Hogweed seed (Heracleum sphondylium) is a unique, but delightful new taste sensation.
This recipe combines the subtle flavours of ginger and cinnamon with the strongly aromatic flavour of Hogweed seed to produce a scrummy, moist biscuit that will delight your family and friends.
Do NOT eat this plant raw! Definitely not a plant for novice foragers to start playing around with. Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), is highly poisonous, and even brushing against it can give some people very serious burns.
Not everyone can eat this plant – some people experience severe reactions to it – You MUST conduct a safety tolerance test, before ever eating this plant. I don’t care what other foragers say. My advise comes from over 10 years of working with Hogweed.
Read my article: Foraging Safety Guidelines For Eating Wild Edible Plants.
Hogweed Seed Recipe Ingredients
- 140g butter
- 50g light brown sugar
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1tbsp blackstrap molasses
- 150g plain flour
- ½tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1tsp ground ginger
- 1tsp ground hogweed seed
- 1tsp cinnamon
Hogweed Seed Recipe Instructions
- Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolk and molasses and beat in well.
- Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices together.
- Add the creamed mixture and stir in with a wooden spoon until amalgamated.
- Lay a sheet of cling film on the work surface.
- Tip the contents of the bowl on top and form into a rough log about 15cm long and 4cm in diameter.
- Wrap tightly in cling film and roll into a smooth log.
- Put in fridge for at least 30 minutes or when needed. It could also be frozen and used at a later date. If baking from frozen cook for 2-3 minutes longer.
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Gas mark 4.
- Cut the log into 5mm slices (or 2 x £1 coints).
- Place the slices on a baking tray, lined with parchment, allowing for spreading.
- Bake for 10 minutes when they should feel dry when lightly touched but will still be soft.
- Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack before storing in an air-tight container.
Makes 25 biscuits
This is the first time I’ve come across anyone sharing information of how to use hogweed. I haven’t seen this in my area but I’ve been really curious about it since I found out it was on my states noxious weed list. It sounds like kind of a scary plant but I feel like all plants have a use. I’m intrigued. I’d love to know more about it and if it has any beneficial nutrients or medicinal properties.
nts in the wild, would return with a spray bottle of a vinegar/dish soap mixture and kill the plant (likewise it’s cousin Blisterweed (smaller. yellowish green flowers). This Blisterweed plant has taken over Vermont and large areas of upstate New York. Giant Hogweed seeds that fall to the ground (often far from the mother plant love disturbed depleted soil along roadways and are a HUGE danger to accident victims and first responders. They are viable for 7 years so must be ‘killed’ each year until locally exterminated. NOBODY should find/tout virtues in this menace.
John – Firstly this is a UK site. Secondly, I am talking about Heracleum sphondylium NOT giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) which is what you are referring to. See my post above and elsewhere on this site. And thirdly, we have a very long heritage of eating H. sphondylium in Britain, so kindly get your facts right before vomiting hysteria on my website. It is not a US territory!
Great response. Also we should not kill any wild plants without knowing what good they can do. Everything on earth has a purpose and place but not exactly where you want it.
I used to kill all nettle as my son fell into a patch on way to Scouts one night. I would have murdered every plant after that. Now I know all the good things nettle can be used for. Thanks Robin H