Something to think about (to coin a phrase!)

[Kinygos]

Horta

Greek vegetables are mostly fruit; tomatoes, courgettes etc.
Even the “Greek salad” is mostly fruit.
Greek green veg comes under the heading Horta. These are traditionaly wild greens, boiled and served cold with a dressing of lemon & olive oil. Don’t recall seeing them much on Halki, but on “The big island” they are served, and can be bought in supermarkets. In reality they are mostly not wild e.g. Horta Vlita (Calaloo, or Amaranth). Has anyone tried them?
OK so here’s a quiz. This is a British “Horta”; a wild vegetable popular in Norfolk. I bought it in Tesco on Sunday.

What is it, and where does it grow?

Exotic Fruit

I like trying to grow exotic fruit in my garden in Pastida. I planted this one amongst others and when I get back I will see if “my babies” have avoided the attention of the indigenous gastropods.

What are they?
I know they can grow them in Madeira & Italy so I am in with a chance.

[chalkibert]

Hi Simon
the first one is easy see wikipedia "Salicornia"

Chalkibert

[jamesthebutler]

Simon

My guess at the second one - a custard apple ?
JtB

[Kinygos]

I obviously don’t ask questions at the same standard as Handa; got some quick answers there!

Salicornia europaea, marsh samphire, or just samphire. In Norfolk “Samfer”. I take it that it is eaten in Bavaria? I wonder how widely it is known in the UK. Is anybody else familiar with it?

Not to be confused with Crithmum maritimum, rock samphire, mentioned in Shakespeare. This one is, I think, a Greek horta . It was, I believe, the horta almira (armira) that I found in AB in Rodos. There is another broader leafed maritime plant also called rock samphire sometimes found pickled on your Greek salad. Not to be confused again with the round leafed pickled vegetable, this is the young shoots of the caper plant. Anyone who has clarification on the Rock samphire(s) is welcome to tell us about the Greek stuff.

Annona cherimola, Cherimoya or the custard apple is a lovely South American fruit which is not a commercial proposition as it has to be ripened on the tree and then picked and eaten. Tastes like stewed apple and custard; I kid you not! Unfortunately supermarkets like to pick fruit unripe for you to take home and “ripen in the bowl”, or “rot in the bowl”. Once ripe the cherimoya is very easily bruised and the only way is to grow it yourself, which is what I aim to do. Samuel Laghorne Clemens (aka Mark Twain) described it as, "the most delicious fruit known to men."

Here are some pictures of wild caper plants; a roadside weed in Greece

First the buds usually seen pickled in jars in the UK.



Then the short lived, but lovely delicate flowers



Finally the pods also seen pickled in jars in the UK.




Not a plant to mess with as it has very nasty thorns. Heed or bleed as they say!

[Amanda]

We have often eaten samphire in Norfolk, and have picked our own on the beach at Wells next the sea once or twice. It's a lot easier picking up a bag at Salthouse though to go with our baked crab. I've seen it in Tesco recently too. What's it like? Does it compare well with the Norfolk variety? First time I cooked it I added salt to the water - oops! Quite salty enough without!

[Kinygos]

Samphire is samphire I guess!

I cook it, and asparagus, by putting it on a plate, covering it with another upturned plate and use a microwave.
You need to be careful with timing ( to some extent it's a function of how much you are cooking ).
Cooked, crisp, and full of flavour!