Lambsquarter: Taste It Before You Toss It

It may be time to start looking at lambsquarter in a different way.  Much like chickweed, this common garden weed (sometimes also known as pigweed) is another often-overlooked plant that has great potential as a wild food. A prolific grower, lambsquarter is well-suited to Dawson gardens, and does well in many Northern regions. Lambsquarter leaves are delicious raw and are not bitter like many other edible foraged leaves.  Suzanne reports that she loves the taste, and they are her new favourite foraged leaf to eat raw. Sometimes called “northern spinach,” the leaves can also be cooked and used as a spinach substitute in stir fries or baked dishes like lasagna. The leaves keep well in the refrigerator for a couple of days, or for the long term can be dried or frozen and stored for later use in sauces, soups, or stews.  Lambsquarter is rich in Vitamins A and C, so the dried leaves can be a great source of these vitamins in wintertime. One cautionary note: lambsquarter absorbs pollutants so avoid harvesting near roads or industrial areas.