Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense): Famine Food

The worst invasive plant species I've had to remove has so far been alien creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense). This thistle species is perennial and it easily propagates itself vegetatively if you happen to break the roots while weeding it. The plant is also covered in irritating spines that have pierced through my calf skin gloves way more than on one occasion.

In spite of this plant's invasive qualities, I have been reading the in the past year that this weed may still be valuable as an emergency famine food. I have so far only found two guides on how to render the plant safe for human consumption: one in a comment left by a reader in the guide for this plant on PFAF and another in a PDF that I discovered just an hour ago. Both guides recommend pulverizing the leaves in a blender thoroughly to break down the outer leaf spines after boiling the leaves down. I recommend archiving the PDF in case the hyperlink below rots soon after I post it.

Here's the hyperlink to the PDF guide on preparing creeping thistle greens:
https://anpc.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Thistle.pdf

Here's the link to the PFAF entry on Cirsium arvense:
https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Cirsium+arvense

From Wikipedia: "A number of other names are used in other areas or have been used in the past, including:...lettuce from hell thistle,...." Sounds like you empathize!

So in that entry I also saw that it's a plant mainly good for nectar-seeking pollinators, but the roots and stalks are used by humans, some of whom use them in....gin?!?!? However, I see that you found info on making the leaves useful, which seems like uncommon knowledge. Thank you for the links, in case we find some in the neighborhood!

Rachel Lindsay wrote:I also saw that it's a plant mainly good for nectar-seeking pollinators, but the roots and stalks are used by humans, some of whom use them in....gin?!?!?

This definitely makes sense since the PFAF article on C. arvense warns that the roots are high in innulin, which cannot be broken down by the human digestive system. Another possibility I've considered is lacto-fermenting the roots in the same manner that is done with oca tubers and sunchokes.

Inulin has a very important role in human digestion, and health. It is considered to be prebiotic - a food for probiotics, thus helping in keeping the gut flora healthy and active. Inulin, died and powdered, can also be added to the zero-calorie, healthy sweeteners, stevia and monkfruit, to give bulk and hold moisture, in baked goods and other desserts, where sugar would bring both volume and moisture, in addition to its sweetness. The stuff is nearly a miracle worker, for hypoglycemics, diabetics, and dieters, alike - especially for those who want/need to avoid synthetic sweeteners, or even natural sweeteners (like erythritol, xylitol, and allulose) that often have other negative side effects. In a famine food situation, inulin could literally make the difference between mere survival and thriving.