I know it seems that spring just came to our Alaskan Burg but there is snow on the mountains - "Termination Dust"! Meaning that the termination of our summer is coming quickly and the snow is moving down the mountains! The only saving grace is that it is time for harvesting and foraging! One of my favorites is the beautiful Fireweed!
Fireweed is another one of Alasks's "super plants". It is rich in Calcium, Fiber, Vitamin A, Magnesium, and Potassium. I add the fireweed leaves and flowers to my detox tea for joint inflammation relief, and it is said to have some pain relief properties as well. Fireweed leaf can also be used as a woundwort to help in the healing of wounds. It has also shown effective for migraines.
I have also been known to add it to a favorite flavor of tea when I am running low to make it last a little longer. It works well with just about any kind! Delicious!
Fireweed is an amazing plant. Some here say it is a weed as it will grow pretty much anywhere and it is hard to get rid of if you should try. I don't really try to get rid of it because I like it for its telling of the season and for its many uses as a food, medicine and tea plant. It is called Fireweed because it is the first plant that grows after a forest fire, adding beauty while holding the soil and preventing erosion when the rains come!
Alaskans tell how long the summer will be by how soon the fireweed blossoms and how far up the stem the blossoms open. When the blossoms are bloomed at the top of the stem, fall is upon us and snow not far away. When this happens in August and Sepgtember- there is generally crying throughout the community - "We are NOT ready"!
Fireweed blossoms dry beautifully and can be used in tea or to make jelly! Fireweed Jelly is very tasty and makes a beautiful gift, especially with a loaf of fresh bread. Read on for a recipe for the jelly.
Harvest the flower petals when they are almost fully open. If you harvest too early (before the flowers open) they are a little bitter and I don't think as tasty. If you are harvesting whole plant
then take the flowers off as they are, but if you are only collecting flowers, then just pluck the ones that are almost fully open and dry them in the sun. I have found that in my dehydrator they lose a little of the color so I prefer to sun dry for that reason. Store them in a cool dry place - I use a reusable container with a lid.
We are a little past the fireweed flower stage for this year - but make sure you plan to gather some next summer!
Below are fireweed leaves in one of my big glass bowls. Harvest the clean dry leaves by "stripping the stems" - basically just running your mostly closed hand down the stem and letting the leaves fall off. I like to wash them off with the hose while the leaves are still on the stem and hang them to air dry for a bit before stripping them onto a clean sheet or large towel. Let them wilt for 12-18 hours and then place them in your fermentations bowl.
To make fireweed leaf tea (and it really tastes almost like a green to black tea) you have to bruise the leaves in the bowl. Some like to roll 4-5 leaves at a time between their hands in the traditional tea leaf manner, and I have done this method but I mostly just bruise them good (because - yes Im usually short on time and rolling is time intensive). Rolling probably bruises them more and they turn out looking like the traditional rolled black tea leaves.
Cover it and let it sit for a few hours, then bruise the leaves again and let it sit a few hours more. Don't tear them up - you just want them bruised before you dry them. Once you have done the process a few times the leaves should start to look black.
Here they are after just the first bruising treatment. They will settle in the bowl a little as you go. Give them a stir once in a while after they have turned dark colored and leave them to ferment for 48 to 72 hours. I have accidentally left mine for a week once and it seemed no harm.
Once they are dark colored and you can smell the wild on them, its time to dry them.
Fireweed leaves cannot be done in a dehydrator as the leaves need to be bruised and ferment or the flavor and benefits arent the same. I have done it (when I left it to ferment for a week), but I could tell a color and flavor difference. Take the time! Store it also in an airtight container.
But also as winter comes and the fireweed blossoms end and go to seed, it floats like cotton across everything, blanketing the fall pictures with the white that will be winter, just like the Dandelion does in the spring.
Here is a fireweed all bloomed out - to the top and sending its fluffy snow cotton seeds out to the universe. The end of summer, yet beautiful still.
As with everything, there are some folks who are allergic to the Fireweed, and it can cause some havoc with those folks. Please be aware before you use it for anything.
FIREWEED JELLY
8 C. Fireweed blossoms
5 C. Water
Juice of two lemons (apx 1/4 C)
2 tsp finely ground cinnamon (optional)
5 C. sugar
2 packages SureJell Pectin (1.75 oz each)
Start your water boiling for water bath canner, and prepare your jars and lids.
Put the fireweed blossoms, lemon juice and water and cinnamon in another pot and simmer gently for 10 minutes, strain in a colander lined with cheesecloth or a dishtowel.
Rinse the pot and add the juice back to it and bring back to a boil. Add the sugar and the pectin, bring to a rolling boil, and cook for 1 full minute. Remove from heat and immediately ladle into hot jars. Place the lids and rings, wiping off any that spills on the rim of the jar first. Place your jars into the water bath canner and process for 10 minutes.
Allow to cool on a towel on the counter and listen for the "pop" of the lid sealing! if a jar or two doesnt seal, refrigerate and use first. The jelly should gel nicely within a few hours.
Enjoy!
This batch I used dried flowers instead of fresh and some of the color was lost, but it is still beautifully honey colored and the flavor is exquisite!
May you be blessed with a fine fall that provides all you need for the winter!
