Hallelujah, it’s purslane time!
In June, purslane sprouts appear in the garden like magic. I’ve never planted them, but I’ve never had a summer without them.
For a plant perceived by many to be a weedy nuisance, it is especially succulent and nutritious. It is a member of the portulaca family native to north Africa all the way to southern Asia. It grows well in all kinds of soils and climates, and has been valued as a food source since ancient times. No one knows how it made it to the Americas, but I offer this possibility.
One of the first English settlers on our continent, let’s call her Betsy, scoured her neighboring woods and fields looking for purslane and came up empty. Betsy texted her sister Eugenia back in Portsmouth, “All we have to eat here are pumpkins, corn, fish and deer. If I have to eat another pheasant, I’ll rebel. Find a way to send some purslane on the next boat over. Urgent.”
So Genie called in some favors, bought the captain some grog, and by the following spring, Betsy had purslane growing among her pumpkins.
Maybe, maybe not, but one way or another, purslane made it to every corner of our nation. Thoreau wrote, “I have made a satisfactory dinner, satisfactory on several accounts, simply off a dish of purslane which I gathered in my cornfield, boiled and salted.”
It is usually a spreading, low-growing herbaceous annual. It has been valued in other cultures more than in ours. Pliny the Elder recommended wearing it around your neck to cast away evil. Greeks and Turks use it in salads and casseroles. Egyptians prefer to use it as a spinach substitute, and Aboriginal Australians use the seeds to make cake.
Its Spanish name “verdolaga” is the nickname of football clubs in South America who don green and white uniforms.
As a food source, it is richer than most plants in antioxidants, vitamin E, beta carotene plus a bunch of minerals. Its claim to fame, however, is it contains two essential omega-3 fatty acids called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Human bodies don’t produce these, so good sources are certain fish, flax or purslane. Studies show omega-3 fatty acids counteract symptoms of depression and heart disease, minimize ADHD in children, combat autoimmune diseases, improve brain functions and maybe reduce the risk of certain cancers.
Purslane is also touted to be good for liver and bone health, and it might help you sleep. One source said rub it on burns like a healing ointment. That is a boat load of good things, so thanks to Betsy and Eugenia.
According to healthline.com, “Calorie for calorie, purslane is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on earth.”
As a food, it has a tart, lemony tang with a mucilaginous texture. The stems, leaves and flower buds are edible, and early morning harvests taste extra tart. Cooked purslane becomes more mucilaginous which makes it useful as a thickener in soups and stews.
It will grow in just about any type of soil, even in arid conditions, and it prefers hot weather. It is heroic in its ability to reseed and spread. If a gardener pulls up a healthy plant and casually discards it, the throw-away might take root at more than one joint. Also, the seeds in discarded plants will continue to mature and lie in wait for another season. In fact, and this must be an Olympic record, seeds can remain viable in soil for decades!
Frost might kill this year’s purslane, but the seeds are sitting there just waiting for another June.
One important caveat for those who eat it almost every meal is purslane contains a high amount of oxalates which could be a problem if you’re prone to kidney stones. Oxalates also inhibit absorption of some minerals, so moderation is the rule. Maybe only two or three trips per week to Annabelle’s Purslane Palace on Hwy. 23.