Earthnuts |
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EARTHNUTS (Conopodium Majus) - An edible tuber common in British woodlands
The fern like leaves appear along with the Lesser Celandine in the spring. During May and July they develop umbellifer heads with white flowers not unlike Cow Parsley. According to Gerard and others the Dutch once ate them 'boiled and buttered, as we do parseneps and carrots '. The older name for Earthnuts is 'Earth Chestnuts' and this gives you a clue to their taste - a chestnut texture but with a more earthy taste.
Gerard's Herbal mentions that 'There is a Plaister made of the seeds hereof, whereof to write in this place were impertinent to our historie'....Probably witches again!. Earthnuts get a mention in Shakespeare's 'Tempest', from Caliban as he promises: "I prithee, let me bring thee where crabs grow;
And with my long nails I will dig thee pignuts".
Follow the stem under the earth using careful scraping with a twig, fingernail or knife. Eventually you will reach the pignut which is covered with a chestnut coloured skin. If you can wash the nut at this stage it avoids getting muddy fingernails while peeling. As soon as I found the one shown in the picture, an earthworm appeared and dived into the hole it left!
Maybee R. Food for Free. Fontana. 1972 |
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Here is the WHY and the HOW of reaching for a holistic lifestyle from the heart of your home. Discover for yourself the power of Mother Nature’s Gifts – a real integrated medicine working for you from your very own kitchen. Hiding in your meals, is a whole FOOD MEDICINE for health, for healing – and for fun! |
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The custom of grubbing for Earthnuts, or Pignuts is as ancient as mankind itself. Although these tasty tubers are beloved of pigs (hence the name) they are a most unusual and rewarding woodland snack and there was a time when they were a popular nibble for country children on their way to and from school. 
There's nothing like carefully digging one of these up during a walk in the woods. Do it with your fingernails. As the earthy taste hits the senses you are drawn more completely into contact with the nature around you. A true 'pomme de terre'. 
Unearthing a pignut is a delicate operation. The root disconnects from the tuber very easily, which can be several inches from where the stem appears above ground. 
. Peerage Books.1983