The Step You Can't Skip When Cooking Stinging Nettles

Stinging nettles might not sound appetizing to the uninitiated, but don't let their reputation scare you off. Stinging nettles are a highly nutritious and tasty wild green with a rich history of culinary and medicinal uses. Today, people use this versatile foraged food for everything from wrapping artisanal British cheeses to using it as a treatment for aches and pains. However, there's one critical step you can't miss when cooking with stinging nettles – de-stinging them.

Stinging nettles get their name from the hollow hairs on their leaves which produce an uncomfortable prickling sensation when touched. The best and easiest way to de-sting nettles is blanching, which destroys all the stinging hairs. Blanching stinging nettles is just like blanching any other vegetable, except you'll want to soak the nettles in warm water for a few minutes beforehand and wear gloves to avoid painful stings. When your nettles are ready for blanching, bring a pot of water to a boil, slowly stir in the nettles, cover, and cook for between 90 to 120 seconds. Then, quickly transfer the nettles to an ice bath. Dry them off with some paper towels, and that's it — your nettles are now sting-free and safe to eat.

Blanching isn't the only way to de-sting nettles — the prickly hairs (or trichomes) can also be destroyed by steaming, crushing, or dehydrating the plants. However, blanching is the most foolproof method and has the added benefits of cleaning and softening the nettles and keeping them from turning bitter or brown. 

If you're anything like me, you might be wondering what happens if you eat nettles that are not properly de-stung. The answer is rather boring: They will sting the inside of your mouth, but this will not have any lasting side effects. In fact, there's actually a World Nettle Eating Championship in which people willingly consume as many raw nettle leaves as possible. Rest assured, unless you enter this unique form of competitive eating, it's unlikely you'll unknowingly consume leaves that can still sting; the stinging hairs are destroyed even when the leaves are only lightly cooked.

Speaking of consuming nettles, there are many ways to cook and eat this wild green. De-stung nettles can be prepared like any other leafy green; they're a wonderful addition to sauces, stir-fries, and soups, and you can get fancy with a nettle risotto, omelet, or curry. Stinging nettles even form a part of several popular Irish potato recipes, including colcannon. Finally, they can also be brewed into herbal tea or nettle beer.