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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Violets

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Common edible violets

Violet greens can be a good addition to your cooking blend.

Common violets, (Viola odorata), are a great, unassuming edible spring wild flower, but they have a lot more use than in a bouquet or as something to enjoy on a trail: you can eat them too.

For me, foraging for violets is something I do in the spring, along with sochan, nettles, ramp leaves. They’re easy to identify, don’t really have any look-alikes to be worried about, and can be found just about everywhere, but generally I find violets grow in areas of partial shade, with rich soil.

wild edible violets

Young greens.

I’ll save you a little reading here and tell you that while, sure, both violet leaves and flowers are edible, but the part of the plant you really want to get to know are the heart-shaped leaves, which you can cook like any other leafy green. 

Different species and colors 

Violets can come in a wide variety of colors. I’ve eaten the greens and flowers of every one and never had any issues. The purple flowers are the most common I see. 

Wild edible violets

Wild edible violets

 

There’s a whole slew of different colors you can collect, but the main wild one I see is purple. Some sources will say that yellow or white species are inedible.

Wild edible violets

I haven’t had any problem eating any of the species pictured here (as well as yellow species), tolerances can vary though, so I suggest sampling some of the other colors than the common blue violet in small amounts to make sure they sit well with you. 

wild edible violets

Tell tale heart shaped leaves, at a perfect stage for eating.

Harvesting 

Violets are going to be at their best when they’re young, like just about everything else. You can definitely eat them as the season moves on, but they start to get tough fast. Cooking or blanching older leaves is a good treatment, or making pureed or finely chopped leaves into soups. 

Cooking  

The only thing to know culinarily speaking about violets, from my opinion, is that they can be tough. They’re not so tough that they aren’t good to eat, when very young they’re excellent, but they get chewier faster than many other greens, from my experience.

Japanese violet greens salad with hickory nuts

Japanese style gomae made with violet greens is excellent.

Given that, most of the time when I collect violet greens, they’re going to be cooked, but when they’re very young I might put them in a salad.

Even young, the leaves are a little textural, but mixed in with some other wilting greens, and maybe a little lard or bacon fat, no one will be the wiser, and you can feel good about serving a healthy green that most people only appreciate with their eyes.

A wild substitute for spinach, kinda

Lots of comparisons get made between wild cooked greens and spinach, plantain and nettles for example, and to an extent I can agree with nettles (I don’t care for plantain leaves). Violets are another story.

After cooking, young violet leaves can get quite tender and soft. They’re one of the best wild approximations to spinach I’ve had. Like plants in the Malvaceae, they’ll be a bit slippery after cooking (for clarity, violets are in Violaceae).

Mix with other greens

Another tip for success here is knowing that the smooth, silky texture of cooked violets that I, and many people around the world that eat Malvaceae and similar plants enjoy may not be for everyone. To get around the texture, if you find it an issue for you, or eaters at your house, try cooking them in combination with other greens or pureeing them into a soup. 

Violets also lose a lot of volume compared to other greens too, so making a blend of greens that’s, say, half lambs quarters and half violets, of half nettles and violets can be a great compromise and a good way to sneak a new green into people’s diets. 

Flowers 

As far as edible flowers go, they have a great smell, but, like most flowers, they’re going to wilt pretty fast, and have a short shelf life.

There are methods for preserving them to enjoy throughout the year, the most popular being making violet syrup, or candying by dipping in beaten egg white, dipping in sugar and dehydrating.

Candied, or very fresh, the make a great garnish for cakes and sweets for special occasions. Mostly I just eat the greens. 

wild edible violets

Violet Stem Sensitivity 

Like a number of wild foods, lily shoots for example, some parts of the plant can cause a mild reaction with some people.

While I was eating a large amount of these raw, I found, that with violet stems in particular, I’m one of those people. I can eat violet leaves raw in salad as much as I like, but eating stems (which are tough anyway) made my throat hot and uncomfortable, a mild sensation that lasted for about 30 minutes.

I assume more people will have a sensitivity like this, but considering the fact that violet stems are not very appealing raw, I don’t see much to worry about with them. Cooked I can eat the stems just fine. This could be due to the amount of saponins in the stems, but I’m speculating a bit there. 

Japanese violet greens salad with hickory nuts
Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Violet Greens Gomae (Japanese Violet Salad)

A recipe for Japanese-inspired violet salad with a dressing of nuts, seeds, flavorful oil, maple syrup and soy sauce.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time1 min
Course: Appetizer, Salad
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: Gomae, Violet greens
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 2-3 tablespoons nuts or seeds pumpkinseeds, sesame seeds, etc (refer to my suggestions in the post)
  • 1 tablespoon soy or equivalent
  • 1 tablespoon oil from the same nuts
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 8 ounces fresh violet greens with minimal amounts of stem

Instructions

  • Blanch the greens in boiling salted water until just tender, then shock in an ice bath and squeeze dry. Alternately, you can steam them until they're tender and taste good to you.
  • Toast the nuts, then grind to a paste in a mortar and pestle, and stir in the remaining ingredients.
  • Toss well with the greens, double check the seasoning, adjust as you see fit for salt and sugar, and serve, cool or at room temperature.

