Oat root or salsify ( white root, winter asparagus) is a biennial herbaceous plant family Asteraceae. Refers to vegetable crops. Distributed in Europe and Asia, North America and Africa, and in other countries it is grown in gardens and vegetable gardens for decorative, culinary and medicinal purposes. In Russia, meadow salsify is found in the wild.
In the first year of life, the oat root forms a rosette of lanceolate leaves and a succulent root crop, and in the second year the plant produces a peduncle - at this time the root becomes unsuitable for use in food and medicinal purposes. Salsify blooms with yellow or purple basket-like inflorescences, which open their petals only in the morning. Despite the fact that the oat root does not bloom as often or as much as others ornamental plants, gardeners love it for its beautiful decorative foliage.
In folk medicine, all parts of the plant are used: stems, leaves, flowers, roots.
The grass is harvested before the plant blooms: cut with pruning shears and dried in a well-ventilated area, avoiding direct contact with sun rays. Flower baskets are collected during flowering. The dried raw materials are crushed and stored in a tightly closed container for 2 years.
Root harvesting is carried out in the fall, choosing annual plants: They are carefully dug up, cleared of soil and dried. In their raw form, salsify root vegetables are stored like carrots, but for a very short time.
Compound
Oat root is rich in: PP and B vitamins, iron, phosphorus, selenium, magnesium, potassium, as well as bitterness, inulin (a low-calorie carbohydrate), protein, fats, easily digestible carbohydrates and fiber.
Oat root has: antiseptic, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, urinary and choleretic effects.
Traditional medicine recommends oat root for:
- cold;
- cough and bronchitis;
- urolithiasis;
- cardiovascular diseases;
- internal and postpartum bleeding;
- gout, rheumatism;
- poor appetite;
- diabetes mellitus;
- nervous system disorders;
- decreased potency in men;
- skin diseases (ulcers, ulcers, etc.);
- bad breath;
- poisoning with radioactive substances;
- for cancer prevention.
For diabetes and diseases for which dietary food is recommended, oat root is recommended for regular nutrition. Root vegetables and young leaves of the plant are used for food.
Recipes
Infusion (general recipe):
- 1 tbsp. oat root herbs;
- 200 ml boiling water.
Oat root infusion has a calming, anti-allergic and blood purifying effect. Pour boiling water over the herb and let it brew for 6 hours. Strain the resulting infusion and divide into 8 doses - 1 tablespoon each during the day.
This infusion can also be used externally: as a hair rinse against dandruff and used for baths against swelling and rheumatism.
- 1 tbsp. oat root;
- 200 ml boiling water.
Grind the root of the plant, pour boiling water over it and boil for 15 minutes. Strain the finished broth and take 1 tablespoon 4 times a day. The decoction will help with cough and bronchitis.
Decoction for kidney disease:
- 1 tbsp. salsify leaves;
- 1 tbsp. chopped salsify root;
- 200 ml boiling water.
Pour boiling water over the plant material and boil for 5 minutes. Remove the broth from the heat, wait for it to cool, and strain. Take 3 tablespoons twice a day.
To prevent scurvy, it is recommended to add young oat root leaves to dishes. To prevent the leaves from becoming bitter, they should be beaten thoroughly.
The juice of the oat root or the root itself, grated, is used to relieve irritations and allergic skin rashes.
From boiled salsify root you can prepare a nourishing face mask (suitable for sensitive skin).
Crushed leaves of salsify, applied directly to the affected areas, treat ulcers, wounds, and ulcers.
Salsify, infused with alcohol, is used as a gargle for bad breath.
Tincture:
- 100 g of fresh salsify roots;
- 1 liter of alcohol.
Peel the oat root, cut it into pieces and fill it with alcohol in a glass container. Place the container with the mixture in a dark place for 10 days. Strain the finished tincture.
Contraindications
- children;
- pregnant women and nursing mothers;
- with individual intolerance and tendency to allergic reactions.
Oat root (salsiphy, salsiphy)
Glycemic index (GI) – 30.
Calorie content – 82 kcal.
Salsify is a plant of the genus Salsiphy, of the Asteraceae family. It has about 150 varieties, about 40 varieties are used for food. Salsify is cultivated in temperate regions as a vegetable crop, ornamental and medicinal plant. Popular in Russia, Europe, the Mediterranean, and the USA. The plant is widespread as a wild plant in temperate climates, in Western Siberia.
Oat root has high taste qualities, lately in demand among gourmets, devotees proper nutrition, included in the everyday gastronomic set. In US restaurants, Western Europe served as a delicacy.
Useful properties
The leaves and rhizome of salsify are saturated with nitrogenous extractives, vitamins, and pectins. Fiber takes up 3.3 g, proteins - 3.4 g. The chemical composition of salsify root contains up to 15.4 g of carbohydrates, ash impurities - about 0.9 g. The raw root consists of 77% water. Vitamin group: PP, C, B2, B1, B3, B6, B9, E. Mineral elements: phosphorus, selenium, potassium, manganese, calcium, sodium, iron, zinc.
