Daisies: flowers and leaves for the salad
Almost every child knows the daisy. What many do not know: flowers, buds and young leaves are edible and taste mild to slightly nutty. It flowers almost all year, even in mild winters, and is a good first wild plant to practise with. Here you learn how to recognise it reliably, where to collect it and why people with an allergy to the aster family should be careful.
- Collecting 10–15 minutes for a handful of flowers
Eenvoudig uitgelegd
You surely know daisies: small white flowers with a yellow centre in the meadow. You can eat the flowers and the young leaves. They taste mild and make a salad nice and colourful.
You recognise the daisy because all its leaves lie flat on the ground and each stalk carries exactly one flower. There are no leaves on the stalk itself.
Only pick in meadows where no dogs run and nothing is sprayed, and leave many flowers for the bees. Anyone who is allergic to chamomile should be careful.
Hoe het werkt
What looks like a single flower is a whole basket: the yellow centre consists of many tiny disc florets, and each white "petal" is a ray floret of its own. All plants of the aster family work like this, including dandelion, chamomile and sunflower.
Daisies are adapted to short grass. Their rosette lies so flat that lawnmowers and grazing animals hardly catch it. That is why they flower on mown meadows, where tall flowers have long been cut.
The heads open in the morning and close in the evening and in rain. This protects the pollen from wet – and tells you that a dry morning is the best time to collect.
Waar het om gaat
The collecting site matters more than the identification. The daisy is easy to recognise, but lawns in gardens, parks and sports grounds are often fertilised, sprayed and used by dogs. Your own natural garden is the best place.
Flowers wilt quickly. Pick them shortly before eating, place them loosely in a rigid container and shake them out before rinsing so small insects can crawl out.
Young leaves and closed buds are also edible. Wash the leaves thoroughly; the buds you can pickle in vinegar.
Veiligheid: hier moet je op letten
Plants of the aster family can trigger allergies. Anyone who reacts to chamomile, arnica or mugwort tries daisies at most in a very small amount or leaves them out.
Leaves close to the ground can be contaminated with fox tapeworm eggs. Wash them thoroughly and wash your hands afterwards.
Daisies are an addition, not food that fills you up. They provide colour, freshness and some variety.
Stap voor stap
Where daisies grow
Daisies like short grass: meadows, pastures, lawns and path edges. They flower from spring to autumn and in mild winters even in between. The safest place to collect is your own unsprayed garden or a meadow whose owner you can ask.
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Where daisies grow
Daisies like short grass: meadows, pastures, lawns and path edges. They flower from spring to autumn and in mild winters even in between. The safest place to collect is your own unsprayed garden or a meadow whose owner you can ask.
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Rosette and leaves
All the leaves lie flat in a rosette on the ground. They are spoon-shaped: round and broad at the front, narrow like a stalk towards the base, slightly notched at the edge and often a little hairy. There are no leaves on the flower stalk itself.
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One head per stalk
Short, leafless stalks grow from the rosette, and each carries exactly one flower head: many narrow white ray florets, sometimes with pink tips, around a yellow centre. In the evening and in rain the heads close. Similar flowers such as ox-eye daisies or chamomiles are taller and have leaves on the stem.
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Harvest gently
Pluck open flowers and closed buds at the stalk and place them loosely in a rigid container. You can add young leaves from the middle of the rosette. Always leave plenty of flowers – bees and insects need them, especially early in the year.
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Schoonmaken
Shake the flowers out so small insects can crawl out, and rinse them briefly and gently. Wash the leaves thoroughly like other greens growing close to the ground. Flowers wilt quickly – collect them only shortly before eating.
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Gebruiken
Flowers make salad, bread and soup colourful and taste mild. Young leaves go into salad or briefly steamed with other wild greens. Closed buds can be pickled in vinegar and salt. A handful adds to a meal, it does not fill you up.
Veelgemaakte fouten
- Collecting on sprayed lawns or dog meadows
- Picking all the flowers
- Collecting the flowers hours in advance
- Eating them carelessly with an aster-family allergy
Kort overzicht
Materiaal
Stevig verzamelbakje (doos, mand of beker)
So the flowers are not crushed
Elke soort in een eigen bakje – meng er nooit iets onbekends bij
Voedselveilige waterzak
For gentle rinsing
Alleen voor drinkwater gebruiken, nooit voor chemicaliën of brandstof.
Geschikt voor
- Almost all year
- Beginners and children under supervision
- Colour and freshness for salad and bread
Niet geschikt voor
- Sprayed lawns, golf courses, dog meadows, roadsides
- People with an aster-family allergy
- As a filler – almost no calories
Voorwaarden
- A meadow or lawn that is not sprayed and not visited by dogs
- No known allergy to the aster family (e.g. chamomile, arnica)
Veiligheid
- Daisies belong to the aster family like chamomile, arnica and mugwort. Anyone allergic to these plants may also react to daisies – try a small piece first or skip them altogether.
- Lawns in gardens, parks and sports grounds are often fertilised or sprayed against weeds, and dogs like to use them. Only collect where you know nothing has been sprayed.
- Plants close to the ground can be contaminated with soil, droppings and fox tapeworm eggs. Wash thoroughly or cook, and wash your hands afterwards.
