I've just paid a visit to the Local Tastes shop in Thame
(www.localtastes.co.uk for anyone interested). I'd never come across it
before but, having done some Googling, I've learnt it's considered
pernicious. Shame really, because it's really rather tasty and I certainly
wouldn't want to see it eradicated.

What I /am/ curious about, however, is why the heck is it called Fat Hen?!
It can't mean 'fat hen' as in, well, 'fat hen', surely?! What's it got to do
with domesticated fowl if that's the case...? Are they rather partial to it
and does it make them tubby...? Enquiring minds demand to know! ;o)

Sarah

Miss Perspicacia Tick wrote:
I've just paid a visit to the Local Tastes shop in Thame
(www.localtastes.co.uk for anyone interested). I'd never come across
it before but, having done some Googling, I've learnt it's considered
pernicious. Shame really, because it's really rather tasty and I
certainly wouldn't want to see it eradicated.

What I /am/ curious about, however, is why the heck is it called Fat
Hen?! It can't mean 'fat hen' as in, well, 'fat hen', surely?! What's
it got to do with domesticated fowl if that's the case...? Are they
rather partial to it and does it make them tubby...? Enquiring minds
demand to know! ;o)
Sarah

sarah, you've been at the Sherry again haven't you?

;)

In article ,
michael adams wrote:


Fat hen is another name for "Good King Henry" a semi-wild spinach.
Chenopodium is the correct name. Another is "all goo".

Not normally. Fat hen is Chenopodium album, also known as goosefoot,
and is a native annual. Good King Henry is Chenopodium bonus-henricus,
and is an introduced perennial.

The former is a common weed, and there is no danger of it being eradicated.
It makes a very good spinach. The latter self-seeds to become a pest
in suitable soils, and is much coarser, but can be blanched and eaten
as Lincolnshire asparagus.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , michael adams
writes


Fat hen is another name for "Good King Henry" a semi-wild spinach.
Chenopodium is the correct name. Another is "all goo".

Is it? Good king henry is Chenopodium bonum-henricum. I thought fat hen
in the strict sense was one of the other Chenopodiums.

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In message , michael adams
writes

Fat hen is another name for "Good King Henry" a semi-wild spinach.
Chenopodium is the correct name. Another is "all goo".

According to Keble Martin (and Mabey) Fat Hen is Chenopodium album, and
Good King Henry is Chenopodium bonus-henricus.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

The message
from "michael adams" contains these words:

Fat hen is another name for "Good King Henry" a semi-wild spinach.
Chenopodium is the correct name. Another is "all goo".

Chenopodium is the generic name. They both belong to the goosefoot
family - Chenopodium bonus-henricus is Good King Henry, and Chenopodium
album is fat hen. They are similar, but easily told apart.

In my experience its hardly pernicious. You can buy seeds from Chiltern
Seeds.

It can be pulled up easily - too easily if you are cropping it. The
roots are shallow and as it likes fine soil...

It has triangular thickish leaves on individual stalks. The stalks can
be steamed separately as "poor man's asparagus."

It's a perennial that might thrive - and thus become pernicious
in a sunny well drained spot. It sprouts from a root crown every
year in much the same way as asparagus.

Neither comes from a crown, and both are annuals AFAIK - fat hen certainy is.

The yield is very small compared with any other spinach subsitute
you could choose - chard\seakale New Zealand spinach etc. There
are no flowers worth commenting on.

IME you get a lot more for your bagful than you do with spinach, for
instance. I collect it on the edges of local arable fields and can
usually fill two carrier bags at a foray. Sugar beet fields are
favourite as you don't get the weedkiller sprays during growth.

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article ,
michael adams wrote:


Fat hen is another name for "Good King Henry" a semi-wild spinach.
Chenopodium is the correct name. Another is "all goo".

I forgot to mention - it's "all good" not "all goo". The latter
seems to have originated in a misprint in some book, but I don't
know which one.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Martin wrote:
Miss Perspicacia Tick wrote:
I've just paid a visit to the Local Tastes shop in Thame
(www.localtastes.co.uk for anyone interested). I'd never come across
it before but, having done some Googling, I've learnt it's considered
pernicious. Shame really, because it's really rather tasty and I
certainly wouldn't want to see it eradicated.

What I /am/ curious about, however, is why the heck is it called Fat
Hen?! It can't mean 'fat hen' as in, well, 'fat hen', surely?! What's
it got to do with domesticated fowl if that's the case...? Are they
rather partial to it and does it make them tubby...? Enquiring minds
demand to know! ;o)
Sarah

sarah, you've been at the Sherry again haven't you?