The beneficial properties of oat root include the presence of the substance inulin (8 g), which makes this product especially in demand in the diet of patients with diabetes.
How does it affect the body?
Salsify has anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, immunomodulatory, tonic, antiseptic, choleretic, and diuretic effects. Restores heart rate, stabilizes blood pressure, prevents diseases of the digestive and cardiovascular systems. Regular consumption of oat root normalizes metabolism and activates the digestive tract. Improves blood composition, kidney, pancreas, liver function, bladder, removes harmful substances.
Salsify root helps relieve symptoms of diabetes, urolithiasis, and gastritis. Eliminates swelling, inflammatory and infectious processes in the liver, lungs, blocks the progression of a malignant tumor. The root is effective for skin diseases, ulcerative formations in the gastrointestinal tract.
How to choose correctly
The salsify harvest takes place in October-November. The root must be elastic, at least 30 cm long. The surface of a high-quality rhizome has a uniform color. Salsify looks like a carrot light color, with tubercles. The taste of the raw product is sweetish-bitter.
Storage methods
Oat root can be stored in a cool room for a month. The chemical composition in the refrigerator does not change for a week. Ideal conditions- This means storing in boxes with sand and aging in a cellar.
What does it go with in cooking?
The peculiar delicate taste of salsify root appears nobly in vegetable purees, sauces, and creamy soups. Ideal with milk, sour cream, cheese, cream, mushrooms. Oat root is baked, added to salads, fried, stewed, boiled, and used as a side dish. A “coffee drink” is brewed from the dried root. In Italy, Greece, and Spain, young fruits are eaten like raw carrots; the rhizome is used to make a filling for pies, cooked in batter, and deep-fried.
Some varieties of salsify are distinguished by their bitterness, which disappears when cooked with salt. The boiled root has a taste similar to oysters, for which quality it is often called “oyster plant.”
Healthy combination of products
Salsify root as a low-calorie product is included in dietary ration for weight loss, used for diabetes. Used for preparing vegetable stews, side dishes, gravy, seasonings for boiled meat and fish.
Oat root is included in radish salads, bell pepper, cucumbers, burdock root. The product is ideal in combination with lentils, rice, and bean sprouts. The root is cooked in lemon sauce and combined in soups with sorrel, spinach, nettle, and sauerkraut.
Contraindications
Not found.
Application in medicine and cosmetology
Salsify root is useful for normalizing digestion, removing toxins, and stimulating the intestines. Popular as prophylactic from cardiovascular, oncological problems. In folk medicine, salsify is used as a diuretic. Oat root tincture is prescribed for increased bile formation, to enhance the outflow of bile. Included in the diet for weak immunity, diabetes, anemia.
Salsify decoction treats bronchitis and is recommended for diathesis and urolithiasis. In the form of a puree, the root is included in the menu for gastritis, jaundice, inflammation of the intestines, stomach ulcers, and dystrophy. The extract is included in the complex therapy of cancer patients. Salsifi juice is applied to inflamed skin, suppuration, and used to heal infected wounds.
In cosmetology, crushed raw root and juice relieve irritations, allergic manifestations. Boiled salsify is included in nourishing masks for sensitive skin. Rinsing with infusion helps eliminate dandruff.
Vegetable garden Vladimir Ravilov
2017-08-03 
Oat root vegetable. Photo: www.bio.cz
Oat root (lat. Tragopogon porrifolius) has long been widely known under the name “Castlebeard.” This vegetable plant with pronounced beneficial properties (contains inulin), pleasant taste and simple agricultural cultivation techniques.
The roots of salsify are consumed as food - they are saturated with milky juice. Oat root juice is rich in inulin. Inulin is required for people suffering from diabetes.
In North America, France and Italy, oat root is grown in industrial scale- there it is valued and actively used in cooking. On the territory former USSR oat root is less common, mainly as weed. Many people simply do not know about the beneficial properties of oat root and the agricultural technology for growing it.
I hope that after this article, you will defeat traditional conservatism and, based on complete and reliable information, you will be able to grow oat root in your dacha or garden, and you will also recommend oat root to your neighbors for its nutritional and medicinal properties.
In Russia, oat root grows very well - it is not demanding on the composition of the soil, it is drought-resistant, and cold-resistant. Among other things, salsify is well stored, like other root vegetables.
Why is salsify called oat root? But because the seeds of the plant are shaped like oat seeds. The seeds, having ripened, fly away on “parachutes” to wherever the wind blows. In addition to the seeds, salsify's leaves are similar to those of oats, although they are covered with a bluish coating.
"Parachutes" of oat root seeds. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
The plant is a biennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, saturated with white milky sap. In the first year, the oat root forms a rosette of numerous linear-oblong, grayish-green leaves. The leaves are narrow and widened at the base, 30–50 cm long. Peduncles grow in the second year, their height is 100–120 cm. The flowers are purple-blue, collected in baskets, flowering continues for a very long time.
