OYSTER PLANT

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31783, 13 September 1968, Page 6

OYSTER PLANT

Salsify Is a vegetable which. If properly prepared, can quite easily be passed off as something else. Oyster plant, its other name, provides a sufficient clue.

This hardy biennia! is often suggested as an alternative for parsnips, although quite different really. It requires a reasonably long growing period although under optimum conditions it can make its greatest growth in the first two months after sowing the seed.

Now is an opportune time to put some in. Best results are obtained from deep well worked soils with a high nutrient content, which are well drained but moisture-reten-tive. Sowings in freshly manured ground should be avoided to minimise forking and really long straight roots can be obtained by punching holes in the ground with a crow bar, refilling and sowing the seeds on top. Seed should be sown Jin deep in drills and later thinned out to about 4in between plants. During the season they should be kept growing without a check, free from weeds and watered during the early stages of growth if need be. Harvesting should be confined to immediate needs and lifting must be done carefully for the simple reason that salsify does not keep well and it is extremely susceptible to bruising and bleeding. Cleaning is best done by rubbing, not scraping, and some cooks find it best to perform this task with the root submerged in water. Others advocate the use of lemon juice or water and vinegar. It can be served boiled as a main vegetable or prepared in a batter after first boiling. The tops, if blanched, are edible also.