Related

Previous Post: « Asparagus and Fiddleheads with Shaved Dryad Saddle
Next Post: Sochan »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jan Newton

    July 13, 2018 at 7:17 pm

    Hi. I love violets. I made a violet with smoked gouda and Bosc pear salad that was really good and got featured in home and garden section of the Daily Press newspaper in Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Newport News, Williamsburg, VA Beach area). The recipe is here. Please feel free to share. I have a lovely photo, if you would like to use it.

    Violet, Smoked Gouda and Pear Salad
    Violet Leaves (raw, no stems)
    Smoked Gouda Cheese, cut into bite-sized slices or chunks
    Bosc Pears, cored, and sliced into wedges (peeling optional)
    Violet Flowers
    Clear Italian or Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

    Place violet leaves on a plate and alternate chunks of gouda with pear wedges in a random design or in a starburst shape coming from the middle. Place violet flowers to add color and slight Iceberg lettuce taste to the salad. Dress with clear Italian or Raspberry Vinaigrette . Voila, a gourmet salad!

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      July 14, 2018 at 2:17 pm

      Sounds like a great salad Jan. 🙂

      Reply
  2. eub

    August 4, 2018 at 12:20 am

    I’m betting it’s calcium oxalate crystals in the stems. Do you get it with raw mature chard too?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      August 4, 2018 at 8:27 am

      I do not get it from chard. I do get the same thing from raw daylily pods sometimes. Also with some marigold species.

      Reply
  3. Kelsey

    April 22, 2021 at 9:33 am

    5 stars
    I’ve read on multiple sources that only the leaves and flowers are edible, so having a reaction to the stems isn’t surprising. I hope you’re having a beautiful day though! The recipe sounds good by the way. 👍

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      April 22, 2021 at 9:38 am

      The sensitivity I have only applies to the stems in their raw state, and I’d assume that would be the case with most people as these are in the Malvaceae, and every malva I know is edible. Cooked, their fine, albeit a bit tough.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 40+ Edible Flowers (and How to Use Them) says:
    May 21, 2019 at 1:51 pm

    […] used to decorate cakes and cookies.  The greens are also edible, and here’s a good guide to foraging and using wild violets including both the edible flowers and fresh violet greens.    Beyond that, here are a few more […]

    Reply
  2. Foraging For Wild Edibles All Year Round says:
    November 16, 2020 at 3:39 am

    […] to be confused with white violets—which are inedible and can cause serious medical issues— purple violets are not only edible, they are also a great addition to wild salads. Its leaves are edible, and its […]

    Reply
  3. ???? Find a Guide – A&C Accounting And Tax Services – Top Quality Accounting, Bookkeeping, Payroll And Tax Services- Oakland, CA says:
    November 29, 2020 at 10:12 pm

    […] are inedible and can cause serious medical issues— purple violets are not only edible, they […]

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Alan Bergo
Oeufs de Gaulle is a classic morel recipe Jacques Oeufs de Gaulle is a classic morel recipe Jacques Pepin used to make for French president Charles de Gaulle. 

You bake eggs in a ramekin with shrimp topped with creamy morel sauce and eat with toast points. 

Makes for a really special brunch or breakfast. Recipe’s on my site, but it’s even better to watch Jacques make it on you tube. 

#jacquespepin #morels #shrimp #morilles #brunchtime
Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each instead of the pound. 

Good day today, although my Twin Cities spots seem a full two weeks behind from the late spring. 2 hours south they were almost all mature. 

76 for me and 152 for the group. Check your spots, and good luck! 

#morels #murkels #mollymoochers #drylandfish #spongemushroom #theprecious
The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natu The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natural secretion of water I typically see with plants. 

I understand it as an indicator that the mushrooms are growing rapidly, and a byproduct of their metabolism speeding up. If you have some clarifications, chime in. 

Most people know it from Hydnellum 
peckii-another polypore. I’ve never seen it on pheasant backs before.

Morels are coming soon too. Mine were 1 inch tall yesterday in the Twin Cities. 

#guttation #mushroomhunting #cerioporussquamosus #pheasantback #naturesbeauty
Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a grocery store. 

#groceryshopping #sochan #rudbeckialaciniata #foraging
Italian wild food traditions are some of my favori Italian wild food traditions are some of my favorite. 

Case in point: preboggion, a mixture of wild plants, that, depending on the reference, should be made with 5-23 individual plants. 

Here’s a few mixtures I’ve made this spring, along with a reference from the Oxford companion to Italian food. 

The mixture should include some bitter greens (typically assorted asters) but the most important plant is probably borage. 

Making your own version is a good excercise. Here they’re wilted with garlic and oil, but there’s a bunch of traditional recipes the mixture is used in. 

Can you believe this got cut from my book?!

#preboggion #preboggiun #foraging #traditionalfoods
Oh the things I get in the mail. This is my kind Oh the things I get in the mail. 

This is my kind of tip though: a handmade buckskin bag with a note and a handful of bleached snapping turtle claws. 😁😂 

Sent in by Leslie, a reader. 

Smells like woodsmoke and the cat quickly claimed it as her new bed. 

#buckskin #mailsurprise #turtleclaws #thisimylife #cathouse
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