After a double boil. My mom would add bacon grease to a cast iron skillet and add the double boils poke to the skillet after a quick fry she would pour scrambled eggs and mix until the eggs where cooked. It looked like green scrambled eggs! She claimed if ya ate a couple batches every year it would improve your immune system. I am over fifty years old and still enjoy it every year!

I've been harvesting and eating poke for over 50 years and I can assure you that poke can be eaten when it is bigger than what you are recommending...i usually harvest when the plant is about a foot to a foot and a half tall and have NEVER had a problem... Just fyi...

My Cherokee family consider this one of their favorite Spring dishes. They make Walesi-pokeweed (cooked twice) fried up with wild onions and mushrooms. The wild birds I feed gave me the gift of pokeweed in my yard, so I’ll be trying this!

Why couldn't I have discovered this channel years ago. Pokeweed is everywhere.

My mother cooked poke greens but she also cooked the young stems. She tried to pick them before the leaves began to open up. She sliced the stems in disks and rolled them in seasoned cornmeal and fried them in a skillet. It tasted like fried okra.

Excellent treatment of a oft maligned subject matter! Folks get mad at me for letting my poke grow. Accuse me of spreading death and destruction. And this is in the Ozarks, where it’s been consumed for centuries, if not longer. Thank you for injecting some rationality to the equation. 😊

I've been eating poke for over 50yrs. When the stalks are young and not woody, I cut them up and fry like you do okra and I don't boil the leaves twice. Nothing taste like poke! 😊 Delicious.

I am 65, I learned to harvest many wild plants from my grandparents and a very knowledgeable older lady. I enjoyed your description of poke. Personally, I have a chainlink fence around my yard were I have maintained poke for over thirty years. My favorite recipe involves poke and sting nettles greens as a side dish. Thank you for sharing ❤.

If poke salad was poisonous, well when handled properly, my mom would’ve been dead in the 40’s. They grew up on it in the hills of NC. I didn’t know Elvis sang about it though…..

I am 43 years old and was raised in a hollow in WV. My mom loved poke and could eat it everyday if she had it. She never boiled it and picked it when it was small and larger in size but always said it was better the smaller the plants are. As long as the stems weren’t too red or too thick,she ate it. She taught me to cook it the way she did. She washed it really well and cut the bottoms off and cut up the leaves and small stalks and coated them with some raw eggs so the cornmeal and onions would stick to the greens and she would add salt and pepper and fried it up in bacon grease until all of the greens were fried and had a crispy brown coating from the corn meal. It was delicious! As I got older I realized that I liked to add a little flour to the cornmeal and some wild ramps to mine to give some extra flavor and it’s even more delicious. My mom had 12 children and none of us died from eating poke. It gave us the runs if we ate too much of it but that’s probably because she didn’t boil it and rinse it 3 times and we ate bowls of it at a time. I always thought it was just high in fiber. Lol I’m just now learning more about poke and never even knew it could be so poisonous. I do remember my mom saying that she didn’t think babies were supposed to eat it until after they were a year old and said some people told her that it could make you sick but mom said it never bothered her and she was raised poor and had to eat something. I did use to think the berries were poisonous but now my brother tells me that he eats the berries for his arthritis. Lol Maybe he just eats a few at a time. I’m pretty sure he freezes them in ice cube trays to preserve them so he can eat a few at a time.

My grandfather used to be a picker of poke for ALLENS. We grew up eating it. And its poke picking season in the Ozarks now.

When I was about six or seven, my great-grandmother told me what she was making for dinner. "Poke Salat", she said. She had a deep Texas accent and I thought she was saying "Pork Salad", in her Southern style. I asked her to repeat it so many times, I think it made her half mad at me. LOL! I was still so confused. I could only imagine a pork chop on a bed of lettuce, and that didn't sound like her kind of cooking. But, she showed me the pot of greens boiling on the stove, and spelled it for me, and then I understood. She used to fry it after boiling, with onions and either salt pork or chopped bacon. I enjoyed eating it as a child, but probably never would have ventured a taste, had she not been the cook. She would add Hot Pepper Vinegar to her own bowl of Poke Salat. Thanks for the great info!!!