;)

Not quite sure what you mean by that, Martin...

"Miss Perspicacia Tick" wrote in message
...
I've just paid a visit to the Local Tastes shop in Thame
(www.localtastes.co.uk for anyone interested). I'd never come across it
before but, having done some Googling, I've learnt it's considered
pernicious. Shame really, because it's really rather tasty and I certainly
wouldn't want to see it eradicated.

What I /am/ curious about, however, is why the heck is it called Fat Hen?!
It can't mean 'fat hen' as in, well, 'fat hen', surely?! What's it got to
do
with domesticated fowl if that's the case...? Are they rather partial to
it
and does it make them tubby...? Enquiring minds demand to know! ;o)

Sarah
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the middle ages this was a valued crop plant grown/allowed to
grow for its leaves and grain. So much so that it is described as a
domesticated weed~~ as much as a dog is a domesticated wolf etc.When other
grains were plentiful these seeds were thought only good enough for
chickens~~ on which they thrived~~~Hence 'Fat Hen'. It grows well in sugar
beet fields as it is similarly, selectively, resistant.
Best Wishes Brian.

Brian wrote:
"Miss Perspicacia Tick" wrote in message
...
I've just paid a visit to the Local Tastes shop in Thame
(www.localtastes.co.uk for anyone interested). I'd never come across
it before but, having done some Googling, I've learnt it's considered
pernicious. Shame really, because it's really rather tasty and I
certainly wouldn't want to see it eradicated.

What I /am/ curious about, however, is why the heck is it called Fat
Hen?! It can't mean 'fat hen' as in, well, 'fat hen', surely?!
What's it got to do with domesticated fowl if that's the case...?
Are they rather partial to it and does it make them tubby...?
Enquiring minds demand to know! ;o)

Sarah
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the middle ages this was a valued crop plant
grown/allowed to grow for its leaves and grain. So much so that it is
described as a domesticated weed~~ as much as a dog is a domesticated
wolf etc.When other grains were plentiful these seeds were thought
only good enough for chickens~~ on which they thrived~~~Hence 'Fat
Hen'. It grows well in sugar beet fields as it is similarly,
selectively, resistant. Best Wishes Brian.

Thank you, Brian. *Finally* /somebody/ answered my question! ;o) eg

The message
from "michael adams" contains these words:

So much for the value of AFAIK, when it comes to contradicting those
with actual experience.

Shall I quote your original post in whole, or in part.

So much for 'actual experience'.

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from "michael adams" contains these words:
"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "michael adams" contains these words:

So much for the value of AFAIK, when it comes to contradicting those
with actual experience.

Shall I quote your original post in whole, or in part.

So much for 'actual experience'.

You may quote what you wish.

I made a simple mistake in confusing fat hen with Good King Henry
which I corrected myself within half an hour.

And I answered before you corrected.

Quite why you think that gives you the right to accuse me of
lying and fabrication is for you to decide.

I think you're going a bit over the top with 'lying and fabrication', lad.

___________________________________
Quote:

The yield is very small compared with any other spinach subsitute
you could choose - chard\seakale New Zealand spinach etc. There
are no flowers worth commenting on.
___________________________________

Wrong.


So much for 'good manners'.

___________________________________
Quote:

So much for the value of AFAIK, when it comes to contradicting those
with actual experience.
___________________________________

Quite: so much for good manners.

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Miss Perspicacia Tick wrote:
Martin wrote:
Miss Perspicacia Tick wrote:
I've just paid a visit to the Local Tastes shop in Thame
(www.localtastes.co.uk for anyone interested). I'd never come across
it before but, having done some Googling, I've learnt it's
considered pernicious. Shame really, because it's really rather
tasty and I certainly wouldn't want to see it eradicated.

What I /am/ curious about, however, is why the heck is it called Fat
Hen?! It can't mean 'fat hen' as in, well, 'fat hen', surely?!
What's it got to do with domesticated fowl if that's the case...?
Are they rather partial to it and does it make them tubby...?
Enquiring minds demand to know! ;o)
Sarah

sarah, you've been at the Sherry again haven't you?

;)

Not quite sure what you mean by that, Martin...

Well, it's really down to my ignorance. Imagine if you were reading your
post having never heard of "Fat Hen." It looks batty!

But - now that I've read some replies, it's all clear.

Now, where did I leave that sherry...

Martin

"Miss Perspicacia Tick" wrote in message
...
I've just paid a visit to the Local Tastes shop in Thame
(www.localtastes.co.uk for anyone interested). I'd never come across it
before but, having done some Googling, I've learnt it's considered
pernicious. Shame really, because it's really rather tasty and I certainly
wouldn't want to see it eradicated.

