Eating the weeds - horta, oxalis, kaloirya
- To: g*@ker.forthnet.gr, m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Eating the weeds - horta, oxalis, kaloirya
- From: B* B*
- Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 10:17:13 PST
Cali, I'll look forward to the horta identification!
Question: (I may have asked this before, I can't remember.) In Kefallonia,
there was a flower people gathered and ate, which resembled a tall grape
hyacingth but with much wider and looser flower clusters of a muted sky blue
with the older flowers going gray. It grew nearly two feet tall and was
found in fairly dense stands. The local name was "kalo'irya" (kalogyria -
'monks', for those who don't speek the Greek). Usually parboiled with green
garlic and then sauteed in olive oil as "tsigaridhi". Do you have any idea
what the species is? It looks like either some Muscari or Bellevalia.
(It's definitely *not* Muscari comosum, which also grew there.) Not a
spectacular plant but pleasant; I'd love to grow it if I can get an ID on
it.
bob
>Actually it's "hortopitta, " Bob, made with wild seasonal (winter) greens.
>(The winter ones are "sweet" in contrast to the bitter spring ones like
>dandelions, sarsparilla, wild asparagus, etc.) The oxalis is only used as
>a
>seceasoning herb. This has inspired me to ascertain the botanical names of
>the
>staples which I know only by their popular Greek ones. When I do I will
>post
>the recipe.
>Cali Doxiadis
>Corfu, Greece
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