The oat root is cylindrical, fleshy, smooth, tapering at the bottom, white-yellow in color. The length of the root crop is up to 25 cm, and the diameter is up to 3–4 cm.
The salsify root vegetable is covered with suberized skin. The pulp of the oat root is white; when it is broken, a milky juice is released, which quickly darkens.
Growing 
Growing oat root. Photo: www.floracatalana.net
Growing oat root is no more difficult than growing any other traditional plant:
- Oat root is very popular light loams with a thick arable layer, fertile and provided with moisture. In heavy clay soil it forms ugly root crops.
- The soil must have neutral and slightly alkaline reaction. Oat root does not like acidic soils.
- Oat root is drought resistant, but responds well to watering.
- The plant loves light throughout the day, in partial shade it grows strongly, but forms thin root crops.
- Cold hardy, can overwinter well in the soil when covered with dry leaves or good snow cover.
- Oat root seeds germinate at a temperature of +3–5 °C, and the optimal summer temperature for plant development is +18–20 °C.
- The best predecessors oat root can be any crop to which high doses of organic fertilizers have been applied.
Important! The oat root does not tolerate fresh manure. When it is introduced into the soil, the oat root grows long, but very tough.
By growing oat root as a biennial crop, larger root crops can be obtained.
Soil preparation
Oat root, like any root vegetable, loves deeply cultivated soil, so the soil is prepared in the fall.
The soil is dug up to the depth of a spade bayonet, adding 1 tbsp. a spoonful of superphosphate and potash fertilizers and half a glass wood ash per 1 m2.
If the soil is heavy, you need to add 1 bucket of coarse sand and 1 bucket of low-lying, aerated peat.
On very poor soil it is necessary to add half a bucket of rotted compost (no more), but on acidic soils- lime fertilizers.
And when digging up the soil in spring, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of ammonium nitrate or 1 teaspoon of urea per 1 m2 of bed.
If the fertile arable layer is very thin, you need to high bed to grow an oat root of decent length. The length of the root crop is 25–30 cm - this is one and a half bayonets of a shovel.
Agricultural technology 
Oat root flower. Photo: Wikipedia
Oat root seeds are soaked before sowing, because they have a very dense shell. We recommend soaking them in a solution of a growth stimulator, but even simply soaking oat root seeds in a solution of stove ash (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water) for 12 hours will significantly speed up seed germination.
Seeds are sown early spring, at the same time as carrot seeds, placing 2-3 seeds in one nest in wet furrows, at a shallow depth. The distance between neighboring plants is 5 cm. The row spacing is 30-35 cm.
After sowing, the bed is mulched with peat or covered with film to reduce moisture evaporation.
Winter sowing of oat root seeds is carried out before the onset of stable frosts.
Shoots appear after 10 days, and when unfavorable conditions- 15–16 days after sowing. Therefore, weeds often choke out oat root seedlings.
To make it easier to weed beds with oat root, when sowing the seeds, you can add seeds of lighthouse crops, it is best salad mustard. Salad mustard seeds germinate in 3-4 days and clearly mark the rows. This allows you to loosen the rows without waiting for the main crop to sprout and additionally obtain a harvest of salad mustard.
The oat root is thinned out when the second leaf appears, leaving 4–5 cm between plants. After 2–3 weeks, a second thinning is carried out, leaving a distance of 10–12 cm.
Oat root care is usual: weeding, watering, fertilizing, removing bolting plants. By the way, be sure to remove oat root plants that have gone to waste - their root crops are not suitable for food.
Harvesting and storage
The oat root harvest begins in October, before the onset of cold weather. Unripe root vegetables do not store well.
Root crops should not be damaged - if damaged, milky juice flows out, so the tops are cut at a height of 1-2 cm.
Oat root vegetables are stored in boxes with sand, similar to carrots and beets.
Oat root in cooking 
Roasted oat root vegetables.
Juicy, fleshy, root vegetables are eaten. They are used to make puree, side dishes for main courses, and add to soup. The taste of the oat root pulp is reminiscent of fish or oysters.
Also, oat root vegetables are fried, boiled and stewed, like potatoes.
Ground, dried and roasted oat roots make a delicious coffee drink.
Add young oat root leaves to vegetable salads- they add sharpness and piquancy to the dish.
The cold-resistant root crops of black and oat root can be harvested both in autumn and early spring.
To dig them up this year, now is the time to start sowing the seeds.
Spanish scorzonera, better known as black root, like its garden neighbor oat root, is becoming more and more popular in Europe every year. This is due to the ease of cultivation and great benefit these root vegetables. Black and oat roots can also be cultivated here - the seeds of the crops are widely available.
Growing black and oat root
Long, thick root crops at the black root are formed only if you start sowing in early spring, as soon as the snow melts and the moist soil dries out slightly. Oat root seeds are sown in the soil at the same time. The bed is prepared in the fall or no later than two weeks before sowing: the soil is dug to a depth of at least 20 cm and filled with mature compost.
Seeds should be sown in rows with row spacing of 30 cm in grooves 1-2 centimeters deep.
