Every child knows that hops are essential for brewing beer. Very few people know that you can also eat hops. The spring vegetables, which were once decried as poor people's food, are now considered a real delicacy. The young shoots are edible and have to be laboriously harvested by hand.
Can you eat hops and how?
Hops can be eaten as a delicacy by harvesting and preparing the young sprouts in spring. Hops can be cooked, baked or eaten raw and are suitable for soups, salads, vegetable dishes as well as liqueurs and schnapps.
Uses for hops in the kitchen
- Hop soup
- Hop salad
- Hop vegetables
- Hop liqueur
- Hop schnapps
Hops, even wild hops, are not poisonous and are now considered a real delicacy. The tender sprouts have a slightly nutty taste. Hops are cooked and prepared like asparagus. That's why hops can be used in all dishes for which you can also use asparagus.
Harvest time for hop asparagus
The harvest time for hop asparagus is spring, when the tender sprouts sprout from the ground. Hops develop hundreds of such secondary shoots. If it is used commercially, only four to six hop tendrils remain. The rest is cut and can then be prepared in the kitchen.
The harvest, which only lasts a few weeks in spring, is strenuous. Each sprout, which is about the thickness of a finger, must be picked by hand. To do this, carefully snap it off with your thumb and forefinger. The delicate sprouts cannot be stored for long. They should be processed as quickly as possible.
Cooking hops
You cook hops in the same way as green asparagus. All you need to do is cut off the end, wash the hops thoroughly and let them dry.
It is then cooked in boiling water with s alt and sugar or spices to taste for a few minutes. You can also bake hop asparagus with cheese in the oven and eat it warm.
The hop sprouts can also be used to make liqueur or hop schnapps.
Hops are edible raw and cooked
Survival experts value raw hops as a way to sustain themselves on the go. The young sprouts can also be eaten raw. However, they are then said to dampen the sex drive.
When cooked, hops develop the desired aroma. Foods containing cooked hops are said to have a sex drive-increasing effect.
Tip
In the largest hop growing area, the Hallertau or Holledau, day laborers once received part of their wages in hop asparagus. Therefore, hops are considered poor people's food that used to only be served in times of need.
