There should be no doubt that the economy influences how we eat. Those of us who care are seriously trying to maintain that delicate balance between good value, good nutrition and great taste. After all you and I have long since agreed right here in this column that eating is so much more than a means of fuel for the body. Eating and preparing food is and should be one of man’s most loved rituals. It is a daily ceremony that nourishes and gives us a chance to stop and, hopefully, break bread with our loved ones. Eating and enjoying good food should be seen as a break from the harsh realities and by looking at it this way the observance of mealtimes enriches our spirits as well as our bodies. Happy mealtimes spent amongst family can produce happy memories and wonderful associations with food; it touches us on many levels. Hippocrates, referred to by many as the ‘father of medicine’ is famously quoted as saying, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food”. I expect he is spinning rapidly in his grave as conventional medicine has largely taken a manufactured drug route and yet they still practice and take the Hippocratic Oath in the profession! This great ancient sage is also quoted as saying, “Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can heal the patient with food.”
So obviously there is a historical case for eating ourselves well. Walk into any health food store today and many of the herbal remedies are concentrated forms of wild plants in little pills. Rather than waiting for symptoms to occur and then reaching for these cures, it makes more sense to nourish ourselves through the seasons using wild plants and herbs in our everyday cooking. It can also taste quite delicious; much better than little capsules. I always marvel at how nature produces different plants at different times of the year to help us with exactly what we need.
After a long winter, particularly this year, the body needs a good boost and that is why nettles are at their peak around this time. Wild stinging nettle is a wonderfully nutritional plant. It is rich in chlorophyll, calcium, silicon, chromium, magnesium, zinc, and potassium. It contains vitamins A, C, D, and E, along with the minerals sodium, copper, and iron. It’s very high in protein and traditionally it has been used as a spring tonic. Past generations always capitalised on what nature had to offer but our ‘know it all’, prepackaged, convenience mentality has long since forgotten such benefits. Hopefully this generation will re-discover what our ancestors have known all along. We also benefit from the exercise and fun elicited from the simple act of going out picking and foraging for food. At this time of year you never know what else you might find including several varieties of wild garlic and flowering wild fruit trees.
So as we are currently in nettle season I can’t encourage you enough to go out and grab some, but don’t forget your gloves. Possibly the reason we have such poor associations with nettles is the nasty encounters we all remember from childhood. There was the joy of running through a field in the sunshine only to have your bare ankles unexpectedly bitten by a stinging nettle. I seem to remember it burning for hours afterwards. These days I actively go out looking for nettles to harvest instead of trying to avoid them.
While we mainly associate nettles with liquid foods such as nettle tea or nettle soup, effectively it is a green and can be used just like any other green; spinach, cabbage or kale. Nettles can be substituted for any of the above in recipes you may already have for lasagne, quiche, stew or even pesto. A simple minute steak with some warm wilted nettles and a little salad is one of the best and quick suppers available. 
Nettles are excellent for the blood system; detoxifying and removing unwanted impurities. They help with lowering blood sugar, improving digestion, relieving pain and lowering high blood pressure. They enhance the operation of the circulatory, immune, endocrine, nervous, and urinary systems thereby reducing fatigue and exhaustion. It is said to be a particularly good source of iron and calcium for pregnancy. And, the one we all love, nettles are calorie free and said to be an aid to weight loss
Okay, so I have convinced you of the benefits but what about the taste? Quite delicious, I can assure you and now to the harvesting and getting your little gloved hands on some. I can’t stress enough that now is the time. The nettles are best harvested at this time of year before flowering and can be easily dried for use later in the year. The stems, leaves, flowers and roots of the nettle plant all have powerful medicinal properties so take the whole lot.
Nettle tea couldn’t be easier and doesn’t require any milk or sugar. Use about 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh nettles to each cup of boiling water. (For God’s sake remember to continue wearing your gloves when handling and chopping the fresh nettles, but cooking and heating will remove the sting.) Leave it to infuse for five to 10 minutes before straining and enjoy. And just for fun below is a recipe for nettle soup. However, it must be pointed out that the cream in the soup cancels out the calorie free status of the nettles, but then again who’s counting when a soup this nutritious tastes so good.
This post was written by me, Pat Whelan, owner of James Whelan Butchers and a passionate advocate of local artisan food. My family have been producing quality Irish Angus beef for generations using a traditional dry aging process. This tradition is one that I continue to practice at our abattoir on our family farm in Garrentemple, Clonmel. These posts aim to impart some of the wisdom to readers and help them get the best out of the meat they eat! Our meat is available online here! I welcome your feedback to [email protected]
We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin. Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from James Whelan Butchers
Tags: detox, foodie articles, Foraging, Health Benefits, improving digestion, James Whelan Butchers, lowering blood pressure, Nettles, Pat Whelan, relieving pain