After germination, the plants are thinned out, leaving 6-10 cm between them. At first, young plants need to be loosened and weeded frequently, but during the period of main growth, from July to the end of September, they can be left alone. During a prolonged drought, plantings need to be watered thoroughly - it is enough to water the plants once a week, but generously, so that the soil is well saturated with moisture.
You can harvest the crop both in the fall, in October, and in early spring, when the soil thaws. Black and oat roots are cold-resistant plants, but it is still better to cover them with a thick layer of straw or leaf mulch.
Black root (pictured above) and oat root (pictured on the right) are “relatives”, although not exactly close
Scorzonera, or black root ( Scorzonera hispanica), originally from Spain. Plants form taproots 30-50 cm long with black velvety or even slightly corky skin. Unlike many other types of root vegetables, the roots of this plant are very fragile and tender and are poorly stored after harvesting, so it is better to leave some of them in the garden and dig them up as needed.
Oat or white root (Tragopogon porrifolius), like black root, belongs to the Asteraceae family, but to a different genus - Salsify.
Previously, this plant was grown in English gardens mainly because of its pretty purple flower heads. Due to its specific taste, oat root is also called “Vegetable Oyster”. The “Sandwich Island” variety is considered especially refined. Resembling tender carrots, the cream-colored root vegetable is prepared in the same way as black root.
When exposed to air, the milky juice that appears during cleaning quickly becomes brown, but unlike black root juice, it does not become sticky. When this plant begins to flower, its root becomes woody and unpalatable.
Useful properties
The healing properties of black root have been known since ancient times. And not in vain, because this root vegetable is rich in sugars, vitamins C, B1, B2, potassium salts, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus, calcium. But its main advantage is the high content of inulin, which is necessary for diabetes.
Also, black root is very useful for obesity, vitamin deficiency, anemia, atherosclerosis, and inhibits the development of gout, rheumatism, and polyarthritis. Eating the root improves metabolism and heals the body. Recently, information has even appeared that this plant is capable of removing radioactive elements from the body.
When buying black root, choose thinner root vegetables - they are thick, often hollow inside and during cooking they become soft and dry.
The easiest way to peel smooth, firm root vegetables is to use a vegetable or asparagus peeler. The latter also applies to oat root (if you use it instead of black root). Then the root vegetables are cut into strips and placed in water acidified with lemon juice or vinegar so that they remain light.
The sticky milky juice that is released when cutting a vegetable and appears on the skin or cutting board brown spots You can remove everything with the same lemon juice or vinegar. Before cooking, root vegetables cut into strips, depending on their thickness, are boiled for a maximum of 10 minutes in salted water until half cooked.
If you want to bake the root vegetables, deep-fry or freeze them, you only need to lightly boil them.
Tip: washed and brushed roots can also be boiled in their skins and then immediately poured over cold water. Then the hard peel can be easily removed with a knife.
Black Root Recipes
Breaded black root
For 4 servings:
800 g black root, 1/2 teaspoon. tablespoons of salt, 3 tablespoons, lemon juice, oil for deep-frying, 100-200 g breadcrumbs, 5 tablespoons each of sesame and nigella seeds, flour for breading, 2 eggs, sprouted cereal grains and field salad. For the sauce: 1 orange, 1 lemon, 100 ml red wine, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 clove buds, 200 g rosehip puree, 2 tsp. spoons of green peppercorns
Wash and peel the black root. Boil in salted water with lemon juice for 6 minutes. Place in a colander and allow the water to drain. 2. Heat enough oil in a frying pan so that the roots can float in it. 3. In a plate, mix crackers with nigella and sesame seeds. First roll the black root in flour, then dip it in the egg and bread it in breadcrumbs. Fry in hot oil for approx. 7 min. Move to paper towel so that excess fat is absorbed. 4. For the sauce, wash and dry the lemon and orange. Cut the zest into a thin spiral ribbon and squeeze out the juice. Mix juice, zest, wine and spices in a saucepan, bring to a boil and reduce by half. Strain the liquid, add rosehip puree, Green pepper and 1 table, a spoonful of water, mix. Let cool. 5. Divide the black root into portioned plates and serve along with the sauce. Serve sprouted grains as a side dish (you can also see recipes for sprouted grains in this article) and field salad.
Pickled black root
2 red onions, 1 kg black root, 1 tea. spoon of black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon. a spoonful of mustard seeds, 2 sprigs of sage and thyme, 650 ml vegetable broth, 150 ml white wine vinegar
Peel the onion and cut into rings. Peel the black root and cut into strips. Place along with onions, peppers, mustard and herbs in sterile jars. Bring the broth with vinegar to a boil, pour over the vegetables, and seal tightly. Use as a vegetable side dish or pickles.
(transferred from comments)
Black root against diabetes
This plant is better known to gardeners southern regions countries. Which is a pity, since its taste is often compared to asparagus.
