salsify

(săl'sə-fē, -fī')

1. A European plant (Tragopogon porrifolius) having grasslike leaves, purple flower heads, and an edible taproot.
2. The root of this plant, eaten as a vegetable.

[French salsifis, from obsolete Italian (erba) salsifica.]

View more Food & Cooking videos

salsify

Root vegetables that are originally from the Mediterranean region, salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) and black (or "Spanish") salsify (Scorzonera hispanica) are closely related. Their mild and sweet flavor is often compared to that of oysters. Some say they have a slight asparagus or artichoke taste, with an aftertaste of coconut. The leaves of the salsify plant are edible; the young shoots have a slight Belgian endive taste. Black salsify is less woody and tastier than salsify.

Buying

Choose: firm, medium-sized salsify, with no damp parts.

Preparing

Both varieties of salsify oxidize when peeled or cut. Immerse them in water mixed with a little lemon juice or vinegar or boil them whole for 15 min before peeling and preparing. Their skin can temporarily stain hands when peeling.

Serving Ideas

Salsify and black salsify are delicious in soups and stews or in a gratin, with béchamel or cheese sauce. They can be eaten cold, dressed with a vinaigrette. Salsify goes well with potato, leek, celery, onion and spinach. They are delicious braised with veal, poultry or fish; they can be glazed in the same way as carrots.

Storing

Both varieties of salsify are best used fresh.

In the fridge: several days, unwashed in a loosely closed or perforated plastic bag.

Cooking

Cook briefly so that the flesh does not become mushy.

Steamed: 10-15 min (recommended 
cooking method).

Boiled: 8-12 min.

Nutritional Information

black salsify

Browse other vegetables: Introduction | Chive | Scallion | Leek | Shallot | Garlic | Onion | Water chestnut | Beet | Turnip | Parsnip | Carrot | Celeriac | Black radish | Radish | Daikon | Rutabaga | Malanga | Salsify | Eggplant | Burdock | Avocado | Bell pepper | Olive | Winter melon | Bitter melon | Okra | Tomato | Tomatillo | Cucumber | Squash | Dried squash seeds | Spaghetti squash | Chayote | Spinach | Sorrel | Nettle | Dandelion | Purslane | Lamb's lettuce | Arugula | Cress | Radicchio | Chicory | Endive | Lettuce | Violet | Nasturtium | Cabbage | Sea kale | Kale | Collards | Salad savoy | Brussels sprouts | Chinese cabbage | Cardoon | Chard | Fennel | Bamboo shoot | Asparagus | Fiddlehead | Kohlrabi | Potato | Celery | Cassava | Taro | Yam | Jícama | Sweet potato | Jerusalem artichoke | Chinese artichoke | Cauliflower | Broccoli | Broccoli rabe | Artichoke

Browse other foods: Vegetables | Legumes | Fruits | Nuts and Seeds | Seaweeds | Mushrooms | Cereals and Grains | Fish | Crustaceans | Mollusks | Herbs, Spices and Seasonings | Meats | Variety Meats | Delicatessen Meats | Poultry | Dairy Products | Sugars, Cocoa and Carob | Fats and Oils | Binders and Leavenings | Coffee, Tea and Herbal Teas

(click to enlarge)
Flower of goatsbeard (Tragopogon pratensis) (credit: Louise K. Broman/Root Resources)

Biennial herbaceous plant (Tragopogon porrifolius) of the aster family (Asteraceae), native to the Mediterranean. The thick, white taproot is cooked as a vegetable and tastes somewhat like oysters. The plant has purple flowers and narrow leaves whose bases usually clasp the stem. Goatsbeard, or meadow salsify (T. pratensis), is a weedy European species, naturalized in North America, that has a large yellow flower head. It is occasionally cultivated as an ornamental, and its leaves, flowers, and roots are sometimes eaten in salads.

For more information on salsify, visit Britannica.com.

Long, white, tapering root of the biennial plant Tragopogon porrifolius. Black salsify is the root of the hardy perennial, Scorzonera hispanica (sometimes used roasted as coffee substitute).

[SAL-sih-fee] This root vegetable is also known as oyster plant because its taste resembles a delicately flavored oyster. The parsnip-shaped salsify can reach up to 12 inches in length and 21⁄2 inches in diameter. The most commonly found salsify has a white-fleshed root with grayish skin, though there are varieties with a pale golden skin, as well as one with a black skin (also called scorzonera). Though salsify is more popular in Europe than in the United States, it can be found here from June through February, usually in Spanish, Italian and Greek markets. Choose well-formed roots that are heavy for their size and not too gnarled. Refrigerate, wrapped in a plastic bag, up to a week. Salsify is generally eaten plain as a vegetable, or used in savory pies and soups.

1. Chemically, the product of an acid plus a base. Therefore, a salt forms by the combination of any inorganic metal and an inorganic non-metal. An organic salt like calcium oxalate is an inorganic salt of an organic acid or base. Example: Sodium benzoate (sodium salt of benzoic acid).
   
