Chenopodium incanum — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Seeds

The leaves and young shoots are cooked and eaten like spinach. Raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities due to toxicity. Fresh leaves have a mild, slightly earthy and salty flavour; boiling softens them and reduces acridity, producing a texture somewhere between spinach and lambsquarter. Leaves from arid, nutrient-poor soils may be more acrid. The seed, about 1mm in diameter, is small and fiddly but represents the plant's true culinary strength. It can be ground into flour or cooked into a soft, nutty porridge. Toasting reduces any trace of bitterness. Seeds should be soaked overnight and rinsed thoroughly before use to remove saponins. The flavour is neutral to slightly nutty and suits both savoury and sweet dishes. Calyx fragments are removed by rubbing and winnowing before cooking.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a subtropical plant.

Central America, Mexico, North America, USA,

Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, United States, St Vincent

How to Identify

Annual herb reaching 50 cm tall and 20 cm wide. Hardy to UK zone 5. Hermaphrodite, wind-pollinated. Flowers July to October; seeds ripen August to October. Grows in light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with mildly acid to basic pH. Requires full sun and moist soil conditions.

How to Grow

Propagation: Sow seed in spring in situ. Most of the seed usually germinates within a few days of sowing.

Medicinal Uses

None known.

Other Uses

Gold and green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant.

Wikipedia