When I hear the word clover, my imagination paints a quintessential Irish scene—emerald shamrocks, the wild celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day, leprechauns, and pots of gold))). But lately, red clover has become more associated in my mind with spring salads and clover jelly. Why? Let me tell you.
It so happens that I’ve completely transformed the diet of my small family. Thanks to the constant search for material for articles, I uncover the unusual culinary preferences of other cultures, and I absolutely have to try them all! Not larvae or scorpions, no. That kind of exotic fare is foreign to me… But I wanted to take a fresh look at familiar plants, like weeds. I started with the omnipresent
dandelion
,
purslane
, and
lamb’s quarters
, and I just barely missed the chance to try red clover this season.
In the United States, clover is grown as livestock feed, while in the Yangtze River Delta, this delicate flower is fried with herbs and served with any grilled dish. They say red clover tastes like a summer day…
Weeds like clover traditionally boast incredible nutritional value.
- It contains four isoflavones (a plant-based analog of estrogen)—formononetin, biochanin A, daidzein, and genistein. Clover is especially beneficial for women during menopause, PMS, and fertility issues. It helps regulate ovarian function.
- Clover’s deep roots allow it to accumulate minerals, especially calcium and magnesium, in an easily absorbable form. It combats osteoporosis and supports the renewal of mucous membranes (this means it gives cancer cells on tissues like the cervix no chance to develop).
- Red clover is a plant-based antibiotic with a broad spectrum of action.
- It has a mild laxative effect and promotes bile flow.
I lean toward eating all seasonal greens in moderation, without going overboard. After all, any plant can turn from a remedy into a toxin if its consumption isn’t monitored. For this reason, I don’t want to include recipes for clover-based tinctures in this article, even though there are plenty to be found online. Phytoestrogens, for instance, can trigger hormonal imbalances if hormone levels aren’t regularly checked through medical tests. During pregnancy, clover is contraindicated.
How to Harvest Clover
Red clover is entirely edible—from its flowers to its stems. But if you only pluck the flowers, it will continue to bloom, allowing you to harvest the blossoms up to three times. Red clover flowers can be dried for tea in a dehydrator (very handy) or in indirect sunlight for 2–3 days.
How to Prepare Red Clover
The simplest way to savor a “summer day” is with clover tea: pour 2–3 flower heads with a cup of boiling water, let it steep for 5–7 minutes. Add ginger or mint, dried raspberries, cherry or black currant leaves… and a spoonful of honey.
Lemonade “Red Clover”
3 cups of clover flowers, 4 cups of water, 1 cup of lemon juice, 4 tablespoons of honey. Boil the flowers for 5–7 minutes. Let cool without straining. Remove the flowers from the warm broth, then add the lemon juice and honey to the liquid. Chill and serve with ice.
Clover Jelly
First, prepare the broth:
Pour 4 cups of clover flowers with 4 cups of boiling water and leave it to infuse overnight under a lid. Strain and squeeze out the flowers. Don’t use aluminum cookware (in fact, avoid it altogether…).
Now, make the jelly:
4 cups of broth (if some liquid has evaporated, add water to make up the difference), 8 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 packets of pectin (a brand like “Konfityurka” is commonly sold here), 8 cups of sugar (this is the amount specified in the original recipe, but I would personally use less than half of that).
Mix the infusion with lemon juice and pectin, bring to a boil with frequent stirring. Add all the sugar and bring to a boil, cooking for about a minute. Transfer to prepared jars. Store in the refrigerator. The author of the recipe spreads the jelly on toast with butter (somewhere across the ocean, on a farm in Nebraska).
Do not overlook clover leaves and shoots – they can be used in cooking just like chard and spinach. Fresh in salads or chopped into soup before serving. While preparing this article, I read the blog of a girl from Shanghai who owns a small restaurant there. She complains that most restaurant chefs only cook with spinach, too lazy to search the markets for something more interesting—like clover, for instance. In that same blog, I read that clover pairs well with garlic. Recipes using lamb’s quarters from this article can be adapted for clover.
It would be possible to experiment with clover in September, but I’ll hold out for the tender young greens of spring. I’ll definitely update the article with impressions and new recipes!
