Allotments 4 All

This is my first year on my lottie and Scorzonera is one of the things I've grown.   It may be a bit early but I've already dug some up and munched on it- it was delicious!   I will certainly be growing it again next year, how about everyone else?

Mark

I usually leave mine in the ground throughout the winter and dig them up as required. They are still putting on weight at the moment.

what are scorzonera? sound delish

I tried to dig mine up last week but couldn't (without major bed-wrecking excavations) due to the depth of the root. At least 2 and a half foot. Therefore, might not be suitable for clay soil which grips it like a vice.

I'm going to try salsify instead next year - not for the roots but for the chards...

scorzonera is also called black salsify or even vergetable oyster (scorzonera hispanica). It used to be more widely grown in England than it is nowadays.
I prefer it to salsify.
Certainly not a vegetable I would grow on heavy soil. Not only is the root fairly long but tends to snapp off when dug up.

It`s well worth growing-I suspect it is well not known because it not best suited to commercial growing?.

And scorzonera is a bit `fiddly` to peel,where salsify got the name `vegatable oyster` is beyond me-it tastes nothing like an oyster!!

Maybe not supermarket oysters, proper allotment grown oysters, well that's another matter!

The way it´s done around here:
scrape the dark rind off under a running tap with the back of a small kitchen knife.
put the rots in a bowl of slightly acidulated water - a bit of flour added- to prevent discolouring.
then cook.boil, steam, fry even.
In Germany it used to be grown a lot. It used to be highly prized. Now you only see it occasionally in posh shops.Too much work to prepare...
What little there is comes from Belgium.
There are only a few varieties to be had as seeds. I prefer `Meres`
Less prone to flower than the French "grand geant de russie".
Yes and it should be grown in light soil, but still likes a good drink in dry summers.
no fresh compost (roots fork)

Thanks for that interesting post blight....

A bit off-topic but are there vegetables, or varieties of vegetables, which you can buy in Germany which are less well known in the rest of Europe? I only ask because there are suppliers of seeds from Italy and from France in the UK, but nothing from Germany??

hi terrace max,
on short notice:
asparagus possibly. the variety, which is earthed up. I find this infinetely more delicious than the green variety, that is grown elswhere.
lamb´s lettuce for the winter months. but this is getting popular in England, so I
was told.
might think of more- will post it.
one more-  fruit though - the quince, but this seems to be catching on in England
and a delicious small, very late plum- a variety called "Hauszwetschge".

I could name more English veges/fruit, which are yet unknown in Gernmany, but I am trying my best to change this.

thanks again blight!

Yep, I can think of 3 varieties of lamb's lettuce readily available in the UK nowadays. I think quinces were quite popular here in 19th century, but are now a bit fancy. I'll look out for the plum you mentioned - don't think I could pronounce its name too accurately though!

Which reminds me what got me thinking about this in the first place: a pea I grew this year called Ezethas Krombek Blau... But for all I know that could be a Dutch name... ??? :)

Hi All
What is a Scorzonera please.

I second that question and more to point what does it taste like ..cheers Jim

QuoteWhat is a Scorzonera please.

see reply #4
what does it taste like? difficult one.
scorzonera tastes like nothing you´ve eaten before you´ve tasted a scorzonera.
mind you, that applies to about everything.
home grown,though. eaten within hours after digging it out.
and wait till x-mas. as it is still growing.

Scorzonera is a root vegetable with a very long, brittle, dark brown root, rather thin compared to a parsnip. I tried them the first year I had the plot, I may try again now I'm getting better crops.

I didn't peel them at all, just cooked them in the skins.

@terrace max,
the plum (hauszwetschge)might be difficult to grow in england as it ripens very late.
They are usually ready mid to end of september. But this year, due to a cool august , their flavour was mediocre.
a traditional jam is made from them:pick them as late as possible, when they start  to wrinkle, stone them, put them in a big pot on top of the stove with
just a tiny amount  of water to prevent burning and keep simmering till the resulting mass gets as stiff that you can stand a spoon in. this takes days. that is: you can do that for a few hours a day -just as you got time. no sugar is added. the  water evaporates and the sugar that is in the fruit concentrates.
when it has got to the required consistency, you fill it into sterilized jars, and put those for a few minutes in a very hot oven to form a crust. put the lids on. keeps for years. marvellous.
I did the same thing with damsons.(I bought a tree in England years ago)
maybe even better. But a lot more work as the stones cling more, and the fruit contain less sugar. 

My personal opinion about the taste of scorzonera is potato with a subtle hint of sweetness about it.

Mark

Thanks for that Mark .May give it a go next year.......Jim

I've grown scorzerona but found them (like others here) to have roots that are too brittle and go to deep to dig up properly. But the taste was good.

I grow salsify and scorzonera, not masses of it, just a dozen or so of each, they tend to be either roasted like 'snips, or they go into soups and stews.  However, one thing I would say, you do need to get ever scrap of that tap root out, because just like a dandelion, up it comes again next year!  I don't mind as they are planted along the edge of my plot, but the last thing you want is this trifid coming up in the middle of your delicate lettuce seedlings for example!  And, if you let them flower, apparently then they really do spring up everywhere!

QuoteAnd, if you let them flower, apparently then they really do spring up everywhere!

Doh!

Quote from: jennym on October 06, 2005, 13:22:29
I've grown scorzerona but found them (like others here) to have roots that are too brittle and go to deep to dig up properly. But the taste was good.

I'd agree with that- the last couple I tried to dig ended up breaking a bit, but still got plenty out for eating.     I dont know about anyone else but I found scorzonera really easy to grow.

Mark