Poke salad, also known as pokeweed or poke sallet, is a cooked salad made from the leaves of the pokeweed plant, which grows wild across the southern United States. Though pokeweed is toxic when raw, once boiled or cooked it can be eaten as a nutritious cooked green.
What plant is poke salad made from?
Poke salad is made from the leaves of the pokeweed plant (Phytolacca americana), a native American perennial plant that grows wild across the southern and eastern United States. The pokeweed plant produces long clusters of dark purple berries and large, oval-shaped green leaves. It thrives in disturbed soils and is often considered a weed.
While the roots, berries, and raw leaves of pokeweed are highly toxic to humans, the leaves can be made edible by thoroughly boiling them in multiple changes of water. This process removes the toxins, rendering the leaves safe to eat.
Where does poke salad come from?
Poke sallet has a long history in the rural South as a foraged spring green.Native Americans were known to boil the young leaves to remove toxins and eat them as a cooked green.
During the Great Depression, poke salad provided much-needed nourishment for poor Southerners when food was scarce. It grew wild and required minimal preparation other than boiling, making it an accessible source of vitamins and minerals.
The practice of harvesting wild pokeweed leaves and preparing them into poke sallet has been passed down through generations in the South. It remains a staple dish in Appalachian and rural Southern cooking.
When is poke salad in season?
Poke salad is a spring dish. The pokeweed plant emerges in early spring, and the young, tender leaves can be harvested and prepared into poke sallet starting in mid-to-late spring.
The pokeweed leaves become increasingly tough and toxic with age. Only the youngest leaves and shoots, when the plant is 8 to 12 inches tall, should be used. These young leaves are boiled in multiple changes of water to remove toxins.
The poke sallet season lasts 4 to 6 weeks in the spring. After this, the leaves become too large and toxic to eat. While pokeweed continues growing into the summer, poke salad made from older leaves would require much more extensive preparation to remove toxins.
How do you identify pokeweed?
Pokeweed is identified by the following characteristics:
- A large, bushy perennial plant reaching 2-10 feet tall at maturity
- Alternating oval leaves 4-12 inches long with smooth, rounded edges
- Reddish stems with a purplish cast
- Long clusters of small white flowers in summer, followed by drooping spikes of dark purple berries in fall
- A large, deep taproot
Pokeweed grows in patches in disturbed soils, fields, along fences and woodland edges. Make sure not to confuse it with lookalike plants like elderberry and dock. Never eat any plant unless you are completely sure of its identification.
How do you pick pokeweed?
To pick pokeweed for poke sallet, only harvest the young, tender leaves and shoots in early spring when the plant is 8-12 inches tall. Choose leaves that are bright green and free of any purple tinging. Older leaves will be tough and toxic.
Use scissors or pruning shears to snip off leaves and new shoots. Handle carefully to avoid crushing the leaves. Take only 1-2 leaves per plant so it can continue growing.
Never pick pokeweed growing by roadsides or in areas that could be sprayed with herbicides or pesticides. Only harvest from clean natural areas. And only pick the amount you plan to use within 1-2 days, as pokeweed leaves don’t store well.
Can you eat raw pokeweed?
No, raw pokeweed leaves are highly toxic to humans and should never be eaten uncooked.
Eating only a handful of raw pokeweed leaves can potentially cause cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, low blood pressure, convulsions, paralysis and numbness. Severe poisoning from raw pokeweed can lead to death.
Pokeweed contains high levels of toxins such as saponins and alkaloids like phytolaccine. Cooking breaks down these toxins, rendering the leaves safe to eat. But consuming raw pokeweed, especially the roots and berries, is extremely dangerous.
Does cooking make pokeweed nontoxic?
Cooking pokeweed properly removes most of the toxins, making the leaves safe to consume. However, traces of toxins may remain even after cooking.
To make pokeweed fully nontoxic, it must be boiled in two changes of water. First boil the leaves for 15 minutes, pour off the water, then boil it again in fresh water for 15 more minutes. Discard the water after cooking.
Proper cooking makes pokeweed leaves safe for most people to eat in moderation. However, some people may still experience minor stomach upset or allergic reactions to cooked pokeweed. Start with a small amount to check your tolerance.
And never eat the pokeweed berries or root, which remain toxic even after extensive cooking. Only the young shoots and boiled leaves should be eaten.
How do you prepare poke salad?
Making cooked poke salad involves gathering young pokeweed leaves in spring, boiling them twice to remove toxins, then preparing them into a cooked salad dish. Here are the basic steps:
- Harvest young, tender pokeweed leaves 8-12 inches long.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Add leaves and boil for 15 minutes. Drain and discard the water.
- Add fresh water to pot, return to boil, and boil leaves another 15 minutes.
- Drain leaves well and rinse under cold running water.
- Chop leaves. Some people prefer to remove the stems and veins.
