Do you want to discover our edible world? At Op Oost, we’d love to take you along the tuunwallen, meadows, dune pans, and the ends of the Wadden Sea. Together, we’ll search for... wild herbs, vegetables, flowers, mushrooms, and so much more.
Seek and You Shall Find
I absolutely love it. Searching, looking, wandering, and exploring for all that beauty. I usually bring a basket, a small pair of scissors, and my phone. Not only to take photos but also to identify (know what it is). I’d love to take you along on our foraging adventures. To show you how easy, fun, and exciting it is. And of course, how we use foraged items in our kitchen at our restaurant, Kook Atelier.
In the Old Days
Nowadays, supermarkets are a luxury that many of us cannot imagine living without in our (daily) routine. Need something? You go to the supermarket, right? Not in the old days, we used to gather, pick, and harvest what we needed. With an emphasis on: what we needed. Although the tuunwallen around Oost are rich and abundant, a real ‘walking buffet,’ you always pick only what you really need. Leave the supermarket or wholesaler behind for once and discover nature; go foraging!
Wild Sorrel
Sorrel is a wild vegetable that grows abundantly at Op Oost. Often right along the ditches next to the tuunwallen. I pick it in spring and autumn; in summer, sorrel blooms, and the taste becomes bitter.
The beautiful bright green leaves are not only tasty but also very good for you. That always gives me a special feeling. That a plant, no matter how small, can possess so much value.
Powerrrrr
- Stung by nettles? Rub sorrel on it, and the burning sensation will disappear.
- For a purifying spring and autumn cure.
- Cooling for fever and skin rashes.
- Strengthens the stomach and supports bile production.
- Cleanses the skin.
- Helps against anemia.
- Packed with vitamin C and iron.
- If you’re planning a long 18th-century sea voyage, it also works perfectly against scurvy.
Mmmmmm
Use it like spinach. Think smoothies, soup, salad. Or completely raw, thinly sliced to add a nice tang to a dish.
Discover
Go out, of course with respect for nature. Pick, taste, discover, and experience. It’s so wonderful!
Discover Op Oost - ‘Inspired by Nature’
Love, Valerie
Ps.
- Sorrel often grows near nettles.
- Use the young leaves and tender stems.
- Don’t eat sorrel every day or for too long at a stretch.
- The foraging books by Edwin Flores, Casa Foresta, and De Buitenkeuken by Leoniek Bontje.