I want to talk about scorzonera, which is more often called black root or goat. What is important for any gardener: scorzonera is not damaged by pests, and I have not observed any diseases either. But most importantly, eating scorzonera can replace the pharmacy. After all, its root vegetable contains inulin and a special enzyme inulase (like asparagus), it contains asparagine and glutamine, which play a significant role in diet therapy. The root vegetable also contains ascorbic acid, minerals, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, a lot of protein, microelements, and vitamins. In total, scorzonera has more than a hundred biologically active substances! For patients with diabetes and rheumatism, this is a vital vegetable. And the black root - scorzonera - protects against radiation and has anti-cancer properties.
Scorzonera will be good on your table too. Scorzonera root vegetables are also good in fresh in salads. Their flesh is sweetish.
You can cook them like asparagus or cauliflower or bake in dough. Such dishes are easy to digest, regulate metabolism, support function thyroid gland, reduce blood pressure, give strength.
Scorzonera is not difficult to grow. In the first year, a rosette of leaves grows, and by autumn, long, fleshy roots appear. They themselves are black, and the pulp, rich in milky juice, is white. In the second year the plant produces seeds.
When growing scorzonera you need fertile soil, dug up by almost 1.5 bayonet shovels. And be sure to be soft - otherwise small, crooked roots will grow. Shoots appear after 2-3 weeks and grow slowly. Care is quite simple: watering with infusion of ash (1 glass per 10 liters of water), infusion of herbs - 0.5 liters per bush, loosening is required. Seeds are sown at a distance of 25 cm from each other, and between rows - 30-35 cm, sowing depth - 2 cm.
In the fall, the roots are dug up; during the season they grow up to 30 cm long and weigh about 100 g. Of course, with good care.
The seeds are stored for a very short time - 1-2 years, and then they lose their germination. Therefore, it is safer to sow scorzonera with fresh seeds.
Here it is valuable plant growing in my dacha.
Below are other entries on the topic “Do-it-yourself cottage and garden”
Black root, kozelets, scorzonera - if you want greens, you want roots: Why is scorzonera grown (black root,...Scorzonera-black root (photo) planting, care and benefits: SCORZONERA, OR BLACK ROOT -...Unfamiliar and unusual root vegetables - healthy and tasty: Rare root crops for the kitchen -...Black apricot (photo) varieties and description: Growing black apricot - planting...How I grow apricot: How to grow apricot in Lipetsk...Black cumin (Kalinji) - application and beneficial properties: Black cumin and its beneficial...Black tree cancer - measures and methods of control: Black tree cancer - how...
Low-calorie and healthy oat root. When not to include salsify in the diet. Recipes for dishes made from the product and interesting facts about him.
Contents of the article:
Oatroot is an annual or biennial plant from the Asteraceae family. In total, more than 80 species of oat root are known, but only salsify is eaten. It looks like a milky or light beige carrot, with many small roots extending from the large root vegetable to the sides. The leaves are linear, that is, thin, elongated, the stem is pubescent with small fibers. The height of the grass reaches 60 cm. Purple or purple flower, resembling burdock, can be seen among forbs throughout European territory, the Caucasus, Great Britain, the USA, and Africa. The plant is so unpretentious that it begins to sprout at a temperature of already +3°C. Salsify is artificially grown as a honey plant, in food and medicinal purposes. The root tastes sweetish, very delicate, fragrant. Oat root is popularly called salsify, tragopogon, winter asparagus, white root or goat's beard, and cooks more often use the name salsify.
Composition and calorie content of oat root
Salsify - not only useful plant, but also delicious. The roots of specially grown crops are usually used for food consumption.
The calorie content of oat root is 82 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 3.3 g;
- Carbohydrates - 15.3 g;
- Fats - 0.2 g;
- Ash - 0.9 g;
- Dietary fiber - 3.3 g;
- Water - 77 g.
- Vitamin B1, thiamine - 0.08 mg;
- Vitamin B2, riboflavin - 0.22 mg;
- Vitamin B6, pyridoxine - 0.28 mg;
- Vitamin B9, folic acid- 26 mcg;
- Vitamin PP, niacin equivalent - 0.5 mg;
- Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid - 0.37 mg.
- Sodium - 20 mg;
- Potassium - 380 mg;
- Phosphorus - 75 mg;
- Magnesium - 23 mg;
- Calcium - 60 mg;
- Copper - 0.09 mcg;
- Manganese - 0.8 mcg;
- Zinc - 0.38 mcg;
- Iron - 0.7 mcg.
Fatty acids:
- Omega-3 - 0.011 g;
- Omega-9 - 0.003 g.
It is very important that salsify contains a complex of useful substances:
- Calcium is the main component of cartilage and bone organic tissue;
- Magnesium is responsible for metabolic processes, ensures water-electrolyte balance and thermoregulation;
- Phosphorus normalizes the process of breathing and digestion of food;
- Work is impossible without potassium cardiovascular system and muscle contractions.
Beneficial properties of oat root
Avicenna also treated his patients with the help of salsify.
