Article 12953 of rec.gardens:
Path: samba!concert!rock!stanford.edu!agate!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!cleveland.Freenet.Edu!br105
From: br105@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey A. Del Col)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Gobo/burdock
Date: 15 Jan 1993 01:38:43 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
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Message-ID: <1j54j3INNpu9@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>
Reply-To: br105@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey A. Del Col)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


Burdock, better known as gobo to vegetarians and lovers of Japanese food,
tastes something like salsify(oyster plant).  If you like salsify, you
might like gobo. ( I thought gobo was a character on Fraggle Rock:-)
Anyway, the young leaves are edible as well as the roots.  The cultivars
have bigger roots than the wild variety.  The leaves are a salad green or
spinach substitute; the root is cooked as potherb with carrots, turnips or 
onions.  I don't like it myself, but I have friends who think it's just
great; to each his or her own.

J. Del Col
-- 
Jeff Del Col      *   DECONSTRUCTION--- the critical method invented      
A-B College       *                      by Procrustes  
Philippi, WV      *                             
                  *         


Article 12916 of rec.gardens:
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Path: samba!concert!gatech!paladin.american.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!cs.utexas.edu!torn!utgpu!richter
From: richter@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (C. Richter)
Subject: Re: Burdock
Message-ID: <C0tE58.3GC@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca>
Organization: UTCS Public Access
References: <1993Jan13.131132.20188@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <1993Jan13.150432.29478@rchland.ibm.com>
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1993 22:51:07 GMT
Lines: 19

In article <1993Jan13.150432.29478@rchland.ibm.com> JamesWhite@vnet.ibm.com writes:
>I was reading the Johnny's selected seeds catalog over breakfast and 
>was surprised to see burdock seeds for sale.  Are these the same 
>God-awful weeds growing in my back pasture that makes those 
>pricker balls that cling to everything?  Have I been missing out on
>an opportunity to eat my way out of a weed problem?
>
>Inquiring minds want to know.

No, not exactly, though those "god-awful" ones are edible too.  What Johnny's
is selling (as we are) is the cultivated Japanese strain.  The Japanese    
moniker is "gobo."  The roots are considered a delicacy.  It is, as you 
might imagine, very easy to grow. 


-- 
Conrad Richter                     richter@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca
Richters Herbs                     71550.3411@compuserve.com
Goodwood, ON L0C 1AO Canada        Tel 416-640-6677 / Fax 416-640-6641


Article 12957 of rec.gardens:
Path: samba!concert!gatech!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!cleveland.Freenet.Edu!br105
From: br105@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey A. Del Col)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Even more about Gobo
Date: 15 Jan 1993 13:11:33 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Lines: 25
Message-ID: <1j6d65INN4js@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>
Reply-To: br105@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey A. Del Col)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


I was looking through Geri Harrington"s HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN CHINESE
VEGETABLES and found the following information about gobo.  

1. The wild gobo or burdock that grows in N. America and eleswhere is
Arctium minus.  The cultivated Japanese gobo is Arctium lappa.

2. Wild burdock is very bitter and must be prepared in such a way as to reduce
or remove the bitterness. (It didn't specify how this was done)  Japanese
gobo is not bitter and produces bigger roots.

3. Gobo is up to 45% inulin by dry weight.  Therefore, like Jerusalem
Artichoke, it can be eaten by diabetics without their having to worry much
about carbohydrate content.

Harrington says its flavor is similar to salsify, parsnips, and scorzonera,
rather tangy too.

J. Del Col

-- 
Jeff Del Col      *   DECONSTRUCTION--- the critical method invented      
A-B College       *                      by Procrustes  
Philippi, WV      *                             
                  *         


