Arctium minus

Arctium minus

When I have tried harvesting Burdock, I found that the roots were quite woody and did not look appetizing at all. This was in May, and none of them had started sending stalks up, so I don't know if they were first or second year plants. Also these are the Lesser Burdock (Arctium minus), rather than the Greater Burdock (Arctium lappa). The Greater Burdock is larger in every way, and so its roots are larger and better than the lesser Burdock, and are sold in oriental markets as "gobo root".

Anyway, the ground was fairly rocky, so it was hard to get much root. When I tried peeling the root that I got, the root looked rather fibrous and unappetizing, but the outer part peeled away right up the stalk, revealing a central part of the shoot or stalk which looked very appetizing. This central part is similar to the core of a broccoli stalk in texture, quite smooth and crunchy. The outer part of the burdock plant peels away easily (and is reported to be bitter), leaving this core with a thin layer of fibers attacked. These fibers are not tough, and the core can be enjoyed raw, as a crunchy vegetable. It was only only very slightly bitter, and my mouth felt dryer eating some, so there must be a bit of astringency there too. After cooking, the outer layer of fibers became very soft, so I lightly scraped it to remove the rest of that and make it look cleaner. Next time, I will try cleaning the dirt off before peeling. The cooking made it softer, but did not otherwise change the taste much.

This core turns out to be the start of the stalk which grows up within a week or two. It will soon turn pithy and inedible. But before it flowers, the top foot or two of the stalk, which is still somewhat flexible, is edible. Most of the tough and fibrous outer stalk peels away easily, but there is still a layer of fibers which is difficult to remove entirely. I have eaten this core raw, and it is crunchy and good, but also slightly bitter and astringent. Cooking seems to remove most bitterness and makes the final layer of fibers easier to remove. It is tender and good tasting after boiling for 10-20 minutes. If the stalk is not young enough, it will need longer cooking, and is crunchy in a woody sort of way, still edible, but not as good tasting. If the stalk is woody or pithy, it is not good at all. The lowest parts turns pithy first, so get as much from the upper part as is edible. But if has bloomed, you are too late.

The edible section of the stem is also the thinnest section of the stem, so there amount of edible food is smaller than one would hope for from a plant that grows as large as these do. Other foragers have gotten better results from burdock than I have, but it is likely that they are working more with the Greater Burdock. Nevertheless, if I find the burdock stalks at the right stage of growth, they are easy to harvest and eat, and the plant will usually send up another stalk to replace it in a week or so.