[Redcap]

I have used nettles as a simple rennet before. I also eat them, dry them and drink the infusion regularly. It’s a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, 300-500mg of calcium per cup of infusion (not tea). I also dry it and mix it into my chicken feed for winter so they get greens, along with tons of chickweed and henbit. But nettle is a great food. The longer you cook it, the higher the vitamin A load as cooking breaks down plant cell walls. Humans don’t have the digestive enzymes to break down most plant cell walls so cooked vegetables are more nutrient bioavailable than raw or lightly steamed. Cooking just means breaking down cell walls: freezing, drying, fermenting, heating – boiling, baking, marinating in oil or fat. Just a handful of nettle in a slow-cooked soup or stew is a huge nutrient hit.

This is why we grow it. Our acre is all rock and trash, apparently, and we are too shaded to garden. Food forest is a better means of providing, but that means less variety and few modern foods. So we eat historically around here, more like medieval people or early American colonists living away from settlements. A lot of nettle, dandelions, and poke for us.

[PollyFaith]

This was a timely post! I had earlier today watched a video from RoseRed Homestead in which she demonstrates how to make mozzarella cheese from powdered milk and I then wondered what other natural sources (closer to home) there might be for rennet.🌻😀

)I won’t know how well this form of rennet might work for cheese making until I give it a try but at least it’s another option to consider).

[Redcap]

Susun Weed gives a recipe for herbal rennet in Healing Wise:

1 quart nettles and 1 quart water 1 teaspoon salt

Cook leaves in simmering salted water in well-covered pan for ten minutes. Strain and add to warm milk. (Each cup of this will curdle 4 quarts (1 gallon) of milk.)

[Emil]

I’ve a

Lso read that juniper berries also use to be used.

I have to be honest we don’ t have any cow’s

& i’ve only made cheese once .☺️

[Emil]

👍☺️

[Emil]

I mix it in a tea blend.

It has a strong flavor by itself

Or i’ll put it in a soup or a stew.

I hope to have more time to think a little more outside the box as far as greens.

A little less garden a little my forage.

Thanks

[EvW]

Very informative. Stinging nettle grows well in the shade. In addition to food and rennet, it is a great security barrier.

[Emil]

☺️👍

[Njorun38]

What book is this?

[Emil]

You know i don’t know cleaning out . Some screen shots i saved.

[Njorun38]

Thank you, appreciate it

[Redcap]

This blogger shows how to make cheese with nettle rennet. https://monicawilde.com/how-to-make-nettle-cheese/

monicawilde.com

How to make Nettle Cheese - Mo Wilde

This is a light cheese made with a nettle rennet and cow’s milk. Using a vegetable rennet rather than calf rennet allows you to make a vegetarian cheese. There are… Read More

[Emil]

😊👍