This is now my favourite foraging channel. I really enjoy the history you add to your videos and the amount of knowledge and clarity making it easier for a novice like me to understand.

And I was going to tear up the patch that started growing in my backyard!! Even my reliable foraging book said it was completely dangerous, this video was very informational, I will have to check out the books you recommended

Thank you for sharing. I have been afraid of all the pokeweed growing on my property for 19 years. Now I am not afraid of it.

Fully mature leaves are edible. The stem down the middle is tough and is best cut out, but the leaves are huge so it is not difficult. If you don't break the shoot off at the root multiple shoots grow off the stem which results in more shoots, and a massive poke bush. No harm in that however. More leaves to eat.

So glad I found this channel. I knew about poke salad but I was always worried about not prepping it properly. Now I can rest assured and enjoy another wild food.

Hi , I just found your channel. I grew up eating poke in East Tennessee.My mother made poke paddies with cornmeal,flour,onions and bacon, I haven’t had poke in years. I can’t wait until next April (late April).Thanks for being up a wonderful memory. I can remember harvesting poke with my Mother and Grandmothers.

Thank you for taking the time to explain your vast wealth of healthy experience. I have poke growing all over the place and now feel extremely confident in harvesting and consuming it safely. I really appreciate your thoroughness, the time you took to video the actual plant in many cycles of growth to the process of cooking it safely. Amazing hard work and excellent presentation! 100% A+

I have poke salad growing in my yard . My husband grew up on a farm in PA. He told me his family used to eat it all the time but he didn’t bc he doesn’t like any greens. I asked ppl about it and most said they didn’t know anything about it. Thank you for such an informative video. It’s going to be a poke salad spring in 2023!

Well, you have inspired me to give pokeweed a try next spring! I have a patch growing behind my barn that's been impossible to get rid of.

That beginning with the King was epic!

Although I don't live in the areas with poke weeds, I enjoyed watching and learning about it. I'm curious about the taste too. Thank you.

Just cover in water and cook it, drain the water off and add fresh water, cook it again! Yummy, tastes a good bit like Spinach. Poke Salat is extremely healthy and is very high in vitamins and minerals.

Yep! Early spring is time to cut and cook up Poke. Spring cleaning time! Both for your house and your intestines! 😂

The BEST instructional video on pokeweed I've seen yet. Thank you! Super information.

Poke salad is good to eat if cooked correctly. Also you can eat the leave on fully matured plants as well.

This is THE best video on Poke... complete with Elvis from my favorite Vegas show wearing my fav Elvis jumpsuit. But all that aside, I appreciate your time and attention to the value of knowing how to prepare and eat this amazing green!

Thank you. As one that has harvested and eaten poke greens for years, i can say you have done a wonderful job explaining this subject.

So nicely done! I totally enjoyed your presentation.

You can harvest poke leaves at any stage. Just boil twice. My grandparents on both sides lived into their 90s, eating all stages of this plant all their lives.

This has been the best, most informative video I’ve watched on pokeweed yet. Thank you!!

I had an herbalist friend who dried whole ripe poke berries, and recommended taking 2-3 per day for arthritis. They didn't help my pain, but they didn't hurt me, either. She sold these in a local co-op store and elsewhere with no problems, as far as I know.

My mother cooked this every spring, never boiled it twice she boiled it once with fat back and we would dig in with fried pork chops,

I love your channel. I appreciate all the work you put into making all this information easy to digest. Thank you, thank you!

New subscriber! Amazing video. I've been fighting back pokeweed by my fence for two years! Now I'm going to just let it grow and harvest the shoots!

