Samphire Greens!
It's samphire time in these here parts.
They grow in the marshes, and were a staple for the first Acadian settlers.
You cook them in simmering water for a few minutes until they soften, then strip them off the stem.
They're nice with butter and a dash of vinegar, but they have a salty kind of taste, so they're equally good without anything.
posted by Desperate Housewife at
9:46 PM
22 Comments:
Hmmm...I've never heard of it before - if you could compare it to something else, what would it be? (trying to visualize what it tastes like)
I have never heard of those before. I agree with Darlene, what would it be??
I believe they just grow around here, though when I googled it I saw something called "rock samphire" in the UK, but I don't think it's the same thing.
They taste kind of like...well, I've never tasted anything like them. They're slightly salty. And good.
You're just going to have to make a summer visit out here sometime!
Darlene, I would have asked the same question you asked. Samphire it will be when I visit New Brunswick. Along with all the other places I have seen on DH's travelocity. Ha.
They are my family's favorite summer green, and I live on PEI!!! what a treat to find info & pics. I'm a "Steeves" from albert Co. and I when I was 12 I picked samphire greens from the shores of the Petticodiac River and sold them door to door!! Hardly anyone knows what I'm talking about here, but every year my brother( also now on PEI) and I are on the lookout for them around the 1st week of Aug . We have found a few small areas of them here and there around the island , and call the other as soon as one of us spots them. We pick a few grocery bags full and have family and friends over for a feed.I have described the taste as somewhere between fiddle heads and spinach. We always eat them the fun-if not MESSY- way. After they are cooked and buttered & vinegar-ed, (S&P) to taste, we pick up the plant by the root and stuff the Whole thing in your mouth. Then still holding the root, close your teeth gently on the stalk and pull the root out... all the greens come off in your mouth and they are DELICIOUS!! not to mention the fun we have trying to teach new recruits how to eat them.At least 4 generations of my immediate family have been enjoying them, and I hope it continues. There are only a few small pockets of them on PEI ,so my brother and I keep them hush-hush ,but if you can find them around the first 2 weeks of Aug, they are a real treat! (you can also get them the easy way- buy them in a few local NB stores when\if available- but what fun is that?) Thanks for the info, my 1st time to your site. Oh yes, I also found a recipe for "pickled samphire greens" in an old British cookbook so they are\were found elsewhere.
Is it possible if you cut them instead of pulling them by the root you might find more on the island next year? Just a thought...
I grew up in Newfoundland, and used to eat samphire greens when visiting relatives in the maritime provinces. SO GOOD! I used to think they were called sandfire greens, so there you go.
Someone asked about how they taste: I'd describe them as pleasantly salty (like the smell of the sea), and a mix of asparagus, cucumber and greens.
They're also called glasswort, sea beans, sea asparagus, and, in Japan, Hijiki (where they're generally eaten in the dried form: black, very flovourful).
To my taste they're best steamed - it gets them plumper than boiling, and keeps more of the fresh taste of the ocean. Also very nice fried: onions, shallots, garlic, ginger in any combination, sauteed until very slightly browned, then add a finely chopped tomato and a little white wine, reduce until thick, then add the greens and sautee on high heat until done, about 5 minutes. They'll squeak in the pan. They also take spice really well - sautee with chili peppers added to give'm a kick. They're strong enough to work curried as well, but they're so beautiful just as they come that I don't recommend adding too many strong flavours.
At my beach in Baie Verte, New Brunswick they're known as Crow's Feet. A friend of mine who went to university in Sackville called them Sandfire Greens too. They're called Tétines de Souris by the area's French, literally translating to "mouse nipples." I've eaten them raw a million times but never cooked them. I will this summer, though. I'm pumped to see a post about these. Awesome!
Being also from New Brunswick, and now a transplanted Prince Edward Islander, I've had many strange looks when I would mention samphire greens to friends from the Island! Along the Homelands Trail, in Cavendish National Park, just past the first walking bridge, just a week or so ago, I found a few growing right on the path! I picked a hand full, stuffed them in my pocket, finished the remaining hour or so of my walk and thoroughly enjoyed this little treat when I got back to our cottage! They reminded me of my dad and our family, eating them in the summertime as a special treat. We lived in Moncton, and I'm sure the greens we ate would have been growing along the Petitcodiac River. If anyone gets a chance to try these greens, do so!!! They are delicious! Interestingly enough, I recently purchased the book, "World Kitchen", by Gordon Ramsay. In the section titled, "British Foods, he features a recipe for Lamb rib roast with samphire!!! Guess the Brits and the French were equally clever when it came recognizing tasty food from the land! May delectable similarities such as these continue to unite people around the globe! :-)
This comment has been removed by the author.
This comment has been removed by the author.
I have been trying to find samfire greens in brampton,ontario.please help if anyone knows where i can buy them.
Thank you
I am also from moncton,n.b. and used to pick them around lower coverdale, and on the memremcook marsh.usde to sell them door to door washed, in peach baskets,75 cents a basket.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Try Whole Foods - they often carry them.
Just talked to my mother and she was having samphire greens for supper. Picked fresh today in the village of Memeramcook
That's where i picked them when i was a kid.it's been almost 50 years since i last had any.i used to pick them and the wash them and sell prach baskets full for .75 cents door to door in my neighborhood in monctn.
Where can I picked these...gone out several times can't find them. Tired of paying 5.99 for them at the grocery store..does the tide need to be low
We used to pick them on the marsh in lower coverdale across the peticodiac from moncton or on the marsh in memremcook outside of moncton.tide has to be out and marsh fairly dry.
A salty Fiddle head or spinach
does anyone have a great recipe on how we can preserve them for winter months. I would like to preserve them but not pickle them
I’m reading the book Samphire Greens about the Steve’s family- great book
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home