Wild vanilla extract. Yes, you read that right.
Everyone knows how indispensable vanilla is, especially chefs who buy the whole beans. It's also no secret that the price has been rising, and a pound of vanilla beans can now run over 300$ a pound, which, depending on what year you compare it to, along with inflation, can be up to ten times more than it used to be a few years ago.
This is something I dealt with first hand, ending in a couple heated discussions I had with a certain pastry chef who eventually got her purchasing privileges taken away after I got sticker shock when a pound of beans were delivered. Eventually we settled on buying a smaller amount of beans and making our own extract with brandy as a compromise.
If only I'd known then what I know now.
During the three years I spent writing and researching my book, I started working with the plant Galium triflorum and fell in love with it after having a sweet woodruff panna cotta at Heyday in Minneapolis where my friend Chef Jim Christiansen was chef/owner.
There was one thing I couldn't parse though. I don't know any suppliers, local or otherwise, that sell sweet woodruff in our area, and I've never seen it going feral, although there are probably some patches.
Luckily, Jim and I shared a line cook, so I asked her about the menu. She said Jim was picking it at a local park near the restaurant where it grey everywhere. His foraging knowledge should come as no surprise as he worked at Noma with Rene Redzepi.
I thought I knew most of the common wild plants around the metro worth picking, but I'd never heard of anyone harvesting sweet woodruff (which I knew the plant couldn't be). So I did some digging. The best thing I could come up with was that the plant in question was sweet scented galium/Galium triflorum.
I went to a couple parks during the summer, and, knowing sweet woodruff was a type of cleaver/bedstraw, I gathered a few different ones I found and brought them home. To me, the plants smelled like nothing more than grass clippings, but I was determined to crack the code, so I took them anyway.
I brought the tangle of cleavers back to my apartment, put some in the dehydrator as Jim had told me the plant dries well when I asked him about it, and went about another project. About twenty minutes later, a smell hit my nose-the sort of scene in a cartoon where spectral white fingers drag the character by their nose.
The aroma was incredible, a sort of combination of fresh cut grass mixed with vanilla. I knew I'd found the plant. It remains one of the strongest aromas from a wild plant I've experienced, and the entire top floor of my apartment building smelled like vanilla for a solid 24 hours after drying the grocery bag I'd picked.
Coumarin
Why does a dried weed smell like vanilla? In short, the reason sweet galium smells like vanilla is because it contains coumarin, which you also may have heard of being used as a pharmaceutical drug. I'm not going to cover the differences between natural coumarin and its related, synthetic blood thinners derived from it here, or address claims people might make about cow deaths from eating moldy clover.
Monica Wilde, a talented forager I know in passing from West Lothian, Scotland, breaks down the safety of sweet woodruff (which is interchangeable with sweet galium for all culinary purposes) in her post on the plant. I recommend taking a look at that if you're curious about it's safety. While I think it could be possible to have a medicinal effect from consuming products made from the plant at home, I think it's extremely unluckily considering how I generally use it in cooking, which is in extremely small amounts as you would a spice, like, say, vanilla or cinnamon, the latter of which also contains coumarin.
What's fascinating to me, is that ever since 1954, coumarin-containing products in the United States have been illegal (see the plight of the illustrious tonka bean). Sweet galium and sweet woodruff, to my knowledge, are currently not illegal, and not regulated at all, probably because they haven't been used enough to get noticed. Once the plant takes off and gets used (if it ever does) I think it's likely the plant would become illegal until the ban is lifted. The nice part about being a forager though, is that restaurant problems aren't your problems.
Before the ban, culinary coumarin was used to flavor all kinds of things from cream soda to vanillin for vanilla extract (it still is in Mexico) If people were dying from eating whipped cream scented with small amounts of culinary coumarin, I think we'd have seen some be examples by now, although that didn't stop the FDA from confiscating tonka beans from the restaurant Alinea in 2006.
As of this writing, one of my friends in the drink world is now producing a vanilla extract from Galium triflorum he's planning to use in multiple food concepts in Minneapolis (see above). I've also been contacted by two international liquor buyers about sourcing the plant for commercial use, but I'm not interested in selling bags of herbs, so if they want it, they're going to have to forage some themselves.
The extract
So, Galium triflorum can really be a substitute for not one, but two precious ingredients in both vanilla and tonka bean. To use it to flavor things I make it into an extract. Making the extract is really simple, and there's more than one way you can go about doing it. In my book, I describe the most concentrated extract possible: a double extraction where you pack a jar full of dried sweet galium, cover it with vodka, wait a while, discard the galium, replace it with fresh, dried leaves, wait a while longer, then strain heat in a bain marie, and bottle.
It's so easy a recipe is hardly necessary. But, if you were to just take some fresh leaves and pack them in a jar, or just a single round of dried leaves, and leave them for a month or so, it will make a decent extract too. As a bonus, I've never had any problems with over-infusing, so if you forget about a jar it's ok. The finished extract can be used in most dishes as a 1:1 substitute for vanilla extract, although if you want it to be a main flavor it's good to use it in simple things like whipped cream, mousse, or panna cotta.