Benefits of oat root for the body:
- Improves appetite, increases stomach acidity and increases the speed of peristalsis;
- Normalizes organic metabolic processes at the cellular level, increases the speed of blood flow, eliminates spasms of blood vessels and lymphatic ducts;
- Eliminates constipation, provides beneficial influence on the liver and removes toxins from the intestines;
- Has an antioxidant effect, helps isolate free radicals coursing in the bloodstream;
- Increases blood clotting during uterine and intestinal bleeding;
- Has an anesthetic effect for intestinal spasms;
- Prevents atherosclerosis and ischemic disease;
- Lowers blood pressure;
- Has a mild diuretic effect;
- Eliminates unpleasant odor from the mouth;
- Reduces blood sugar levels;
- Accelerates hair growth, strengthens teeth and nails.
Salsify pulp or juice as an external remedy relieves purulent-inflammatory processes, prevents acne, accelerates the scarring of ulcers and helps burns heal quickly.
In Rus', salsify was used as an aphrodisiac. It increases potency for men, and restores sexual desire for women.
Harm and contraindications to consuming oat root
Contraindications to oat root have not yet been described, with the exception of individual intolerance.
The use of salsify should be limited if there is increased acidity and a tendency to diarrhea, with increased blood clotting and with hypotension.
Like any new product, oat root is introduced into the diet of children with caution. It is better not to experiment with children’s stomachs until they are 3 years old; the formation of intestinal flora ends by this age.
During lactation, you should not try salsify, so that the baby does not refuse the breast. Spicy product changes taste breast milk, bitterness appears in it.
During pregnancy, it is impossible to predict the body's reaction; allergies occur even when consuming familiar foods. Do not overload the digestive organs, which are already subject to a double load.
Salsify should not be collected in environmentally polluted areas. The root accumulates salts of heavy metals, nitrates from the soil and phenol compounds.
Recipes for dishes with oat root
Oat root is served as a side dish and added as an ingredient to dishes. It can be boiled and stewed, fried in batter or baked on the grill. The taste of salsify combines with cheeses, fish and herbs.
The spicy-tasting root is often replaced with horseradish. In order to get rid of bitterness, it is pre-soaked in a solution of salt, citric acid or lemon juice.
Recipes with oat root:
- Pickled salsify. Red onions, 3 pieces, cut into rings. Root vegetable, 1 kg, peeled from small side shoots, peeled with a thin knife. Boil the root for 10-15 minutes to remove the bitterness. Prepare a rich vegetable broth from carrots, potatoes, white onions and beets in advance, and strain off the liquid. Sterilize jars. Distribute a teaspoon of mustard seeds, red onion rings, and a little spice - sage and thyme - into the jars. Then the oat root, cut into strips, is placed in jars. You can take a handful of dried spices, but it’s better to take 1 fresh leaf of herbs. Broth, 650 g, is brought to a boil, just before turning off, pour in a little more than half a glass of wine vinegar. Pour the marinade over the root and seal the jars with sterilized lids.
- Salsify soup. The oat root is cleaned, soaked for 15 minutes in water with citric acid. Then rinse with running cold water and boil until completely soft. Half of the cooked roots are pureed in a blender, the second part is set aside for now. The potatoes are peeled, cut into strips, and boiled in oat root broth for 10 minutes. Chop the onion, grate the carrots, and fry the vegetables in sunflower oil. Add the roast and a stalk of celery cut into slices and cook until the potatoes are fully cooked. Before turning off, add salt to the contents of the pan, add salsify puree and chopped slices, 2 sprigs of parsley and dill. After 2 minutes, turn off the pan and remove the sprigs of greenery. You can put a piece of butter or add sour cream on each plate.
- Casserole. Oat roots, 400 g, soaked in salt water to remove bitterness, washed. Boil until tender, cut into rings of equal thickness, place in a greased pan. sunflower oil. Beat 3-4 eggs with salt, add mayonnaise and finely chopped red onion to the eggs. Mix everything again, pepper and salt. Pour beaten eggs over the root vegetables and place in a hot oven. A temperature of 160-170°C is sufficient. The casserole cooks for 15-20 minutes, the eggs rise slightly. If you add a little heat in the last minutes and move the pan higher, a beautiful golden brown crust will appear on it.
- Winter salad. 200 g of oat root is soaked in lemon juice, washed, and boiled until tender. Finely chopped better in cubes. Boil 2 eggs and mash them with a fork. Mix eggs with oat root, green peas, chopped red onion. If you don’t have red onions on hand, you can marinate regular onions with vinegar and sugar. Another cucumber is added to the salad mixture - salted or fresh. If the cucumber is salted, then the best dressing is mayonnaise; fresh, the salad is seasoned with sour cream. The last option is additionally salted.
- Summer salad. Mix peeled and boiled chopped oat roots with boiled potatoes, boiled eggs and finely chopped young plantain leaves. For dressing, mix sour cream with a small amount apple cider vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped parsley and dill to the salad. A summer salad can be made from oat root, parsley root, fresh carrots and celery leaves. Season with sour cream.
