loving the learning about my beloved (yet not enough time to educate myself) subjects!

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