Nettle (Urtica Dioica)

One of my favorite plants. Goodness, I say this about all the herbs. Hehe. However, it truly is one of my favorites. I am pretty sure I have a video on making fresh nettles into a delicious dish. How to Make Nettle Chips in the Oven, Tasty Nutritious Herb Snack 💚

Tehe above is not exactly the recipe I was thinking of, perhaps I did not make the recipe I am thinking of into a video. My favorite way to eat nettles is by stir-frying them fresh with lemon juice, olive oil and a bit of goat cheese. THEY ARE DELICIOUS! 

Mind you- you will need to gather them with gloves, unless you possess a super special skill of collection with bare hands. I have heard herbalists such as Rosemary Gladstar possess this power. I have not mastered the glove-less collection. In fact, I have been stung rather badly and uncomfortably by nettle and just prefer to wear gloves.

Then when you clean the nettles and wash them, you will need to wear gloves again. For picking I use gardening gloves and for cleaning, kitchen gloves. Then as soon as you heat, either with hot water to make tea, or on the stove to make a steamed, cooked dish- the sting leaves the nettles. (Pun intended). Haha.

"Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them."
-Zephaniah 2:9 (KJV)

I found this wonderful little rhyme, that I think tops "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." It goes like this, "three nettles in May keep all diseases away." 1 I recommend you teach that to your children. 

The following are interesting uses for the plant, found in Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible. 
-Algerians mix powdered nettles with powdered jasmine for gonorrhea. (I am assuming for topical use).
-Carolinians suggest the root for consumption, diarrhea, dysentery, gravel, hemorrhoids, and jaundice. (I must say I have never used the root of this plant).
-Czechs poultice the herb onto cancers.
-Devonshire locals use nettle roots steeped in vinegar for tumors of the feet and spleen, steeped in honey for tumors in lungs or ribs.
-Irish drink nettle tea to clear measles rash.
-Italians use stinging nettle and elderberry for herpes zoster.
-Russians self-urticate to energize tired muscles. (This means to purposefully sting oneself). 
-Herb decoctions take for cold, cough, rheumatism, and stomachache. 
-Nettle roots crushed with vinegar for swellings of the feet or spleen.
-Nettle juice as a mouthwash.
-Nettle juice boiled lightly with sugar; 2 oz. taken orally for bleeding piles.
-Nettle seed with honey or (nettle juice) for cold, and coughs.

No known downsides from taking the herb/ (leaf)- except of course the sting. There are some possible downsides from the root, such as stomach upset. The herb is contraindicated in fluid retention due to cardiac or renal activity. Not recommended when pregnant or nursing. It may also interfere with blood pressure, CNS and diabetes medications CAN. 

Mountain Rose Herbs has many Nettle options for purchase, such as nettle leaf and root, but also prepared herbal formulas containing nettle. I recommend beginning with the dried nettle leaf and drinking it as a tea first. This is the best way to familiarize yourself with this plant.

Of course, my favorite way to "get to know" herbs is by discovering them growing in the wild. Find a friend, a neighbor, or an acquaintance who has a patch of nettles. Best to search in the spring, or summertime. Mind you, I do not like to eat mature nettles. They taste best when young and short. Once they shoot up and start to flower, the taste is much different and less appealing. (In my opinion). 

I think it was only after trapsing through a friend's nettle field that I really fell in love with this amazing herb. Leave a comment here on your experience with nettle, and if you have wild plant experience. 
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1 Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of the Bible, by James A. Duke, 2008. (p. 408).

Picture credit- thanks nurfe on Pixaby