NETTLES Some have mentioned
nettles, and some have asked if the nettles lose their sting with certain methods. Here's the thing about a nettle stinger: It is a very (I mean extremely) delicate tube containing a liquid acid that reacts with your skin when it brushes against you. If the nettle is frozen, fermented, dried, crushed or blended, fried, roasted, baked or sauteed, steamed, boiled, simmered, or steeped, or even quickly dipped in
hot water (this last is how many NW coastal First Nations ate them), all those tubes become non effective. Experiment with it. Try dipping some in
hot water and observe those little hairs. They basically disappear. Drying: same. They are completely folded down to nothing of substance. JUICED !!! no problems. The nettle acid in the tubes is such as small volume compared to the rest of the volume of the leaves and stems that once broken down with any of the above methods, it is pretty much completely neutralized (or at least diluted to the point of non harm), to my knowledge (which is decent) and
experience (which is substantial
enough).
My Experience: Without the hairs full of acid, the nettle is pure wholesome super healthy yum.
More on Nettles: For the record, I pick nettles bare handed. I do not expect or encourage other people to do this simply because some people react differently to different things. What I encourage is to Experiment carefully and gradually. I have developed a relationship with this plant, and I suggest anybody interested in Nettle, to do the same. Sit with the patch, get to know it, observing one plant on the edge really closely to see how it grows, and the whole patch to see who grows with it and what it likes to live with, thank it, praise it, and then enter the patch like it's a room in a very special place. Nettles and humans have a primordial sacred
medicinal and food link. When I pick nettles, I pinch off only the top few sets of leaves, and only when the plants are less than a foot tall. Taller/older plants have a tendency towards having too much oxalic acid, which inhibits your digestion of calcium (which in turn-in it's absence-inhibits your digestion of many other things). The top leaves are the tenderest, and have the least stem (and the stem that exists is tender). As I pick-and I can pick bags and bags of them in one shot- the finger and thumb doing the work become dark with the resins and acids, but I do not get stung. I
should not say that; more to the point, I do not react with irritating blisters like some people-what happens is that my hands feel like they have an aura of stimulation about them... that's as best as I can describe it. The tip of the finger and thumb get a bit tender and sore, but they do not blister or become super irritated. I pinch them off right below the nodes where small stems that lead up to the leaves form. Look at the plant and you will know what I mean.
And More: I also eat nettles raw. I know, most of you think that's insane, but here's the method: I pick a top. I observe it. It has hairs on the stem and on the underside of the leaves. I take one of the larger lower leaves carefully by the edges of the leaf, and gently curl it a bit so that the bottom is cupped upwards (hairs up) upside down, and then gently and carefully take the entire rest of the nettle top and fold it into (and using the) upturned leaf until you have a little green 'cigar'. I place this tightly rolled full leaf nettle cigar in my back molars on one side of my mouth and carefully chew it until I'm sure that the stingers must be crushed and then I allow it to be eaten up by the rest of my mouth. YUM. The juicer eliminates the fear and makes quick work of many nettle tops into high quality and super nutritious dark liquid green glory. I use an Omega juicer. Drink the juice fresh, or if you want it beyond the prime season I recommend freezing the juice. If you have a high quality juicer (particularly one that auger crushes or presses), juice your greens and put them in a jar (or used glass bottle), but leave lots of room for expansion. Freeze on a diagonal to allow the expansion to take up the diagonal space towards the cap. The smaller the bottle, the faster it freezes, the more nutrients are preserved. The fastest method is to place a small bottles in a rack (so they are held on the diagonal) in the bottom of your deep freeze (where the coldest air settles). Freeze as soon as possible after juicing to preserve nutrients.
I cut and pasted most of this
thread from a post that I had replied to today about preserving greens; I thought it might be good to get this info onto the wild harvesting forum.
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This plant is a nutraceutical powerhouse. It would be interesting to know what exactly is going on with the contact. But I do seem to recall that the juice of the stem can be used to neutralize the acid from the hairs. But what of the feeling of the aura on my hands? Interesting. 