Making an extract with other plants
After my book released a few people reached out and mentioned they do the same thing with other plants, one person mentioned a spicebush extract, and another one made from sweetfern leaves. I haven't tried those yet.
More Foraged Infusions
- Sweet-Scented Galium: A Wild Vanilla Substitute
- Rowanberry Liquor
- Mushroom Vodka
- Cassis: The Blackcurrant Liqueur
- Nocino Black Walnut Liqueur
Further Reading
The Guardian: Bison Grass Vodka
Foraged Vanilla Extract
Equipment
- 1 Pint mason jar
Ingredients
- Dried galium triflorum or sweet woodruff leaves Enough to pack two quart mason jars full
- Vodka Enough to cover the leaves
Instructions
- Pack the jar with dried galium leaves, pressing them down a bit to really get them in there.
- Cover the leaves with vodka, screw on a lid, and allow to rest in a cold dark place for at least two weeks. Remove the leaves, squeezing them dry, strain the liquid and store in the refrigerator for the best flavor, although it can also be stored at room temperature.
- For a stronger infusion, remove the leaves after 30 days, squeezing them dry to get as much as possible, then add more dried galium leaves back to the jar until they're submerged, pressing them down firmly. Allow the jar to rest another two weeks, or longer, then repeat the straining process and store until needed.
- Use the finished extract in larger quantities than typical in baked goods (1.5-2x what you'd normally use) and roughly as a 1:1 substitution in dairy-based desserts.
Wally Wahlfeldt
Alan,
Try this link. Pretty interesting
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/aug/17/zubrowka-bison-grass-vodka-recipe?CMP=share_btn_link
Alan Bergo
Hey this is great! I'm going to link to it at the bottom of the post. Thanks for sharing.
Taylor
Just in case anyone is curious Gallium is commonly called cleavers in western herbal medicine , HerbPharm even sells it in a tincture at my local vitamin store.
Its a very mild and gentle lymphagouge , that means it acts on the lymph system stimulating it to cleanse and drain. Specifically for swollen lymph nodes in the neck or underarm.
This can be useful in clearing lingering infections, and keeping the immune system working well.
Now no claims can be made but think if the immune system (that deals with cancer ) and the lymph is cleaned out perodically (where cancer can spread) this is a great plant.
However for medicinal use the tincture ought to be made from the fresh plant
Alan Bergo
Which Gallium species are you referring to here? Asperellum? Borealis? Triflorum? Aparine?. This post is on Galium triflorum specifically. I don't endorse any health benefits or medicinal claims of anything as I'm not an expert in that area.
Dan
Thanks for sharing this idea! I used bourbon and have been using it as bitters for old fashioned cocktails. So good and a nice change from the ordinary. Thanks for the inspiration to get out there and hunt for something different!!
Alan Bergo
Thanks Dan, glad it worked for you.
John Jacobson
I just harvested and dried bunches of the plant and getting ready to make the vanilla. I see the book recommends brandy, but here you use vodka. What are the reasons for the difference?
Alan Bergo
Thanks, that's a typo. You can use either.
sean
the peru balsam your firend uses in his commercial extract also has a somewhat vanilla-y smell, but more resinous with a light cinnamon touch. i would liken the smell of the resinoid to a strong cream soda almost.
Between that and the pandan leaf i can see how he's pretty close to the vanilla extract.
p.s. you can buy peru balsam from respected essentail oil purveyors such as eden botanicals and hermitage oils
Ben
I live in Western Washington where galium triflorum is common in the mountains. The last few years, I've been making a wild foraged version of waldmeister syrup to mix with local berlinerweisse (Stoup makes a great one!). Not all galium triflorum is equally aromatic and it varies over the season, so crush some for a smell test before harvesting a bunch.
I like the idea of making an extract to make simple syrup (or other recipes) on demand. I use the waldmeister syrup sparingly, and it tends to go bad in the fridge.
Alan Bergo
Ben, I haven't made maibowle yet, on my list to try though! I can attest to the short shelf life of syrup, too.
Ben
I plan to make a batch as soon as it warms up here. This time is what we call Fake Spring. The sun sets at 7:15PM, daffodils are blooming, but it's still 45 and rainy. Lots of miner's lettuce and nettles though.
Gwentomnion
I was cleaning the skeletons from my garden yesterday, and in pulling a clump of grass to make sure it wasn't chives, I caught a stem of what I had assumed were cleavers. When I went to sniff for an onion smell of the chives, I was blown away with a strange, sweet smell. (For those interested, it was grass, and not chives).
I got an ID of Galium triflorum from its leaf structure, and was excited to read this again. I can't wait to try it! So you generally find to this plant in shade, or more sunny areas?
Alan Bergo
Both shady and sunny areas. In full I've seen the plant grow vertically in excess of 2 ft instead of prostrate as it does in the shade.
Gene
What purpose might be served by dehydrating the plant before liquifying it in the infusion. Does it simply remove water from the process or is there more to it than that. Perhaps a chemical change?