Awww, my favorite breakfast growing up was polk salad mixed in with scrambled eggs. Mom would have us kids go out picking Polk salad all throughout the spring and early summer. She would boil it through two changes of water and we never got sick from eating it

We ate this when I was a boy and looked forward to picking it with my grandparents every year I personally didn't like it much now I miss it just one piece of advice when you go huntin for it watch for snakes and the roots was used for a cure for a old time sickness called the itch and you bathed in the boiled water of the root also if you're bear hunting in the early fall look for patches to sti up an ambush in old somkey bear

Do let the plant live out it’s life into fall. Cardinals love it and sure look pretty sitting on a huge plant enjoying the black berries.

My family (SE Oklahoma) grew up eating poke salad, and the theories on how to properly cook it were numerous and varied. One older aunt said that she never knew she was poisoning her husband by not parboiling it, she just cooked it like spinach. (They we’re both just fine) most agree with the boiling it twice.

You are highly detailed and discreptive.Thank You for sharing Your knowleged of this herb😁

I love this stuff! My grandparents canned it yearly! So good!

This awesome thanks I can't wait to eat some poke salad next spring! Your plate of poke, rice, fried egg looks amazing!

Lol @15:40😂😂🤣😯🤦🏽‍♀️ thank you for sharing so much valuable information. I am so blessed to have come to your channel. I am a new subscriber

Nutritional Value of Pokeweek per Wikipedia: "a 100g serving of pokeweed contains 20 calories and 3.1 grams of carbohydrates, 1.6 grams of sugars, 1.5 grams of dietary fiber, 0.4 grams of fat, 2.3 grams of protein, and is a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin C, vitamin K, and manganese. It contains low levels of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium." - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytolacca_americana#Nutrition

I had never seen this plant before. I live mid Michigan but 2years agoit started sprouting in my flower bed and I left it because the full plant was soon pretty. It only grows to 4 feet and is vibrantly pink. I'm glad to know I an eat it thank you. I will try to pick it next spring and taste a new food 😊

Loved the video! I've seen this all over and never known what it was. My dad once said it's edible but he didn't know how to prepare it so we stayed away. Now I can tell him he was right!

An excellent presentation and tutorial! You answered all my questions about Pokeweed and then some! I have three 10 foot pokes growing in my veg garden right now, of their own accord. I did not cut them down as weeds because I thought I’d find out about eating them. And also to allow Cardinals to eat the berries during winter. Now I know where to look for the young leaves next spring! Thank you!

as a teen i lived in a small apartment building on a bluff overlooking the fall line of the james river.There was a summer field of overgrown pokeweed, blackberries and wild lettuce that grew up high on a hillside in between the leveled asphalt parking lot and the lower lying field that comprised a small park below. There was an 100 year old neighborhood behind this park and I remember meeting a spry couple in their 80s (who lived in one of the nearby old houses) in late july out picking the youngest leaves of the pokeweed at the top of the tall plants closest to the dark, hanging berry-clusters, and filling bags and baskets with them. I asked them about it and they told me theyd been doing such all summer for years on end and explained the process of picking the youngest helathiest leaves and how to double boil them and rinse them. I really love cooked spinach, collards. arugula, mustard greens and chard and Im really stoked to try Pokeweed for the 1st time.

Thank you for the information.very well explained.

Awesome! We had some pokeweed pop up and I can’t wait to try it next spring

Have it growing in my yard! Absolutely delicious!

Oh my god! Why didn’t I know that Elvis song?!!!!??? That was amazing. Thanks for including that. I’m a yankee (New York) and it’s makes sense that folks up here are scared of it! I always admire that southern perspective.

