Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Sweet Woodruff along with all the Sweet Woodruff containing recipes presented on this site, with 7 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 Sweet Woodruff as a major wild food ingredient.

Sweet Woodruff, Galium odoratum, (also known as Woodruff, Wild Baby's Breath, Sweetscented Bedstraw, Bedstraw and Master of the Woods [a name that probably represents a translation of the German name, Waldmeister) is a perenial member of the Rubiaceae (Madder and Coffee family) family which is native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It is an herbaceous plant, typically growing to some 30–50cm long, often lying flat on the ground or supported by other plants. The leaves are simple, lanceolate, glabrous, 2–5 cm long, and borne in whorls of 6 to 9. The small flowers (some 4–7mm in diameter produced in cymes, each white with four petals joined together at the base. The fruit are 2–4mm in diameter, produced singly, and each is covered in tiny hooked bristles which help disperse them by sticking temporarily to clothing and animal fur. This plant prefers partial to full shade in moist, rich soils. In dry summers it needs frequent irrigation. Propagation is by crown division, separation of the rooted stems, or digging up of the barely submerged perimeter stolons. It is ideal as a ground-cover or border accent in woody, acidic gardens where other shade plants fail to thrive. It is strongly scented and the smell increases on wilting and then persists on drying, and the dried plant is used in pot-pourri and as a moth deterrent.

Their characteristic smell comes from the chemical, coumarin, which at high doses can cause headaches, due to coumarin's toxicity. Indeed, very high doses of coumarin can cause vertigo, somnolence or even central paralysis and apnoea, even leading to a coma. However, it is still used in traditional cookery, especially in Germany where it is used to flavour the May wine (called 'Maiwein' or 'Maibowle' in German). It is also traditionally used in beer (Berliner Weisse), brandy, sausages, jelly, jam, a soft drink (Tarhun), ice cream, and a herbal tea with gentle sedative properties. When using woodruff to flavour dishes try only to dip the leaves in any liquid that you need to flavour as the stalks can turn the mixture bitter. In most cases, where you are just using the woodruff as a flavouring you will not consume a large quantity of coumarin, but if uncertain do not use this plant. The flowers of the plant are also eaten in salads and used as a garnish.

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