Welcome to the Wild Foods Guide Page for: Purple Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius)

Wild Food Guide For: Purple Salsify



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Mushrooms and Fungi

Purple Salsify


This is the description page for Purple Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the wild foodstuff: Purple Salsify.

purple salsify

Purple Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius), also known as Oyster Plant, Vegetable Oyster, Goatsbeard or Salsify and Common Salsify. It is a common wildflower, originally native to the Mediterranean but now introduced to northern Europe, North America and southern Africa. It has grass-like leave and grows to about 60cm high The flower head is about 5cm across, and each is surrounded by green bracts which are longer than the petals.

The roots (and the young shoots) of purple salsify are used as a vegetable, and historically the plant was cultivated for that purpose; it is mentioned by classical authors such as Pliny the Elder. However in modern times it has tended to be replaced by Spanish Salsify or Black Salsify as a cultivated crop. The plant's alternate names derive from the flavour of the root which is said to taste rather like oysters. The roots of young plants can be grated for inclusion in salads, but older roots are better cooked, and they are usually used in soups or stews. The flowering shoots are also edible and can be used like asparagus, either raw or cooked. The flowers also make a colorful addition to a salad and the sprouting seeds an also be used in salads or as a topping to sandwiches.

The whole herb possesses a pleasant taste and flavour, the green parts having a similar aromatic character to the flowers, leading to the use of the plant to strew on floors to give the rooms a pleasant aroma, and its use to flavour wine and beer. In the past the root was dried, ground and used as a subsititute for flour. The plant can also be roast as a vegetable.


Recipes Utilizing Purple Salsify

Baked Salsify
Salsify with Cheese
Cream of Salsify Soup
Stewed Salsify
Oven-roasted Salsify Soup
Salsify, Prosciutto and Parmesan in a Filo Packet




Welcome to the Celtnet guide to wild foods. As this recipe site has grown it has become obvious that to allow people to replicate some of the more ancient recipes on this site (especially from the Ancient, Roman and Medieval periods) it is necessary to list modern alternatives but also to produce a guide so that the curious can find the original (often wild) ingredients for themselves. These pages are an attempt at bringing all these potentially useful and often forgotten wild foods together into one place.

It is a sad fact that we have lost much of the knowledge we once had of the seasonal wild foods that we have on our own doorstep and which are not only safe to eat but which are also very tasty and fresh. This section of the site grew from the work I've done on the ancient recipes section of this site. After all, for our ancestors before farming wild foods were the only foods available. This guide therefor represents images lists and recipes for various wild foods you can gather and what you can do with them. For the most part the list contains edible plants. But I am beginning to add a new section on edible wild mushrooms and this part of the site will be expanding to include many other plants and species very soon. If you would like to know how to cook with these wild foods, then as well as having links to individual recipes on these pages you can also visit my Wild Food Recipes pages for many more (over 1000 and growing) recipe ideas.



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