I was born and raised in the 'sticks' is West Central PA by great parents. They are now passed over but I am 80 yrs. old and going strong. Each spring, we would harvest poke greens in the younger stage of growth and later by picking the tips of older plant growth. We typically boiled the poke three times before consuming simply with butter, salt and pepper. Never did any of us get sick nor did any of our neighbors/friends. Using older growth was simply too tough and too strong of flavor to enjoy so we didn't do that. No one ever had a rash from harvesting the poke. No one ever was ill from consuming the poke (as far as we/I knew) and certainly no one ever died from it (as far as we know). To this day, I use poke weed fresh and cooked but kind of prefer eating the raw tender stems more than anything else...with no adverse effects! I have eaten the ripe berries with no ill effect but I don't like their taste so I don't regularly eat them. I would like to make some wine from the berries but with all the poison hipe about using the berries, I am reluctant to do so...at least as far as consuming such. It appears to me that most if not all the hipe about poke is from and by folks that are simply repeating the hipe from folks that are simply repeating the hipe... and have no actual specific and concrete knowledge about it...but I could be wrong but I only want to know the truth and not someone's unfounded conjecture.

Best video about Pokeweed! Thank you for all you do :)

It's funny you were talking about people being able to identify asparagus once it's fully grown I live in Indiana and believe it or not in Southern Indiana we actually have that stuff growing on the roadside

I’ve only prepared and eaten poke salad once. To be honest I used several 3 foot tall plants. If I remember correctly I took mostly leaves from the upper portion but still 8” or more leaves. It was a giant pot of blue green spinach like greens. I did about 10 water boils, maybe more. I was told to do water boils until I thought it was done and then do a few more. That was like 10 years ago. No ill effects, no burning, just tasty greens. To be honest I’ve been eyein the poke salad in my back yard all year lol. Next spring it’s fate is sealed.

Kudos, you make some great videos. I'm envious of your skills in video-making!

Loved THIS video!! Here I am having tons of pokeweed in my back yard and everyone is telling me it's poisonous like poison ivy , I should call someone to get rid of it and I was afraid of touching it. Now I can have my yard back!!

great video, i've eaten a bunch of times and loved it. moving back to tennessee so i'll be eating more of it....

Very well explained. Thank you. I'm subscribing.

w0w, ms Kane, many thanks for the best ever info! ✔️

My very favorite vegetable and I just started this last year. It grows wild in my yard.

Alabama- my grandmother picked it as we walked after supper. She boiled it before consumption.

Just a simple THANK YOU to you! 💞 I am originally from the USA but now live in Australia. I don't believe Pokeweed grows here but I am always fascinated to learn about any self-sustainable, wild foraged food source on our collective mother earth. After watching a few of your videos and finding them highly valuable, I have now gladly subscribed to your channel :)

I love your channel!! Subscribed!!

Great video! Thanks so much.

My flowerbeds are full of poke. My grandfather always boiled his 3 times. I've always just let mine grow because I yhink they are so pretty. But next spring I'll start harvesting and eating some. Loved your video.

Thanks very helpful information. I bought some seeds to grow in the uk

I have beautiful poke plants growing in a few places in my garden. I like their flavor but mostly I enjoy watching them grow.

Hello! Even before I see your version of how to use pokeweed, I'll proclaim, that this is an excellent food when prepared properly. I tend to call it: "Poke Salad Annie" !

Excellent video. I have steered away from it b/c of my lack of knowledge. My mom seems bent on proving to me and my children that she knows how to do this correctly (and i know she does, but...). This video has allayed my fears somewhat. I even have this growing in my yard next to a fire pile... so readily available is an understatement. As someone who enjoyed doing calligraphy, in interested in learning how to make the ink and dye!!! Thank you!!

I came from a family line that always said poke was poisonous so I would keep cutting it out definitely going to try it this spring!

Great info, thank you.

You can eat the mature leaves when cooked properly. Meaning you just have to boil and change the water more than twice. Till a very light green tea look.

Around me, poke is called Inkberry. And it's used mostly for chicken feed. Chickens love it, both the greens AND the berries.

Excellent video!!! Thank you!!! Poke is the best!

