BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Mr Happy
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 07:30 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_(vegetable)


Lots commercially grown stuff's pretty 'orrible.

I've had home grown Rocket - lovely!

Wiki above says its an Afro-dizziac,



I'm up for that!!

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: theleveller
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 07:50 AM

Mmmmm rocket - lovely! I grow two kinds: wild and 'tame', plus lots of other different salad leaves. As Spleen Cringe said, it's one of the easiest salads to grow; in fact it self-seeds if allowed to. Hardly surprising bonzo/boko doesn't like it - Croyden isn't one of the culinary centre of the world.

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 08:05 AM

Rocket, love it too! Easy peasy to grow as others have said. Though some flavours are challenging for folk, I wouldn't call it 'bland' by any means. Nutty and peppery. The wee flowers are nice too added to a salad. I also like to grow 'perpetual spinach' (spinach beet) which is just as easy peasy: cut and come again greens for cooking or salad. Bit less teeth gratey (shudder) than spinach proper though. Anybody used rape flowers in salad? Always nibble it when walking - nice spicy sharp taste.

By the way, what language is 'arugula' from?

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 08:08 AM

Aha! "Arúgula (Spanish)"

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: theleveller
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 08:21 AM

"Anybody used rape flowers in salad?"

Must try that - there's acres of the stuff grown around us. I do, however, use a locally produced coldpressed organic rapeseed oil in the dressing. It's Britain's answer to olive oil - wonderful!

Oh, and I grow perpetual spinach as well. Yummmmmmmm!

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: theleveller
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 08:23 AM

Oh, and I get my own back on weeds by eating them - chickweed is especially delicious and contains trace elements you don't find in any other vegetable.

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 11:33 AM

Croyden(on) isn't one of the culinary centre(s) of the world

As usual Leveller is talking absolute bollocks.

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Janie
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 12:30 PM

Thanks for posting the recipe, Ruth. Sounds unique and scrumptious. I'll definitely be trying it out!

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 12:38 PM

arugula is Italian, too. That's what my nan always called it.

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 01:13 PM

Cooled cooked vegetables would be the only enjoyable salad for me.

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 01:28 PM

I've noticed that the organic rocket you can buy in the supermarket has a markedly stronger flavour.

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 01:32 PM

"As usual Leveller is talking absolute bollocks."

What - Croydon IS one of the culinary centres of the world?!

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: theleveller
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 03:03 PM

You need to go to some decent restaurants, Boko, where they know how to do a good salad dressing. Or, of course, learn how to do it yourself - there's a whole new culinary experience awaiting you away from the meat and two veg.

"What - Croydon IS one of the culinary centres of the world?! "

LOL - a place totally devoid of any culinary or cultural merit.

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 03:07 PM

I despise rape noxious fumes and pollen. When it is in peak flower I have such headaches.

I wonder if the over growing of it has contributed to bee colony collapse.

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: olddude
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 03:49 PM

Janie
ya got me with the pine nuts, love them in a salad. OK I will give it a try

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Rowan
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 05:00 PM

Janie, here's Nigella's rocket pesto recipe:

Ta muchly, Ruth.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 09 Feb 10 - 05:06 PM

You're welcome! She also does an amazing (and ridiculously simple) pasta sauce with crab meat, garlic, lemon and chilli that became one of my favourite summer dishes last year - I even made some in advance and brought it to Sidmouth. Though, as it's not got any rocket in it, I can't post it on this thread! :D

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: bubblyrat
Date: 10 Feb 10 - 02:28 PM

Subject: RE: BS: Rocket, tasteless rubbish
From: Raedwulf
Date: 10 Feb 10 - 03:54 PM

"Coriander leaf does indeed taste like soap"

As it happens... Coriander is a peculiar beast. There is a proportion of the population (I am one) to whom it will always taste chemical. I discovered the stuff by accident. It was in a bag of bought salad. I bit into one mouthful, went "argh", and then took out individual leaves, comparing them with the piccies on the back of the bag till I found the culprit.

Later, reading the intro to a Jane Grigson cookbook devoted to fish, I discovered that it wasn't just me. A comment from the intro author said something to the effect of only Jane could casually give you nuggets of information such as blah..., etc..., Coriander..., blah...

If you google it, the wiki entry will you that it's a genetic thing - the chemical flavour is down to an enzyme in the saliva. It's not a matter of "getting used to it". If that's you, it's always going to taste chemical (I can't say I've made a habit of eating soap, but I've never thought of it as tasting that way. It's just... chemical... and thoroughly unpleasant). The daft thing is that ground coriander, made from the seeds, doesn't contain any of the chemicals that react so badly. You can enjoy ground coriander (I do), but coriander LEAF is utterly uneatable!

As for rocket I like it. Rubbish it may be, if not to your palate, but I fail to see how it can be described as tasteless, unless all of your taste buds are dead! As someone has said, the younger leaves are nicer than the older, larger ones. A note of caution on growing it. Yes, it's easy to grow. Too easy. It can assume weed proportions if you're not careful, as it's quite prolific.