- Okroshka. The root is soaked in salt water and washed. Before putting it in water, cut it into at least 2-3 parts to get rid of bitterness. There is no need to cut it smaller; it will be difficult to grate it. The cucumber is cut into cubes, the apple is cut into strips. All ingredients are mixed, salted, finely chopped oat root leaves are added, and the curdled milk mixture is poured in.
- French side dish. The peeled salsify roots are soaked for 10-15 minutes in lemon juice diluted in half with water. Then they are boiled by adding salt and sugar. The boiled roots are cut into circles, breadcrumbs are added and everything is mixed. Season with olive oil.
- Tonic drink. Dried oat root is fried in a dry frying pan until golden brown, cooled and ground in a blender. Brewed like coffee. The drink will taste better if you add a spoonful of cream to it.
It is recommended to include salsify dishes in the diet for those losing weight. Of course, in this case, only low-fat sour cream is used for dressing; you will have to forget about mayonnaise. A two-week diet with an oat root salad instead of dinner will help you get rid of 3-4 kg excess weight.
The plant owes its name “saltbeard” to the ancient Greeks. At first they simply dug it in the fields, and then began to grow it in gardens. It was they who compared the root to the beard of a goat. “Tragos” translated from Greek means “goat”, “pogon” means “beard”.
In Russia, the plant was called differently - “devil's beard”. It was under this name that he came to famous dictionary Efron and Brockhaus.
When hunters went on a winter road, they always took dried salsify with them so as not to get scurvy.
Oat root is actively grown in the Mediterranean. There the plant is called “vegetable oyster” or “ oyster root" Italians and Spaniards, spoiled by seafood, compare the taste of salsify with the taste of oysters.
In Italy and France, the root vegetable is grown on an industrial scale and is purchased by famous restaurateurs.
In Russia and Ukraine, more meadow salsify is sown. This plant can also be eaten, but the roots are not so large and less sweet. But this view is excellent honey plant and is valued as an agricultural crop.
Oat root is harvested in the fall, it is better to do this after the first frost. Frozen roots have a sweeter taste. Only annual plants are collected. The roots are carefully dug up, trying not to break off the small thin root shoots, and then cleared of soil. Then dry it by spreading it in one layer in a dry, ventilated area. If the root breaks off, it is not suitable for storage; the fragile pulp immediately rots.
Watch a video about oat root:
If you enter this vegetable crop into your diet, you can please your family delicious dish and improve health.
Oat root ( Tragopogon porrifolius L.) is a biennial plant from the family Asteraceae, or Asteraceae. Two forms of oat root are known in cultivation.
Features of agricultural technology
Agricultural technology for oat root is simple. On mineral, poor soils, complete fertilizer is applied before sowing - 3 quintals of ammonium nitrate, 3-4 quintals of superphosphate and 2-3 quintals of potassium salt per 1 ha.
Due to its cold resistance, oat root can be sown very early. The earlier the sowing is done, the faster the seedlings appear. On large areas sowing is carried out with row spacing of 15-30 cm.
Our advice:
To achieve uniform sowing, the seeds are mixed with fine compost or peat (in a ratio of 1:10) and sown to a depth of 2 cm. Only proven seeds should be sown, as they do not retain germination well.
It is better to use fresh seeds obtained in the previous year for sowing. When the first 2-3 leaves are formed, the plants are thinned by 10-15 cm in the row.
In the first year, the plant produces long, cone-shaped, fleshy roots with a rosette of long, wheatgrass-like leaves.
In the second year, a stem 80-120 cm high appears. The stems branch and end in heads with purple-violet flowers. Flowering at the oat root is extended and lasts about two months. The flowers are self-pollinating, but cross-pollination of the oat root with wild salsify is possible.
On rich soils good root vegetables can be obtained by thinning the plants to a distance of 8-10 cm. Further care of the plants consists mainly of weeding and loosening the soil.
Summer sowing of oat root
Oat root can also be sown in summer with freshly harvested seeds, in middle lane- in July, in the south - in August. By autumn, young plants grow, they overwinter and begin to grow early.
With a two-year culture, you can get large roots.
At summer terms After sowing, and especially in spring, a certain number of flowering plants appear that need to be removed.
When should oat roots be harvested?
Harvesting begins late in the fall, and part of the crop is left undug for spring use.
The ripening of seeds is very extended, so they are collected in several stages as they ripen. Seeds remain viable for 2-3 years. Weight of 1000 seeds - 10 g.
Oat root can overwinter in open ground.
Medicinal properties
The plant is grown to obtain fleshy roots, which contain inulin, which is extremely necessary for people with diabetes.
As you know, diabetes mellitus is caused by an absolute or relative deficiency in the human body of the hormone insulin, produced by the beta cells of the pancreas.
The treatment of diabetes mellitus is based on normalizing impaired carbohydrate metabolism, eliminating sugar in the urine, and reducing its level in the blood.
The main methods of treatment are insulin administration, the use of hypoglycemic drugs, and diet.
It is herbal medicines and diet that can be used by patients with mild and latent forms of diabetes mellitus and people with prediabetes.
