Know in detail the season of Vegetables is essential to be able to access them at their best, this will undoubtedly guarantee you the ideal moment to enjoy all their splendor as well as to achieve each of their qualities of taste, texture, benefits, nutrients and other benefits. Keep in mind that this food provides you with only 100g sodium 170mg, potassium 400mg and proteins 0.7g , but not only does it have these qualities but it also has vitamin C, calcium, iron, vitamin B6 and magnesium.
Today I want to show you when is the season of thistle , an exquisite and paradisiacal vegetable that has been used since time immemorial, highly appreciated in gastronomy and medicine and associated with the winter season. I leave you next with all the valuable information so that you take advantage of the Thistles to 100%.
Thistle as a food and medicinal vegetable
Highly consumed in the past and once again on everyone’s lips, this is the thistle, an emblematic vegetable highly valued for its fleshy edible stalks and capable of combining wonderfully well with many other foods. There are many varieties of thistle, some edible and others not, in addition to some with excellent medicinal properties to combat and control liver diseases and liver disorders and their intoxications.
A plant that can be classified as a first cousin of artichokes and of a slow development, which is capable of reaching one meter in height and half a meter in width. It is perfectly possible to get it in its wild state and today large plantations are maintained in the areas of Navarra, Valencia and La Rioja.
The reef thistle, the milk thistle , the holy thistle stand out just to name some of their most outstanding varieties. At the time of purchase you have to look closely and observe their stalks very well: that they are solid, that they do not have perforations and that they are not stained. For maximum durability you can perfectly store the leaves in a plastic bag with some holes and keep them in the refrigerator.
When is Thistle season – The best months
Undoubtedly a plant that is associated in our minds with the winter season and obviously it is at this time that its correct harvesting takes place, everything can begin in autumn and extend well into winter and part of spring . We would say that it is possible to collect it from the beginning of November to the middle of March .
More than enough reason to understand why thistle is generally present in Christmas meals and it is simply a matter of dates, since obviously its correct collection and the expected annual Christmas festivities merge.
The times could change something in relation to some varieties, but they would not be very marked changes, hence we can effectively assure that from the end of autumn, all winter and the beginning of spring the markets will be flooded with this fabulous vegetable .
The harvest season and the nutritional properties of thistle
The thistle maintains a very high similarity with artichokes in relation to its nutritional qualities, few carbohydrates constituted mainly by inulin “a type of soluble fiber” and low contributions of proteins and fats. In relation to mineral salts, this vegetable stands out for its great abundance of iron and calcium . Although difficult to assimilate because of its fibers that obviously interfere at the intestinal level as well as outstanding contributions of potassium , sodium and magnesium.
Hence, thistle is highly beneficial for correct and rapid cell communication, enabling the body to maintain the necessary muscle contraction through an ideal response in relation to nerve transmission. If we take into account its vitamin content we can ensure that it is very varied, highlighting above all folates and in lesser amounts vitamins E and C.
The consumption of Thistle is a reason of more than enough quality to help you achieve an immune system of a certain quality by increasing the production of antibodies as well as in the correct production of genetic material and in the creation of white and red blood cells, all thanks to the folates .
In addition to being recognized for its hepato-protective , choleretic properties thanks to its high contents of cynarin and inulin and a diuretic power just like pears . But all this is indifferent if this vegetable is collected in times other than those mentioned above, since it effectively manages to lose or slow down many of its excellent properties due to poor handling in its collection or to achieving wrong storage after its cultivation.
The best thing is to keep the specific times for its collection and to be able to do it in the established season “late autumn to mid-spring” or better gave “November, December, January, February and March ”with the full intention of achieving benefit from each and every one of the medicinal benefits, nutritional and gastronomic that this special vegetable has developed for the benefit of human beings.