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eating samphire

Submitted by anypuddle on Fri, 2012-09-07 15:54

Hi all,  seen samphire on a few cooking shows, they call it sea asparagus Yum!,  so ive seen stuff that looks pretty much the same growing down mandurah, i presume its protected as a native plant etc. But anyone tried it?

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bradzino

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Date Joined: 27/06/12

Lettuce

Fri, 2012-09-07 17:08

Normally just go for the greens at Coles mate!

Versus

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Date Joined: 06/03/09

Hey I've wondered this before

Fri, 2012-09-07 17:26

Hey I've wondered this before actually, a little googling and i found this;

"Samphire comes into season on Kangaroo Island in November. It is currently available from the Riverland district, South Australia, although no one is retailing this interesting plant in Queensland. The problems with it are: not many people know how to use it or, indeed, what it is. It's highly perishable with a life of only a few days and is from the other end of Australia, so logistics are problematic.

Marsh samphire (also known as glasswort) is regarded as native vegetation. It grows in the salty flats near the sea and is best in summer when the leaves are more fleshy. Rock samphire grows on the rocks and shingles around cliffs.

Both species are abundant in the UK but in many parts of southern and southeastern Australia, samphire is a threatened species. This is why few outlets are licensed to supply it.

 
The flavour of marsh samphire is often likened to asparagus and the recommended method of cooking and serving is similar – blanched in salted, boiled water and served with butter."
 
Article is from Queensland but I assume what they mention as South Aus will be same in WA. Also this;
 
"Samphires are common worldwide, and in some countries have been traditionally eaten either pickled or boiled. They have also been burned and used in the manufacture of glass (Glasswort). In Australia seeds of samphires of the genus Tecticornia are still harvested and eaten by Aboriginal people, made into a type of cake. In the Goldfields region this food is called Kurumi and at harvest time people gathered for ceremonies around the clay pans where these plants were growing."
 
Not sure how they made glass with it, guessing maybe they contain silica? They are Halophytic, meaning they like salt, hence you generally find them around salt lakes etc. I've had a bite of some once, and indeed it was salty!

till

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Served samphire to guests a

Fri, 2012-09-07 19:18

Served samphire to guests a few times, it just needs to be fresh growth and a quick blanch.

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pale ale

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http://www.google.com.au/imgr

Sat, 2012-09-08 09:32

http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=samphire+plants+pilbara&um=1&hl=en&biw=1146&bih=515&tbm=isch&tbnid=TDJ_BCm9ts6tRM:&imgrefurl=http://fishwrecked.com/forum/no-longer-pilbarabrad&docid=Y06LM9GV6E3QpM&imgurl=http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll58/pilbaraBrad/landbased041.jpg&w=915&h=599&ei=g59KUMGZJIeQiAf14oCADA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=827&vpy=72&dur=1080&hovh=182&hovw=278&tx=177&ty=92&sig=118372352872935619517&page=2&tbnh=144&tbnw=194&start=12&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:12,i:141

 

Just googled samphire plant pilbara and got this picture  :)