Hop Question
Bubbaloo M. asks: Are hops good for anything else besides beer?...
Some people will eat the tender, young leaves either cooked or in a salad. I have tried this and, coming from someone who has eaten and enjoyed stinging nettle salad, I can tell you it's about as flavorful as any random green leaf you chewed on when you were 6.
I know that hops are used as an herbal medicinal. Hop tea is supposed to have a relaxing effect. The stuff is so bitter, though, that the amount of sugar I had to add to make it drinkable just left me wired.
Traditionally, sleeping on a pillow filled with hops was supposed to ensure sweet dreams. (Not sure about this one. Depending on your frame of mind, hops can smell like good beer or cat urine.)
Many people grow it decoratively. It grows so fast (a couple of inches a day in early summer) that it can provide significant shade by August. In the fall it dies back to the ground. You just cut it down and it starts all over again in the spring.
One of the major reasons hops caught on as an additive for beer, hundreds of years ago (before that most ale was flavored with a variety of herbs or tree resins) is that hops acts as a preservative. Not sure if anybody still uses it for this purpose.
I'm sure there's an internet article out there spelling out the "101 Household Uses for Hops."
Some people will eat the tender, young leaves either cooked or in a salad. I have tried this and, coming from someone who has eaten and enjoyed stinging nettle salad, I can tell you it's about as flavorful as any random green leaf you chewed on when you were 6.
I know that hops are used as an herbal medicinal. Hop tea is supposed to have a relaxing effect. The stuff is so bitter, though, that the amount of sugar I had to add to make it drinkable just left me wired.
Traditionally, sleeping on a pillow filled with hops was supposed to ensure sweet dreams. (Not sure about this one. Depending on your frame of mind, hops can smell like good beer or cat urine.)
Many people grow it decoratively. It grows so fast (a couple of inches a day in early summer) that it can provide significant shade by August. In the fall it dies back to the ground. You just cut it down and it starts all over again in the spring.
One of the major reasons hops caught on as an additive for beer, hundreds of years ago (before that most ale was flavored with a variety of herbs or tree resins) is that hops acts as a preservative. Not sure if anybody still uses it for this purpose.
I'm sure there's an internet article out there spelling out the "101 Household Uses for Hops."
Comments
Romana
:-)
btw. I saw your post about how someone poisoned a friend's hive!?! WOW. Here in ohio the local bee club was telling folks NOT to let anyone on their property to "inspect the hives." Turns out they were a bunch of impostors who destroyed the hives and then SET THEM ON FIRE. Can you believe it?