Ghost of City Life Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Howdy Y'all! It's been a long time since I've been here, but I figured that this would be the best place for advice. I have been researching the benefits of Purslane and since discovering that it is highly nutritious i have stopped treating it as a weed and allowing it to grow. I have a bunch that is ready to harvest, more that we can eat now, so I have begun researching preserving it. I found this recipe and wanted to run it by you all. It seems like a basic refrigerator pickle, but the fact that it says to store it in a cool dark place not necessarily the refrigerator has me wondering if that would be safe. Any feedback would be appreciated. Instructions <LI class="step ">1 Harvest your purslane stalks and leaves and wash them under running water in a colander.<LI class="step ">2 Cut the purslane into 2-inch pieces and put them into your canning jars until there is only about ½ inch space left at the top.<LI class="step ">3 Add to the jar any herbs, peppers or garlic cloves you would like to flavor your purslane.<LI class="step ">4 Pour the apple cider vinegar into the jar so that the herbs and purslane are covered completely. Screw the lid on your jar tightly. 5 Label your jar with the date and contents, and store it in a dark, cool place or the refrigerator for 1 month before opening it. Your purslane will remain good for up to 1 year. Store in the refrigerator once you have opened your jar to prevent spoiling. Quote Link to comment
Annarchy Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I froze the extra we had last year and it was fine when we used it. Don't know about canning it, Violet? BTW, back. Quote Link to comment
Andrea Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Your recipe calls for pickling it but it doesn't allow for processing it in a bwb. I would definitely refrigerate this recipe. Have you experimented with dehydrating it? Even if it doesn't rehydrate well, you could always powder it and sprinkle it into soups or salad dressings. I need to explore this a bit more myself. It's an extremely nutritious plant and it certainly grows well here! Annarchy - any special tips for freezing? Quote Link to comment
Ghost of City Life Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Hi! Thanks for the feedback. Freezing sounds like a good plan, I don't know about dehydrating, it is a succulent so i wonder how long that might take? Quote Link to comment
Annarchy Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Depending on how much comes up in my yard this year, I may try dehydrating it to see how that works. All I did was wash it and freeze it. Some of it I blanched for about 2 minutes in boiling water, then froze it. The blanched seemed to come out wilted when defrosted. When I use the frozen, it is either sautéd with other veggies-oriental meals, steamed with other veggies -mixed veggies or chopped into soups. I have seen where they say to puree it and freeze in ice cube trays. Quote Link to comment
Ghost of City Life Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 Ahhh, i like the pureed cube idea, i may just go with that. Quote Link to comment
Ghost of City Life Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 So I tried the refrigerator pickle and the rest of the batch I pureed and dehydrated. The pickle won’t be ready for another couple of weeks but the dehydrated powder that I made is awesome! I throw a tablespoon of that into rice or quinoa and its wonderful! Not much flavor but the health benefits are great. Now I just have to get out and pull it all up, I have more than I can handle. The dehydrator is gonna be busy.. J Thanks everyone for the help. Quote Link to comment
Andrea Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Ghost - did you blanch it before dehydrating or just throw in in the dehydrator? I think I need to try this. The more I read about purslane, the more I'm intrigued by its health benefits. I try to throw a few leaves fresh into salads but the dh isn't a big fan. Quote Link to comment
Ghost of City Life Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 Ghost - did you blanch it before dehydrating or just throw in in the dehydrator? I think I need to try this. The more I read about purslane, the more I'm intrigued by its health benefits. I try to throw a few leaves fresh into salads but the dh isn't a big fan. I just threw the raw purslane into the blender with a touch of watter to get it started and pureed it. then i used my Excalabur with the fruit leather sheets to dry it over night. Quote Link to comment
Ghost of City Life Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 Just to update anyone interested. I finally tasted the pickled purslane and it is delicious! The stems maintained most of their crunch and they picked up a fair deal of spice from the serrano I mixed in. I would suggest making refrigerator pickles if you have extra purslane. Quote Link to comment
Andrea Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Thanks for the update Ghost! Btw, I harvested quite a bit of purslane seed. If anyone would like some, please pm me your mailing address and I can put them in the mail to you. Quote Link to comment
Annarchy Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 (edited) I just harvested one plant that grew in one of my garden plots. After trimming off the large branches, I filled a 15 gallon garbage bag 3/4 full! I am calculating that the rest of the plants that are growing in the yard will fill another 15 gallon bag. Time to get busy preserving... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The bag made 4 gallons of blanched purslane. Edited September 15, 2014 by Annarchy ETA amount preserved. Quote Link to comment
Daylily Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 I dried it and it dries well. I put stems and leaves in. I planned to blend it to a powder and sprinkle on food so the stems wouldn't matter there. I also dried separate leaves. They make a pretty good snack. Quote Link to comment
Twilight Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Wish i had enough to do something with it! I usually eat mine on site.... i have just a very few plants. Quote Link to comment
Annarchy Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Last year we left a couple plants alone, around the edge of the yard because the inca dove seem to be enjoying the seeds or bugs. This year those few little plants turned into half the yard lawn! Maybe Andrea still has some seeds left. Quote Link to comment
kappydell Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I eat mine fresh, usually while still standing in the yard...or course my cherry tomatoes never get in the house, either, and only 'bout half the snap beans. Pickled purslane is delicious. I love that citrusy twang it has. My roomate thinks Im nuts, she does not like the okra like texture, but then again she does not like okra either. Hmmm, I may have to try breading & frying it like okra. Gotta love those weeds! Quote Link to comment
Daylily Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Fresh leaves are good on a sandwich, like lettuce and in a salad of course. Quote Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Try this again....hit wrong button. If anyone has any seeds, I'd like to try raising some in a pot. I've been looking at pics and am intrigued. MtRider Quote Link to comment
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