SC - hops salad

[Philip & Susan Troy]

TG wrote:
> 
> << ... pimpernels, which are a flower of the primrose family and, I
> believe, edible? I mean, since we're already eating hops??? >>
> 
> Dear friend Tacitus Adamantius,
> 
> in 1581, hops salad is nothing new.

I wasn't specifically aware of this before now, but I'm not surprised. I
know hop shoots are eaten in a number of ways in places like Kent in
England, and in various parts of France and Germany. (I wonder what they
do with hop plants in France, which reportedly sports some of the worst
beers on earth. Of course, being framed by both England and Germany,
they would probably have that reputation no matter what they brewed.)

My point was only that if we're getting into edible flowers, which hops
essentially are (although the shoots are the part of the hop that seems
to be eaten) we might as well think in terms of the pumpernelle being a
flower as well.

BTW, I seem to recall seeing references to the term pimpernels also
being applied to a type of small bird. I guess the context of a given
recipe would make it fairly clear which one they mean. 

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com