We know that nettle is used for medicinal purposes, and we will see how to do it, but nettle can also be used in cooking, in tasty recipes. Yes indeed, deciding to eat nettles is not easy at first. This plant arouses apprehension due to its power stinging. However, as rural people or those who have a garden know, nettle is a gift of nature which allows you to prepare a wide variety of dishes, and whose flavor will surprise more than one, who will not hesitate to repeat.
Whether boiled, sautéed with walnuts or pine nuts, in juice, integrated into soups, empanadas or omelettes, nettle goes a long way. They are harvested mainly young shoots and leaveswhich appear in spring and are more delicate and tasty than the large, rougher and fibrous leaves.
In times of scarcity it has been consumed as vegetable substitutebeing a plant always at hand.
The properties of nettle, very rich in calcium
Nettle, due to its composition, is both food and medicine.
Very nutritious
One hundred grams of nettle provide 480 mg of calciumno less than 60% of daily needs. Those 100 grams also contain 57 mg of magnesium (one sixth of the daily requirements), 1.6 mg of iron and 800 micrograms of manganese.
As for the vitaminsprovitamin A, B2 and folic acid stand out, and especially vitamin K, since 100 g of nettles supply four times as much as necessary.
Health benefits
With medicinal purposes The leaves and roots are harvested, for all of which you should protect your hands with gardening gloves.
The leaves contain flavonoids (quercetol, kenferol), mucilage, organic acids (caffeic, formic, gallic) and mineral salts; stinging hairs contain histamine, serotonin, acetylcholine and formic acid; The roots, for their part, contain phytosterols, lignans, lectins and polyphenols, among other active ingredients.
The fresh nettle, recently harvested, was applied in folk medicine on the skin as a revulsive, so that the itching relieved the pain in rheumatic problems and low back pain.
The plant also shows a clear effect astringent, hemostatic and vasoconstrictorand applied in washing, scrubbing or bathing, it is indicated to stop various bleeding, such as nasal and uterine bleeding, on superficial wounds, on sores and skin ulcers, on dry eczema and in seborrheic dermatitis.
And it is attributed a preventive effect against hair losswhich is why it is used in anti-hair loss formulas to strengthen it.
Thanks to its richness in iron, it is considered a good restorative to treat anemia and weaknessand ingested it also has a slight hypoglycemic and hypotensive effect.
Its use as a plant is not negligible diuretic and purifyingsince it favors the elimination of urea and uric acid through urine. Helps combat fluid retention and edema due to insufficient venous return.
Due to its high sterol content, the root acts as an inhibitor of the 5 alpha-reductase enzyme, used to treat the most annoying symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
It also has great value as natural antihistamine and it can be used, paradoxically, in infusions to relieve hives.
How to take nettle
With a first boil, scalding them, or washing them thoroughly with cold water, they lose their stinging power and can be ingested without fear despite their stinging effect.
The fresh leaves can be taken liquefied in juices, smoothies and liqueurs.
The dried plant, in a purifying infusionas in this purifying infusion of nettle and apple. It is also sold in the form of a tincture or liquid extract, in creams or ointments, and as a dietary supplement for its calcium content.
How to prepare it in the kitchen
Many popular dishes They include nettle as the star ingredient. This is the case of rice with vegetables sautéed with nettles, mushroom and nettle scrambled eggs, nettle and young garlic omelette, nettle soup with oat flakes, cheese and nettle croquettes, vegetable lasagna with nettles and spinach or nettle quiche.
The nettle is also not missing in the haute cuisine. For example, chef Pelle Johansson, whose restaurant Ulla Winbladh in Stockholm has the Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition, grows this plant and regularly includes it as an accompaniment to some fish stews.
Precautions
The decoction of the roots can cause gastric irritation in sensitive people. If taken by diabetic patients, strict control must be maintained to avoid decompensation.
The seeds They can be very laxative if they exceed two dozen.
How to use nettle for external use
Nettle infusion can be used in washes, partial baths and mouthwashes, or in gargles for bleeding gums. In capillary friction it strengthens the scalp.
In another vein, as a final curiosity, we can also use nettle to make our own ecological fertilizer.