Hoe het werkt
The daisy is easy to recognise because it shows several features at once: a flat rosette of leaves on the ground, spoon-shaped leaves, and on each leafless stalk exactly one flower head with white ray florets and a yellow centre. The head is really a basket of many small individual flowers – hence the name aster or daisy family.
Voordelen
- Very easy to recognise
- Bijna het hele jaar beschikbaar
- Mild taste
- Good for practising with children
Nadelen
- Small – laborious to collect
- Often on sprayed lawns
- Bijna geen calorieën
- Allergy risk for people allergic to the aster family
Achtergrondkennis
Vakinhoudelijke achtergrond
The daisy has long accompanied people in gardens and pastures and is named as an edible flower in many wild herb books. It is one of the few wild plants you find almost everywhere and almost all year.
Even with such a well-known plant the basic rule of foraging applies: recognise it by several features, collect at clean sites and try anything new in small amounts first.
Varianten
- Pickled buds
- Wash closed buds, sprinkle them with salt and after a few hours put them into hot vinegar in a clean jar. Keep chilled. They taste a bit like capers.
- Oefenen met kinderen
- The daisy is ideal for teaching children to recognise a plant by several features: rosette, leafless stalk, one head. Part of it is the rule: only eat what an adult has checked first.
Veelgemaakte fouten
- Collecting on sprayed lawns or dog meadows
- Picking all the flowers
- Collecting the flowers hours in advance
- Eating them carelessly with an aster-family allergy
Grenzen en risico's
- Geen volledige determinatiesleutel
- Geldt voor Midden-Europa
- Geen beloftes over genezing
Materiaalalternatieven
Afgeleid van materiaaleigenschappen: een vervanger moet alle relevante eigenschappen hebben. Let op de opmerkingen bij de vervanger.
- Stevig verzamelbakje (doos, mand of beker)
- Metalen pan (roestvrij staal, aluminium, titanium) (Heet – gevaar voor brandwonden door heet water of stoom.), Enkelwandige roestvrijstalen fles (Verhit alleen enkelwandige flessen zonder verf of plastic; haal de dop eraf voordat je verhit.), Dubbelwandige geïsoleerde fles (Nooit rechtstreeks verhitten.), PET-fles (helder, max. 2 liter) (Niet verhitten en niet in een vuur zetten.), Voedselveilige waterjerrycan (Gebruik alleen bakken en jerrycans die nooit chemicaliën of brandstof hebben bevat.), Luchtdichte, voedselveilige voorraadbus (Vul alleen als de bak schoon en helemaal droog is. Gebruik nooit bakken waar eerder chemicaliën in zaten.), Opvouwbare jerrycan of waterzak (Beschermen tegen scherpe voorwerpen.), Maatbeker, Voedselveilige waterzak (Alleen voor drinkwater gebruiken, nooit voor chemicaliën of brandstof.), Fermentatiepot of gistpot (Gebruik alleen voedselveilige bakken van glas, voedselveilig geglazuurd aardewerk of voedselveilig plastic – geen metalen bakken voor zuur eten.), Hersluitbare voedselzakjes (Gebruik alleen zakjes die bedoeld zijn voor voedsel; gebruik ze niet met kokend water, tenzij de fabrikant dat uitdrukkelijk toestaat.), Luchtige verzamelzak of mand (Verzamel elke plantensoort apart, zodat er niets onbekends tussenkomt)
- Voedselveilige waterzak
- Enkelwandige roestvrijstalen fles (Verhit alleen enkelwandige flessen zonder verf of plastic; haal de dop eraf voordat je verhit.), Dubbelwandige geïsoleerde fles (Nooit rechtstreeks verhitten.), PET-fles (helder, max. 2 liter) (Niet verhitten en niet in een vuur zetten.), Voedselveilige waterjerrycan (Gebruik alleen bakken en jerrycans die nooit chemicaliën of brandstof hebben bevat.), Luchtdichte, voedselveilige voorraadbus (Vul alleen als de bak schoon en helemaal droog is. Gebruik nooit bakken waar eerder chemicaliën in zaten.), Opvouwbare jerrycan of waterzak (Beschermen tegen scherpe voorwerpen.), Fermentatiepot of gistpot (Gebruik alleen voedselveilige bakken van glas, voedselveilig geglazuurd aardewerk of voedselveilig plastic – geen metalen bakken voor zuur eten.), Hersluitbare voedselzakjes (Gebruik alleen zakjes die bedoeld zijn voor voedsel; gebruik ze niet met kokend water, tenzij de fabrikant dat uitdrukkelijk toestaat.)
Resultaten komen uitsluitend uit gestructureerde items. Er worden geen geïmproviseerde instructies gegenereerd.
Bronnen (3)
- Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR): Giftpflanzen: Wie kann man sich schützen und was ist bei einer Vergiftung zu tun? (Fragen und Antworten) · Only collect what you recognise reliably; teach children not to eat anything unchecked
- Ray Mears und Gordon Hillman, Hodder & Stoughton (2007): Wild Food · Daisies and other common wild plants as supplementary wild food
- Robert Koch-Institut: RKI-Ratgeber Echinokokkose · Overdracht van de vossenlintworm via ingeslikte eitjes; wassen, verhitten, handen wassen