Grace
Does your friend have any of the Sweet Gallium extract pictured in the post for sale? I'd be interested if he does.
Alan Bergo
No he doesn't. He's using it in house to flavor things. I expect he'll have some for sale in the future. With how easy the plant is to harvest in quantity, I'd encourage you to make your own. The business is called 3LECHE, it's in the food building in MPLS.
Bradley Hutnik
Have you tried this or know of anyone trying Galium aparine or common cleavers?
Alan Bergo
They don't work.
Karen
Grew up eating a bright green jello flavoured with extract from sweetwoodruff ( Dr. Oetker produces commercially) that my grandmother would send from Germany. Traditionally it was served with a custard sauce.
Wilted sprigs of the plant are also used in Germany to make a traditional punch called Maibowle. Many older recipes indicate that the infusion should be done with the cut ends of the plant suspended above the solution (implying that the toxic elements are concentrated there). Most recipes also suggest the best time to harvest for optimal flavour is in early spring before flowering.
If you plant sweet woodruff ( Galium odoratum) in a home garden know it is an energetic spreader - planting in a container keeps it in check..
Karina Rosenberg
Thanks, Alan, this is going to be another fun project with wild edibles. I planted Galium odoratum as a groundcover plants under our wild viburnums. I cannot wait to try this recipe this coming spring-summer. Right now it is under 3 feet of snow.
Susan White
The lawn had a teeny gallium with tiny bluish flowers, which was really interesting to me since I'd only ever seen the cleavers and the larger woodland ones. It smelled heavenly in bloom, so if it comes back this year, I'm snagging it and trying this.
Wally Wahlfeldt
Alan,
When I was fortunate enough to go foraging with you last year, I made this same infusion with the Galium we picked. It is one of my favorite items made from a foraged plant and I use it regularly. I added this to a batch of serviceberry jam and the flavor was incredible. I’ve also added it to ice creams instead of vanilla. While is is very similar to vanilla, the grassy notes add a unique flavor that is really special. Thanks for the intro to this great ingredient!
Wally
Alan Bergo
Thanks Wally.
Alpine Jonny
I have foraged for this in some of the deepest and darkest parts of the forest where I live. It definitely likes low light and high moisture. I've used it ice cream too. It goes very nicely with a bit of lavender, making a complex and refined herbal blend.
Alan Bergo
That sounds great.
Jacqui
Brilliant! Thanks.
Do you have any Galium verum (Lady's bedstraw) growing near you? It has apparently been naturalised in the northern US. Flowers are bright yellow, have a heady scent of honey, make fantastic panna cotta and can, of course, be steeped in strong alcohol for a great aromatic snaps.
There is a lot growing near me, so I will try drying some to see what flavour profile it has dried...
I clearly need to increase my Galium repertoire. Here we eat Galium mollugo raw in salads or cooked. One CAN eat Galium aparine but it's a bit scratchy, and I have bottles and bottles of Galium verum snaps.Time to look for good patches of Galium odoratum and triflorum come spring.
Daniel
This item in your book was one of the most intriguing items to me. I’d never heard of it, though coincidentally I had been recently talking with my brother about the German affinity for putting “waldmeister” syrup in their Berliner Weiss.
That said, I was rather disappointed with what I made—a bit bitter, and not terribly vanilla tasting. I’m thinking perhaps I gathered g. Asprellum, from reading the comments. Any tips with the identifying between the two? I can’t find much of anyone else writing about gallium.
Peggy
Amazing, wonderful info! Thanks so much. I'll try this as soon as possible, using 2 jars so I can try both the quicker and the more time-consuming process of making the extract. Again--thank you!
Alan Bergo
Enjoy.
Nina
Thank you!! That is amazing information!! Another herb to become friendly with, so to speak!! Thanks again for the information.
Debbie
I do love reading all your articles, but I think you have mistaken Galium Triflorum for it's family member Galium odoratum! Please feel free to look it up! Galium odoratum was and still is, in some countries used as a food stuff, but it's family member Galium trifolium never was!
Alan Bergo
I wouldn't have put the plant in my book if I wasn't 100%. IME, only real look alike (besides G. odoratum, which I have never seen in MN) is G. asparellum, which is widespread, but doesn't have the same scent and is harmless. Sometimes I see it intermixed with G. triflorum. Compare the number of leaves on the whorls of G. triflorum in my pictures to G. odoratum and you'll see. Either way both plants are great.
Scott
Wondering if harvesting while in flower would be beneficial? We have sweet scented bedstraw here that smells heavenly every summer.
Alan Bergo
Yes, it is. As the plant gets ready to flower the smell is stronger, I can only assume it's a trick to attract pollinators. Sweet woodruff should be the same, or so I've heard. If you can find open areas, especially ones where the canopy has been removed or is absent (logged) I have found plants growing vertically instead of prostrate in lengths of multiple feet. Crazy what a little extra sun can do.
Kim M Knebel
Love this idea. Thank you for your deelightful and delicious posts!