2. In the food industry, salt typically means table salt or sodium chloride. It is one of the four primary taste sensations as perceived by the sodium-sensitive taste buds on the surface of the tongue. Recent studies of the perception of saltiness by the taste buds on the tongue indicate that the perception of saltiness is transmitted via nerve pathways sent through our bodies as a sequence of potassium/sodium ion exchanges. These sodium/potassium ion interchanges are the fundamental system of electronic nerve impulses for living organisms. For this reason, the sensation of salt is therefore irreplaceable, and salt replacers are a particular challenge. As a confirmation of this finding, salt replacers using potassium, ammonium, calcium, or other ion replacements have showed to be lacking. The few ways in which salt has been successfully enhanced is through the use of synergists. This uses other taste components to enhance the saltiness, such as the umami effect of amino acids. Some organic acids like butyric acid and acetic acid and stinging/burning compounds like allyl iso thiocyanate, pepper, pepper compounds, acetaldehyde, etc., can also be effective. Compounds such as these that produce trigeminal stimulation have shown some success. However, they perform only by enhancing what salt is already there. Sugar, acid, and bitter principles are tastants that can often be used to synergize with the salt present. Some natural products that contain amino acids like yeasts, HVPs, dairy products, meat extracts, etc., have also been used to enhance a product's existing saltiness. See Replacements, Enhancers, Marketing Trends, Sea Salt.
   

• Vegetables, Legumes, and Fungi

Purple Salsify
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Tragopogon
Species:	T. porrifolius
Binomial name
Tragopogon porrifolius L.[1]

Illustration of parts

Tragopogon porrifolius is a plant cultivated for its ornamental flower, edible root, and herbal properties. It also grows wild in many places and is one of the most widely known species of the salsify genus, Tragopogon. It is commonly known as purple or common salsify, oyster plant, vegetable oyster, Jerusalem star,^[2] goatsbeard or simply salsify (although these last two names are also applied to other species, as well).

Contents 1 Description 2 Cultivation 3 References 4 External links

Description

T. porrifolius is a common biennial wildflower, native to Mediterranean regions of Europe but introduced elsewhere, for example, into Great Britain, (mainly in the south) and northern Europe, North America, and southern Africa and in Australia; in the United States it is now found growing wild in almost every state, including Hawaii, except in the extreme south-east.

The plant grows to around 120 cm in height.^[3] As with other Tragopogons, its stem is largely unbranched, and the leaves are somewhat grasslike. It exudes a milky juice from the stems.

In Britain it flowers from June to September, but in warmer areas such as California it can be found in bloom from April. The flower head is about 5 cm across, and each is surrounded by green bracts which are longer than the petals (technically, the ligules of the ray flowers). The flowers are like that of Goatsbeard Tragopogon pratensis, but are larger and dull purple, 30-50mm across. The flowers are hermaphroditic, and pollination is by insects.

The fruits are of the clock variety.^[4]

Cultivation

The root, and sometimes the young shoots, of T. porrifolius are used as a vegetable, and historically the plant was cultivated for that purpose; it is mentioned by classical authors such as Pliny the Elder. Cultivation in Europe began in the 16th century in France and Italy. In Great Britain it was initially grown for its flower and later became a mildly popular vegetable in the 18th century but then declined in popularity. Presently the root is cultivated and eaten most frequently in France, Germany, Italy and Russia. However in modern times it has tended to be replaced by Spanish salsify (Scorzonera hispanica) as a cultivated crop. Cultivated varieties include White French, Mammoth Sandwich Island, and Improved Mammoth Sandwich Island; they are generally characterised by larger or better-shaped roots. The root becomes discolored and spoils quickly if broken, which can easily happen since it is difficult to remove from the soil without damage. The root is noted for tasting of oysters, from which the plant derives its alternative name of oyster plant; young roots can be grated for use in salads, but older roots are better cooked, and they are usually used in soups or stews. It is recommended that when using the root that, if cut, its color be preserved in acidulated water. A latex derived from the root can be used as a chewing gum. The flowering shoots can be used like asparagus, either raw or cooked, and the flowers can be added to salad, while the sprouted seeds can be used in salads or sandwiches.

The plant has also been used in herbalism, also since classical times (it is mentioned by Dioscorides), and is claimed to have beneficial effects on the liver and gall bladder. The root is regarded as a diuretic.

References

1. ^ Species Plantarum 2: 789. 1753. "Name - Tragopogon L.". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40016322. Retrieved February 8, 2010. "Type Specimens: Tragopogon porrifolius" 
2. ^ "J". Historical Common Names of Great Plains Plants. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. http://www.unl.edu/agnicpls/gpcn/gpcnj.html. Retrieved March 9, 2010. 
3. ^ Blamey, Fitter, Fitter, Marjorie, Richard, Alistair (2003). Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland. A & C Black - London. pp. 294–295. ISBN 0-7136-5944-0. 
4. ^ Sterry, Paul (2006). Complete British Wild Flowers. HarperColins Publishers Ltd. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-0-00-781484-8. 

*Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999), “Salsify”, p. 686. ISBN 0-19-211579-0

External links

• Jepson Manual treatment of the species
• Images from the CalPhotos archive
• Plants for a Future database entry

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - havrerod

Nederlands (Dutch)
schorseneren

Français (French)
n. - salsifis

Deutsch (German)
n. - (Bot.) Haferwurz

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) λαγόχορτο

Italiano (Italian)
salsefica

Português (Portuguese)
n. - cercefi (m) (Bot.)

Русский (Russian)
козлобородник

Español (Spanish)
n. - salsifí

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - haverrot

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
波罗门参

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 波羅門參

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 선모 (국화과의 이년초)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - バラモンジン

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) لحيه ألتيس, ألفومي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮זקן-תיש (צמח)‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.