The image, above, shows the full Common Scurvy-grass plant(Cochlearia officinalis), in its upright form and whilst
in full flower, top right. Also shown are the prostrate flowering
forms of the plant, bottom left and bottom right. The final
image, top left shows the young plant's edible leaves..
| Common Name: Common Scurvy-grass |
| Scientific Name: Cochlearia officinalis |
| Other Names: scurvy grass, scurvy-grass, spoonwort and scruvygrass |
| Family: Cruciferae |
| Range: Coastal and mountainous regions of western, northern and central Europe, including Britain. |
Physical Characteristics
Cochlearia officinalis is a hardy Biennial/Perennial plant, growing to 30cm (1 ft) by 20cm (8 in) in size. It is hardy to zone 3 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers between May and August and the seeds ripen from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by bees, flies and beetles. The plant is also self-pollinated and is noted as an insect attractant.
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| Edible Parts: Leaves |
 Edibility Rating: 2 
|
 Known Hazards: None Known.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Common Scurvy-grass along with all the Common Scurvy-grass containing recipes presented on this site, with 3 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Common Scurvy-grass as a major wild food ingredient.
Common Scurvy-grass Cochlearia officinalis (also known as scurvy grass, spoonwort and scruvygrass) is a member of a genus of about 30 species of annual and perennial herbs in the Brassicaceae (cabbage) family. They are widely distributed in both arctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and most are commonly found found in coastal regions, on cliff-tops and salt marshes where their high tolerance of salt enables them to avoid competition from larger, but less salt-tolerant plants.
In Britain, by far the commonest and most well known species is Cochlearia officinalis (Common Scurvy-grass) which grows abundantly on coastal cliffs, rocks and salt marshes. The plant itself tastes rather bitter, but it has very high levels of vitamin C. As a result it was used as a cure for, and as a preventative against, scurvy. Dried bundles or scurvy-grass and distilled extracts would be taken on long sea voyages to combat scurvy. In addition, it was popular, and commonly used, as scurvy-grass drinks and as an ingredient in sandwiches through to the middle of the 19th century when the ready availability of citrus fruit made the use of this plant redundant. It is a close relative of horseradish and the young leaves have a slightly peppery taste and as a result these can be substituted for watercress in salads. They are acrid in taste however, and are best used in small amounts. They are chiefly valued for their high vitamin C content.
The value of this plant as food, apart from a vitamin C supplement, seems to depend greatly on personal taste. Most people dislike the flavour (I have heard it described as 'acrid and tarry'). I seem to be in the minority who find the leaves palatable — to me they are sharp and slightly citrusy with a flavour and pungency reminiscent of wasabi or horseradish but with a slight acrid after-taste. If you like wasabi, then young scurvy grass leaves make an interesting fresh nibble for any forager. I find it works well shredded and added sparingly to fried rice. Young leaves are also good added to sushi rolls.
Though best used fresh, in the past sailors did use to harvest the plant in late spring and early summer before drying for later use. Dried, it can be crumbled into soups and stews to improve the vitamin C content of the food and to add a little pungency.
As well as the leaves, the flowers, green seed cases (siliques), and seeds are edible. The seeds make an acceptable substitute for mustard and the siliques can be used instead of radish pods.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Common Scurvy-grass as a major wild food ingredient.
Common Scurvy-grass Cochlearia officinalis (also known as scurvy grass, spoonwort and scruvygrass) is a member of a genus of about 30 species of annual and perennial herbs in the Brassicaceae (cabbage) family. They are widely distributed in both arctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and most are commonly found found in coastal regions, on cliff-tops and salt marshes where their high tolerance of salt enables them to avoid competition from larger, but less salt-tolerant plants.
In Britain, by far the commonest and most well known species is Cochlearia officinalis (Common Scurvy-grass) which grows abundantly on coastal cliffs, rocks and salt marshes. The plant itself tastes rather bitter, but it has very high levels of vitamin C. As a result it was used as a cure for, and as a preventative against, scurvy. Dried bundles or scurvy-grass and distilled extracts would be taken on long sea voyages to combat scurvy. In addition, it was popular, and commonly used, as scurvy-grass drinks and as an ingredient in sandwiches through to the middle of the 19th century when the ready availability of citrus fruit made the use of this plant redundant. It is a close relative of horseradish and the young leaves have a slightly peppery taste and as a result these can be substituted for watercress in salads. They are acrid in taste however, and are best used in small amounts. They are chiefly valued for their high vitamin C content.
The value of this plant as food, apart from a vitamin C supplement, seems to depend greatly on personal taste. Most people dislike the flavour (I have heard it described as 'acrid and tarry'). I seem to be in the minority who find the leaves palatable — to me they are sharp and slightly citrusy with a flavour and pungency reminiscent of wasabi or horseradish but with a slight acrid after-taste. If you like wasabi, then young scurvy grass leaves make an interesting fresh nibble for any forager. I find it works well shredded and added sparingly to fried rice. Young leaves are also good added to sushi rolls.
Though best used fresh, in the past sailors did use to harvest the plant in late spring and early summer before drying for later use. Dried, it can be crumbled into soups and stews to improve the vitamin C content of the food and to add a little pungency.
As well as the leaves, the flowers, green seed cases (siliques), and seeds are edible. The seeds make an acceptable substitute for mustard and the siliques can be used instead of radish pods.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Common Scurvy-grass recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 3 recipes in total:
Page 1 of 1
| Herby Millet Rings Origin: African Fusion | Scurvy Grass and Rice Origin: Britain | Scurvy Grass Salt Origin: Britain |
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