Food Question....?

Question

So i'm reading a book that takes place in the 1800's any way the author has mentioned "Poke Greens" Does anyone know what these are? are they kind of like Asparagas? or am I completly wrong? What do they look like? I have tried to Google it but came up with nothing.. Any help would be wonderful! Thanks!

Answer 1

Poke grows wild in many places in the south and mid-west. The plants are usually considered weeds. The leaves are sort of tear-shaped and about the size of the palm of your hand. In the fall, the plants grow purple berries which I have been told were once used by native Americans and slaves as medicine. I would not suggest eating them though. The leaves have a very strong and bitter taste and I would suggest mixing them with other greens.

Answer 2

Poke Salat

Salat is the German word for salad, and probably came to the Ozarks with German settlers. Poke salat is made from Pokeweed. In towns you'll find pokeweed growing wild in alleyways and vacant lots. In the country it grows in the fence rows and along the edges of woods. When mature it has clusters of shiny purple berries which birds love to eat.

After a long winter without fresh food, the early settlers looked forward to cooking the first tender green leaves of pokeweed. It gave them vitamins and was a good spring tonic. They'd cook it up with lamb's quarters and dock, which are also early spring greens. Some people today still cook and eat poke greens in the early spring.


Poke plant

Though the whole plant is poisonous, the young leaves can be eaten after cooking them using two changes of water. Poke is still used medicinally. Old timers in the Ozarks still eat one pokeberry a year as a preventative or to treat arthritis.

Here's a recipe for Poke Salat

Marideth Sisco, a native Ozarker, remembers her mother cooking poke. "Poke salat was made by boiling poke in two waters," says Sisco. "My mother used the fresh and very young leaves, washed them, then boiled them in a pot of water for one or two minutes. Then she'd throw out that water, add just enough water to keep them from scorching and continue cooking until tender. She'd season them with bacon drippings. I prefer a little butter and lemon juice. Either way, it's good for what ails you. It looks like spinach and tastes a bit like asparagus." http://www.watersheds.org/nature/poke.htm

Other articles: http://www.redmoonherbs.com/articles/poke-medicinal-use.php
http://www.herbalremediesinfo.com/poke.html

Answer 3

Salat is the German word for salad, and probably came to the Ozarks with German settlers. Poke salat is made from Pokeweed. In towns you'll find pokeweed growing wild in alleyways and vacant lots. In the country it grows in the fence rows and along the edges of woods. When mature it has clusters of shiny purple berries which birds love to eat.

After a long winter without fresh food, the early settlers looked forward to cooking the first tender green leaves of pokeweed. It gave them vitamins and was a good spring tonic. They'd cook it up with lamb's quarters and dock, which are also early spring greens. Some people today still cook and eat poke greens in the early spring.


Though the whole plant is poisonous, the young leaves can be eaten after cooking them using two changes of water. Poke is still used medicinally. Old timers in the Ozarks still eat one pokeberry a year as a preventative or to treat arthritis.

Here's a recipe for Poke Salat

Marideth Sisco, a native Ozarker, remembers her mother cooking poke. "Poke salat was made by boiling poke in two waters," says Sisco. "My mother used the fresh and very young leaves, washed them, then boiled them in a pot of water for one or two minutes. Then she'd throw out that water, add just enough water to keep them from scorching and continue cooking until tender. She'd season them with bacon drippings. I prefer a little butter and lemon juice. Either way, it's good for what ails you. It looks like spinach and tastes a bit like asparagus."

Answer 4

You can find lots of recipes for Poke Greens on ask.com. There are alot of different recipes. These were once considered poisonous at one time. I'm not quite sure what they are exactly but Arkansas has lots of recipes. Just type Poke Greens in Ask.com

Answer 5

It's a wild Spring green that is a "Southern Treat"..Do a Yahoo search and you will get lots of info on it.

Answer 6

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/67/Poke_Greens48827.shtml

http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plantoftheweek/articles/Pokeweed.htm

Poke is a tall coarse perennial American herb having small white flowers followed by blackish-red berries on long drooping racemes; young fleshy stems are edible; berries and root are poisonous.

Answer 7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokeweed

Answer 8

http://www.wildpantry.com/wildgreens.htm

Answer 9

its weed