Use of oat root in cooking
Delicious dishes are prepared from oat root vegetables:
- Before cooking, the roots are cleaned and immediately placed in cold water, acidified with vinegar so that they do not darken.
- Boil root vegetables in salted boiling water for 20-30 minutes until softened.
- After cooking, the water is allowed to drain and the root vegetables are seasoned with various sauces or fried.
Our advice:
Boiled roots can also be seasoned butter and parsley and onion.
Lyubov Dudchenko, Candidate of Biological Sciences
© Ogorodnik magazine
Photo: depositphotos.com
Oat root, salsify root, oyster root. 
Vegetable root plant, has dietary value and has therapeutic effect. Nutritional properties, chemical composition and the use of oat root is the same as that of scorzonera, however, in the former, the roots have not a black, but a gray-white surface; the leaves are linear-lanceolate, not spatulate, the flowers are purple, not yellow. The plant is also called oyster, and the root vegetable is called “vegetable oyster”, as they taste tender and resemble oysters.
Two-year culture. In the first year, it forms a cone-shaped long root crop and a large rosette of 30-35 leathery leaves, similar to leek leaves. In the second year, a stem with large single basket flowers is formed. Blooms in June. The seeds ripen in July and are easily blown onto the soil, as they have “parachutes”. This very healthy vegetable is suitable for consumption both fresh and boiled, fried, breaded, baked. It is sown in spring or July - August. At spring sowing the plant often bolts, whereas when summer harvest can be collected in autumn, winter and, what is especially valuable, in early spring (root vegetables and leaves), when there are no other vegetables yet. 
Of the sugars, it contains inulin, which is well tolerated by diabetics, asparagine, protein, potassium salts, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, sodium, vitamins PP, B 1, E6, carotene, fatty, tannic, bitter and biological active substances- lactucin and levulin, which support the activity of the endocrine glands. Recent studies have shown its ability, along with scorzonera, to remove radioactive substances from the body. Oat root has a positive effect on the activity of the liver and gall bladder, kidneys and bladder, and pancreas.
It is better to grow oat root on sandy chernozems. The distance in the row is 10-12 cm, the row spacing is 25-30 cm. The seeding rate is 0.7-1 g/m2, the sowing depth is 1.5-2 cm. Within 40-50 days, seedlings develop slowly and require 2-3 watering and loosening row spacing every 10-15 days. Each subsequent loosening must be carried out to a greater depth and at a closer distance from the row. Root crops are dug up at the end of September - October. Stored sanded in basements. Some of the crops are hilled up and left until spring. 
Recipes:
Oat root with egg - boil 1 kg of peeled root in acidified water. When it becomes soft, cut into circles and place in a frying pan with 50 g of butter. Quickly fry, pour in six eggs, pepper, stirring, bring to a thick consistency. On a plate, sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of onion and cheese. Serve with bread or potatoes;
Baked root - boil 800 g of root in acidified water. Then cut into circles and place in a bowl greased with oil. Add finely chopped ham or smoked meats and bake in the oven. After 5 minutes, beat the eggs with 200 g of milk, parsley, salt, 50 g of grated cheese, pour over the smoked meats with roots and bake until golden brown. Serve with potatoes and salad. 
OAT ROOT (supplement)
Unfortunately, you don’t often see this valuable vegetable and medicinal plant in our gardens. We just don't know much about him.
Oat root is unpretentious to soils, drought-resistant, cold- and frost-resistant. It needs to be sown in spring. Add compost, superphosphate and potassium chloride to the prepared soil. It is better to do this 20 days before planting so that the chlorine evaporates from the soil. When sowing, add ammonium nitrate or ammophoska. Since the seeds are large, soak them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for several hours before sowing. Maintain row spacing of 30 cm, row spacing of 5 cm, planting depth of 3 cm. After a week, seedlings appear. If they are dense, arrange them, leaving 10 cm between plants. During the period of intensive leaf growth, feed 2-3 times with mullein (with an interval of 2 weeks), and during the period of root crop formation (from the beginning of August), water regularly. After watering and rain, loosen the soil, since in heavy soil the root crops lose weight and become watery.
The harvest is harvested at the end of September. Root vegetables are carefully dug up with a pitchfork so as not to injure them. The tops are trimmed, leaving a 3 cm tail, and stored in the cellar, like carrots. They retain their appearance And taste qualities until spring. Part of the bed can be left undug. The roots overwinter in the soil without any shelter. In the spring, before the flower stem appears, they can be used for food. They are tasty, nutritious and healing - rich in proteins and carbohydrates, they contain a lot of minerals, organic compounds and inulin - up to 8% - a valuable medicinal substance necessary for patients with diabetes.
A wide variety of dishes can be prepared from oat root. Young leaves are used in salads, peeled roots are eaten raw; they are boiled, fried, stewed.
Obtaining oat root seeds is very easy. You need to leave 2-3 roots undug and the seeds will ripen on the regrown stems in September. They must be collected regularly. Plant a dietary vegetable in your garden.