What I /am/ curious about, however, is why the heck is it called Fat Hen?!
It can't mean 'fat hen' as in, well, 'fat hen', surely?! What's it got to do
with domesticated fowl if that's the case...? Are they rather partial to it
and does it make them tubby...? Enquiring minds demand to know! ;o)

Sarah

Found this..........(relevant bit in the very last line :~)

Good King Henry
Family: N.O. Chenopodiaceae
Botanical: Chenopodium Bonus Henricus
---Synonyms---English Mercury. Mercury Goosefoot. Allgood. Tola Bona. Smearwort.
Fat Hen.
(German) Fette Henne.
---Part Used---Herb.
---Habitat---Good King Henry grows abundantly in waste places near villages,
having formerly been cultivated as a garden pot-herb.
---Description---It is a dark-green, succulent plant, about 2 feet, high, rising
from a stout, fleshy, branching root-stock, with large, thickish, arrow-shaped
leaves and tiny yellowish-green flowers in numerous close spikes, 1 to 2 inches
long, both terminal and arising from the axils of the leaves. The fruit is
bladder-like, containing a single seed.

The leaves used to be boiled in broth, but were principally gathered, when young
and tender, and cooked as a pot-herb. In Lincolnshire, they are still eaten in
place of spinach. Thirty years ago, this Goosefoot was regularly grown as a
vegetable in Suffolk, Lincolnshire, and other eastern counties and was preferred
to the Garden Spinach, its flavour being somewhat similar, but less pronounced.
In common with several other closely allied plants, it was sometimes called
'Blite' (from the Greek, bliton, insipid), Evelyn says in his Acetaria, 'it is
well-named being insipid enough.' Nevertheless, it is a very wholesome
vegetable. If grown on rich soil, the young shoots, when as thick as a lead
pencil, may be cut when 5 inches in height, peeled and boiled and eaten as
Asparagus. They are gently laxative.

---Cultivation---Good King Henry is well worth cultivating. Being a perennial,
it will continue to produce for a number of years, being best grown on a deep
loamy soil. The ground should be rich, well drained, and deeply dug. Plants
should be put in about April, 1 foot apart each way, or seeds may be sown in
drills at the same distance. During the first year, the plants should be allowed
to establish themselves, but after that, both shoots and leaves may be cut or
picked, always leaving enough to maintain the plant in health. Manure water is
of great assistance in dry weather, or a dressing of 1 OZ. of nitrate of soda,
or sulphate of ammonia may be given.

As with many of the wild plants, it does not always adapt itself to a change of
soil when transplanted from its usual habitat and success is more often ensured
when grown from seed.

Dodoens says the name Good King Henry, was given it to distinguish the plant
from another, and poisonous one, called Malus Henricus ('Bad Henry'). The name
Henricus in this case was stated by Grimm to refer to elves and kobolds ('Heinz'
and 'Heinrich'), indicating magical powers of a malicious nature. The name has
no connexion with our King Hal.

The plant is also known as Mercury Goosefoot, English Mercury and Marquery (to
distinguish it from the French Mercury), because of its excellent remedial
qualities in indigestion, hence the proverb: 'Be thou sick or whole, put Mercury
in thy Koole.'

The name 'Smear-wort' refers to its use in ointment. Poultices made of the
leaves were used to cleanse and heal chronic sores, which, Gerard states, 'they
do scour and mundify.'

The roots were given to sheep as a remedy for cough and the seeds have found
employment in the manufacture of shagreen.

The plant is said to have been used in Germany for fattening poultry and was
called there Fette Henne, of which one of its popular names, Fat Hen, is the
translation.

Jenny
An enquiring mind is a joy forever :~)

The message
from "JennyC" contains these words:

/snip/

The plant is also known as Mercury Goosefoot, English Mercury and
Marquery (to
distinguish it from the French Mercury), because of its excellent remedial
qualities in indigestion, hence the proverb: 'Be thou sick or whole,
put Mercury
in thy Koole.'

The name 'Smear-wort' refers to its use in ointment. Poultices made of the
leaves were used to cleanse and heal chronic sores, which, Gerard
states, 'they
do scour and mundify.'

The roots were given to sheep as a remedy for cough and the seeds have found
employment in the manufacture of shagreen.

The plant is said to have been used in Germany for fattening poultry and was
called there Fette Henne, of which one of its popular names, Fat Hen, is the
translation.

Excellent - but the last paragraph is in my understanding, erroneous.

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/