Orach (Cultivated Variety) |
The Wild Orach, also known as Saltbush, is found in sandy soil at the beach. There are many plants in the Genus Atriplex and it is sometimes difficult to ID the species, to top it off , it looks a lot like Lambs Quarters to the untrained eye. The Wild Orach is best eaten when it is young and succulent as the older leaves can be bitter but the young leaves are very tasty.
When I first started my garden, I was looking through my Ethnobotanical Catalog of seeds, and low and behold, I saw Orach listed! Of course I had to buy some seeds and have Orach in my garden. The seeds were easy to grow and before I knew it I had more Orach than I could eat! I did notice it was not the Orach I was used to seeing in my travels. The leaves were larger and lighter in color and more delicate than the wild variety.
Orach is used anyway you would use Spinach. It can be eaten raw or cooked and the cultivated varieties come in many colors. This year I bought some seeds for the magenta variety, vary cool looking plant.
Magenta Variety |
Peace
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