Kentucky Has Pokeweed…It’s Poisonous AND Delicious [VIDEO]

When I was a kid, there were times when half of the side dishes Mom or my grandmother would use for dinner would come from the yard.

I love the smell of wild onions. Nothing says summertime, to me, like that aroma. And I remember my mother pulling them out of the yard, cleaning them, and then putting them in a jar of cold water and placing them on the dinner table to be eaten as a side dish.

My grandmother also accessed the yard for dandelion greens. Just cut the bulb off at the top and boil 'em down. And, of course, they're greens, so she'd have to make sure she had enough. It always amazes me how much greens cook down.

Now, on to pokeweed, a plant indigenous to Kentucky and the Appalachians. I have never eaten poke greens, but after seeing a picture, I realize I have seen them. And when I have, I've wondered if it was a poisonous plant, because of the berries attached to them.

Well pokeweed IS toxic, but the leaves are edible and make for some delicious greens, by all accounts. You just have to prepare them carefully.

The guys in the video below will show you how to correctly prepare pokeweed and convert it into a delicious side dish. There's one man who e:ats one of the berries as the other guy talks about its properties as a vomit-inducer, but I wouldn't go there if I were you. Just prepare the greens correctly and enjoy

So boil it three times. And, no, it isn't the most appetizing side dish I've ever seen, but then again, if you don't love greens and you haven't eaten them as much as I have, it WILL occur to you that they don't make for an attractive presence on your plate. But they're greens and they usually just won't. They make up for their appearance in massive flavor, if seasoned correctly.

So, if you have pokeweed in your yard, remember that they ARE poisonous, but that there's a very easy way to prepare them so they can be safely consumed.

And, hey, greens are one of the few southern vegetables that you don't fry. That's a big deal, in and of itself.