Is the evening primrose edible?

Edible parts of the evening primrose

Basically, almost all parts of the evening primrose can be used in the kitchen. The young leaves can be used to make a salad or they are prepared as wild spinach, the flowers and Flower buds serve as a tasty and distinctive decoration of salads, desserts, soups and others Food. The root of the evening primrose, formerly also known as "ham root" due to its reddish color, can be prepared like black salsify.

Evening primrose root

Usually evening primrose roots are peeled and then cooked in a strong meat broth. The finely sliced ​​roots can then be eaten as a salad, dressed with salt, pepper, vinegar and oil. Alternatively, they can also be served in the classic way as root vegetables in a white bechamel sauce. Evening primrose roots are collected in the first winter, before the biennial plant is in bloom for the first time.

Flowers and flower buds

The slightly sweet and spicy tasting Flowers of the evening primrose are suitable as an edible decoration, for example, of colorful salads, as a soup or as flower butter. When dried, they can also be added to tea mixtures. The flower buds that are still closed can be blanched in vinegar and then soaked in oil - a great souvenir, by the way, nicely packaged.

Evening primrose as a remedy

Even better known as a vegetable is the evening primrose as a remedy, because above all the flowers and the Seeds contain a lot of gamma linoleic acid, an essential amino acid. For this reason, evening primrose oil is mainly used externally for skin problems - especially atopic dermatitis - applied while the flowers are used as an infusion or in the form of syrup for coughs and other respiratory infections Use comes.