- Add chopped boiled leaves to a bowl. Dress with bacon grease or oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the poke salad warm or chilled as a side dish.
Poke sallet is often eaten with cornbread or fried cornbread. Bacon or salt pork drippings are commonly used for seasoning. Onions, garlic, or ramps may be cooked with the leaves. Enjoy pokeweed as a classic rural Southern foraged food!
What does poke salad taste like?
Properly prepared poke salad has a delicious spinach-like taste. It has a soft cooked green texture similar to collard greens or spinach.
Boiled young pokeweed leaves have a very mild flavor. They take on the flavors of the seasoning ingredients used, such as bacon drippings, vinegar, onions or ramps.
Poke sallet is often described as having a slight bitterness. Some people detect a lingering metallic or acidic taste, likely from small amounts of toxins remaining after cooking. Start with a small serving to determine your tolerance.
Overall, pokeweed greens are considered a tasty spring green with a flavor profile similar to cooked spinach. The wild-foraged appeal adds to poke sallet’s culinary interest.
Is pokeweed good for you?
Poke sallet provides an excellent nutritional boost in spring. When boiled twice and cooked thoroughly, it is quite nutritious and safe to eat in moderation.
Pokeweed is high in vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, phosphorus, and fiber.
As a zero-fat, low-calorie cooked green, poke sallet is very low in sodium and cholesterol, making it good for heart health. It can aid digestion thanks to its fiber content. And it provides a range of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.
However, poke sallet should only be consumed in limited quantities, no more than 1-2 times per week, due to the potential for residual toxins. And some people are allergic or intolerant to cooked pokeweed.
Can you buy poke salad?
While it’s possible to forage your own pokeweed leaves, you can also buy prepared poke sallet at some specialty grocers in the South during spring. Look for it fresh or canned in the greens section.
Poke sallet is sometimes found at farmers markets in the South in spring alongside other foraged greens. Foraged food vendors may sell small batches.
Keep in mind that poke salad has a short season in early spring. Outside of this timeframe you would need to can, freeze, or pickle pokeweed leaves harvested at peak ripeness to enjoy them. Otherwise fresh poke sallet can be hard to find outside the late March-April harvest window.
Where to find poke salad in restaurants
Poke sallet often appears on menus at Southern restaurants and meat-and-threes in Appalachia during spring. Here are some eateries known for serving poke salad when it’s in season:
- Arnold’s Country Kitchen, Nashville, TN
- Monell’s Dining & Catering, Nashville, TN
- Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, Nashville, TN
- Hominy Grill, Charleston, SC
- Bertha’s Kitchen, North Charleston, SC
- Hillbilly Tea Restaurant, Asheville, NC
- Sunny Point Cafe, Asheville, NC
- The Waysider, Tuscaloosa, AL
- Blue Willow Inn, Social Circle, GA
- Greenbrier Restaurant,WV
Call ahead to ask if poke sallet is currently available when planning your visit. Trying pokeweed at a famous Southern restaurant is an excellent way to taste this historical regional specialty.
How to cook poke greens
While traditional poke sallet is boiled and then served as a salad, pokeweed leaves can also be prepared in other cooked preparations similar to spinach.
Popular ways to cook boiled poke greens include:
- Sauteed poke greens: Chop and cook in bacon fat or oil with onions.
- Poke greens soup: Simmer chopped greens in broth with potatoes.
- Creamed poke greens: Simmer in heavy cream, butter, and seasonings.
- Scrambled eggs with poke greens: Add chopped greens to eggs before scrambling.
- Poke leaf quiche or frittata: Add to egg custard and bake.
Always thoroughly boil poke leaves before using in any cooked dish. Discard the cooking liquid, rinse the greens, and only use properly prepared leaves.
Can you freeze poke greens?
To enjoy pokeweed beyond spring, many foragers freeze boiled poke leaves to use year-round. Freezing is an easy storage method.
To freeze poke sallet greens:
- Boil leaves twice as usual.
- Drain, rinse in cold water, and chop.
- Blanch chopped greens 2-3 minutes until wilted.
- Cool, drain excess liquid, and pack into freezer bags or containers.
- Squeeze out air, seal, label, and freeze.
Frozen poke can be added directly to soups, stews, casseroles and more without thawing. Or thaw overnight in the fridge before using in salads and sautés.
Properly blanched and frozen, poke greens will keep up to a year in the freezer. Enjoy the taste of spring poke sallet all year long!
Conclusion
Poke salad remains a cherished southern food with deep roots in rural culture and folklore. When cooked thoroughly, it provides a tasty and nutritional boost in spring after a long winter without fresh greens.
Foraging pokeweed and preparing poke sallet is a tradition passed down through generations in the South. With care and proper preparation to remove toxins, both seasoned southerners and newcomers to the region can experience this historical dish.