Great video! Thank you!

I ate it raw before. Just maybe one leaf or two at a time. I'm63 and still kicking. But I also didn't know I wasn't supposed to eat it raw.

Wish I'd known this when I had my horse farm. SO much pokeweed along the fencelines.

Oh we have one of these growing next to our driveway! I always wondered what it was- I kind of just assumed it was poisonous by default because of the berries lol. The berries were used for many childhood random plants I found around my house fake soups cause they were so colorful

Thank you soo much for the info 🙏. I was serchin for poke , because I heard that the roots are good for cancer , just a little drop of the tincture .

I eat it, and the berries. The berries are medicine, but don't bite the seed inside, I just swallow it, don't bite the seed, that's where the poison is, it will pass through undigested.

as a kid we ate poke at least once a week during the spring\summer months also love rhubarb pie👍

What a brilliant channel this is.

This is an excellant video (though a bit restrictive) of a free resource well known from an era where people were made of hardy stuff! I took my lessons from old timers who were still living on their own in their 90s! I use something herbal or nutritional from the Poke plant at least a few times a week. I put up precooked packets of poke in the freezer too. Phytolacca is a gift in my mind, there's even a useful homeopathic remedy is made from it.

I've ate poke salet all my life, it is all over eastern Ok. We fix it same as you, except usually scramble eggs in with it and the onions. But not always. We also fix it with wild onions often. Delicious!

Use to collect it for my Granny. She preferred the young, but either would work. She strip the green like turnip greens, take the harder stems out; an wash well. She said have to boil, pour off water, recoil. She did such like 6 times. She then put in a skillet, add grease lard / or bacon lard. She fry sauté it down with salt an black pepper. She would not eat berries, or the root; said poisonous. She stated poisonous if not boiled an poured off right. She loved them, was like giving her bouquet of roses.she added onions sometimes, an added vinegar pepper sauce when served.

Good eats! Spent my Springs as a child looking for polk, wild mustard, spinach, dandelions, and wild asparagus

Thank you so much for this!!! There is so much conflicting information!! My grandparents and my mother both cooked it like you (with the spring shoots) usually with bacon grease!But that’s a no no now cholesterol!! So how did my grandparents live into their 80’s?

I grew up eating this! My Mom picked it and made it for us. It was delicious!

My mom would scramble an egg in the poke salad, and we would always pare it with pinto beans.

First of all I am eating the leaves on larger poke I cooked it down like you suggested and mixed it 50/50 with spinach it is also great made up with a bit of cooked up bacon in Greece you can also do the boiling process this plant can be put in Ziploc bags and Frozen for winter salad

Great content, thank you! A little feedback, if you are interested: I find the whooshing noises and quick cut visuals hard to watch. I am certainly more sensitive than a lot of people, but I'd thought you'd want to know. Also (a suggestion to almost all youtubers) pan *slowly*, much more slowly than you think you need to.

I have eaten the berries and found them enjoyable taste however do not eat the tiny seeds at all. I am going to try to use the berries juice as a natural dye for some of my damaged clothing of cotton. Just another experiment to try. I have never tried to eat the greens but have seen it all over my yards so next I will get that a try. Thanks for the info on when best and how to consume the greens..

I just saw this video on poke sallet. I'm 70 and grew up eating poke, my mother after boiling cooked it with scrambled eggs. She also canned the stems into pickled poke.

I’m so glad you started with PolkSalad Annie

Grew up eating poke sallet. It's delicious.

In southeastern Kentucky we fix it a different way,boiling one time till it's wilted,drain all the juice out,put one inch of pure lard in cast iron pan put poke in than 2 to 3 egg to kill the poison.fry till eggs are done. Don't forget cornbread made with white corn meal.

Wish you were my neighbor lol i have mock strawberries i believe and this same plant and its nerve wrecking because you said everytbing on the internet was true about this plant . So thank you for pretty much for the true knowledge