
Skirret: a forgotten Tudor vegetable - pepys
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/fruitandvegetables/11421128/Skirret-the-forgotten-Tudor-vegetable.html
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lugus35
Cited as "silum" in capitulare de Villis (8th century).

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulare_de_villis](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulare_de_villis)

~~~
hga
And here's the article on it:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sium_sisarum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sium_sisarum)

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rwmj
There are loads of interesting fruit and veg not available in most
supermarkets. I'm growing: medlars, perilla, quince, kohlrabi, sloes,
rosehips, wasabi, horseradish, kinkan, yuzu, naranjilla, damsons ... In fact
the reason to have a veg patch is to be able to source these ingredients.

~~~
davidw
> wasabi

I thought that was supposed to be pretty difficult to grow.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasabi#Cultivation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasabi#Cultivation)

I recall reading about some company trying to do so in Oregon and failing at
it, despite the climate being pretty good.

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GFK_of_xmaspast
My reading of that link is it's difficult to grow commercially, which is a
long way away from difficult to grow in your own garden.

~~~
davidw
Could be. Here's one thing in Oregon, not sure if it's what I remember, but I
don't think so because it appears to be a going concern:
[http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2011/10/real_was...](http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2011/10/real_wasabi.html)

"Mountain streambeds are the plant's natural habitat. Though some Japanese
wasabi is cultivated in soil, the highest quality product is water-grown, with
plants sprouting from gravel-laced terraces through which streams are
diverted."

Still sounds tricky compared to a lot of stuff.

~~~
pstuart
Makes it sound perfect for aquaponics.

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contingencies
I should do a veggie dive at a local market here in southwest China and show
you guys what you are missing variety wise. There are so many awesome
ingredients here it's ridiculous! All the stuff everyone else has mentioned
plus seaweed, ferns, rhizomes, various gingers, dried and fresh persimmons,
pomegranate, Buddha's hand, fresh spices you can have ground on the spot,
loads of tofus, many different types of eggs, greens and melons you've never
seen, huge amounts of fresh nuts, adzuki beans (wild here for 1000s of years),
marijuana seeds (wild here also), dozens of types of fresh rice and wheat-
based noodles, at least a handful of types of mushrooms year-round and tens
more in wild 'shroom season, fresh bamboo shoots, various bean pastes and
sauces, etc. Mmm. Hungry. Must go eat.

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SixSigma
There are over 2000 known edible land plants.

So everyone is missing out everywhere

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contingencies
A meaningless statement. Obviously we are dealing with relative diversity, not
absolute. Western supermarkets in my experience (US, UK, continental Europe,
Australia, New Zealand) are all very poor in diversity compared to markets in
this particular area of China. Also, mushrooms are not classed as plants and
this area has the largest diversity globally.

~~~
anexprogrammer
The power of the supermarkets seems to have been the main driver of this.
Unless it's available globally in enough bulk to have permanent stock they
just won't carry something any more.

Most of my favourite varieties of fruit and veg from less than 20 years ago
are simply not available any more in supermarkets. I can remember regional
variations and seasonality, even in Tesco. Now for apples it's Golden
Tasteless, Braeburn and a few Gala and Cox if you're lucky.

We all lost something significant (taste) when they started caring more for
supply chains than customers. Of course it's our own fault for preferring to
get all groceries in one store.

~~~
LeifCarrotson
Red "Delicious" if you're unlucky. Chosen for their shelf life, thick skin,
and red color, and by the marketing spend of the organizations behind it.
Chosen lastly (if at all) for their taste.

[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2005/08...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2005/08/04/AR2005080402194.html)
[http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/the-
evil-r...](http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/the-evil-reign-
of-the-red-delicious/379892/)

~~~
anexprogrammer
_...paid Hiatt for the rights, and then renamed the seedling the Delicious as
a marketing ploy._

Says it all really.

If you have to tell us it's delicious, it isn't. Much like the GDR and
democratic.

Meanwhile hundreds of regional varieties are being pushed to extinction.

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xfactor973
I haven't had much trouble growing skirret. It sprouts well from seed with a
little bottom heat. I haven't tasted the roots yet. I'm hoping they're as good
as I've read about

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Angostura
look a bit fiddly to prepare to me - try to peel them like a parsnip and there
wouldn't be much left.

~~~
justincormack
I have cooked salsify which looks similar. It is a bit annoying to prep.

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freshyill
This reminds me of the paw paw. Apparently they grow wild near where I live. I
keep telling myself that this will be the year I go find some.

[http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2011/09/29/140894570/the...](http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2011/09/29/140894570/the-
pawpaw-foraging-for-americas-forgotten-fruit)

~~~
jessaustin
I can definitely recommend the pawpaw. It's like pudding in a fruit. I've
harvested from a remotely-located patch for years, but getting to that patch
in late August/early September has been a challenge the last couple of years.
I try to tell myself that it's okay to leave them for the bears, but no, screw
the bears; they can eat grass or roots or something.

~~~
contingencies
Pawpaw with lime juice is amazingly tasty and very good for your liver,
apparently.

~~~
jessaustin
We're talking about the temperate fruit pawpaw, not the tropical fruit papaya
which is commonly called "paw-paw".

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contingencies
Woah, America has its own pawpaw, that's nuts :)

I think the global use for the other fruit is far more dominant, you guys
should consider switching to using the term 'Asimina'. Wikipedia says some
people call it 'prairie banana', too. I've eaten that somewhere but can't
remember where. Not bad, but not as nice as
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annona_squamosa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annona_squamosa)
which we get here also.

~~~
jessaustin
I haven't heard "paw-paw" in place of "papaya" outside of Asia, so I wouldn't
call that global. We're not going to change the lyrics of all our old pawpaw-
celebrating folk songs just to accommodate someone else's regional dialect.
b^)

~~~
contingencies
It's like metric vs. imperial. I think you'll find that Asia, Australia, New
Zealand, UK all use pawpaw for one fruit.

