The image, above, shows the full white clover plant(Trifolium repens), left. Also shown is a close-up of
the leaves and flowers, right..
| Common Name: White Clover |
| Scientific Name: Trifolium repens |
| Other Names: Dutch Clover, Purple Dutch Clover, Shamrock |
| Family: Fabaceae |
| Range: Europe, including Britain, from Norwat south and east to N. Africa, north and western Asia. |
Physical Characteristics
Trifolium repens is a hardy, evergreen, Perennial plant, growing to 10m (4 in) by 1m (3 ft 3 in) in size. It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. Unless there is extreme frost, the plant is in leaf year round and it is in flowers from June to September and seeds ripen from July to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by bees. This plant is an excellent fixer of nitrogen.
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| Edible Parts: Leaf Stems (Petioles), Leaves, Roots, Flowers |
 Edibility Rating: 3 
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 Known Hazards: Though never reported in Britain, this plant has been known to cause problems for grazin animals (this may be an effect of the climate in which the plant grows). The species is also polymorphic for cyanogenic glycosides, with the leaves and flowers of certain plants in cyanogenic phenotypes containing a glycoside that releases cyanide after interaction with the enzyme, linamarase.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to White Clover along with all the White Clover containing recipes presented on this site, with 6 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 White Clover as a major wild food ingredient.
White Clover, Trifolium repens, is a low-growing herbaceous perennial plant of the Fabaceae (leguminous plant) family. The plant is easily distinguished by its soft three-lobed leaves which often have a white circle near the lobes' bases. They produce heads of whitish flowers, often with a tinge of pink or cream. The heads are generally 1.5-2 cm wide, and are at the end of 7 cm peduncles or flower stalks. Clover stems can grow as much as 18cm a year and will root at the nodes, yielding dense mats.
It is commonly included in meadow grass seeds and forms an excellent forage crop for livestock. However, clover flowers also make an excellent (and colourful) addition to salads. The leaves are also edible (and have a pea-like flavour) but are not easily digested raw. But if boiled for 5–10 minutes they make an interesting vegetable. Dried flower heads and seedpods can also be ground into a flour.
If the young leaves are harvested before the plant comes into flower they make an interesting addition to salads and soups. The leaves can also be cooked as a potherb or as a vegetable (like spinach). The young flowers can also be used as an addition or an attractive garnish to salads. The root when scrubbed can be cooked as a vegetable.
The leaves, when dried and ground to a powder can be used in baking, where they impart a vanilla-like flavour. Dried flower heads make when infused in boiling water make a sweet, floral, tisane. The dried flowers and dried seed pods can be ground and uses as a flour substitute or flour adulterant. The leaf powder or flower powder can also be used as a spice for sprinkling over boiled rice or couscous.
[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 White Clover as a major wild food ingredient.
White Clover, Trifolium repens, is a low-growing herbaceous perennial plant of the Fabaceae (leguminous plant) family. The plant is easily distinguished by its soft three-lobed leaves which often have a white circle near the lobes' bases. They produce heads of whitish flowers, often with a tinge of pink or cream. The heads are generally 1.5-2 cm wide, and are at the end of 7 cm peduncles or flower stalks. Clover stems can grow as much as 18cm a year and will root at the nodes, yielding dense mats.
It is commonly included in meadow grass seeds and forms an excellent forage crop for livestock. However, clover flowers also make an excellent (and colourful) addition to salads. The leaves are also edible (and have a pea-like flavour) but are not easily digested raw. But if boiled for 5–10 minutes they make an interesting vegetable. Dried flower heads and seedpods can also be ground into a flour.
If the young leaves are harvested before the plant comes into flower they make an interesting addition to salads and soups. The leaves can also be cooked as a potherb or as a vegetable (like spinach). The young flowers can also be used as an addition or an attractive garnish to salads. The root when scrubbed can be cooked as a vegetable.
The leaves, when dried and ground to a powder can be used in baking, where they impart a vanilla-like flavour. Dried flower heads make when infused in boiling water make a sweet, floral, tisane. The dried flowers and dried seed pods can be ground and uses as a flour substitute or flour adulterant. The leaf powder or flower powder can also be used as a spice for sprinkling over boiled rice or couscous.
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 White Clover recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 6 recipes in total:
Page 1 of 1
| Crème Brûlée au Mélilot (White Clover Crème Brûlée) Origin: France | Edible Flower Salt Origin: Britain | Homesteaders Honey Origin: American |
| Dried White Clover Origin: Britain | Goosegrass and Wild Greens Soup Origin: Britain | Staghorn Sumac Za'atar Origin: America |
Page 1 of 1