Delicious food-medicine plant in need of a little disarming.

Nettles have a somewhat hostile exterior but deep inside they are: delicious, nutritious, medicinal, and… good for making cloth – like a slightly prickly neighbor who turns out to be a darling. They also clean up soil after contamination, sucking up heavy metals and other toxins from roadsides and ex-industrial sites.

Don’t eat those nettles though… They love soil near where people live because, traditionally at least, this ground would be well manured or composted. Nettles from clean soil make umami-rich greens, broth, or tea. You can also eat them raw if you disarm those stings: watch the video to find out how!