 Oxalis from the Gourmet’s Table - vRiquewihr - Alsace
Oxalis acetosella - oxalis What does a clover, a common inhabitant of meadows, do in the far end of the woods? The thing would be curious if it effectively concerned a cousin of lucerne. But it’s enough to taste one of its leaves to realize the mistake: this slightly acid taste surely doesn’t belong to the well known forage but… oxalis - the name of which is definitely justified - derives from the Greek “oxus”, acid, while acetosella is a diminutive for the Latin “acetosa”, which has the same meaning.
The meaning of one of the other designations of this plant, “the cuckoo’s bread”, remains in turn more approximate because even if the cuckoo frequents the woods where the oxalis grows, it is doubtful that it makes this false clover its everyday bread.
According to the legend, hares, injured by a predator, rub their wounds with the sap of oxalis and get cured. For this reason it is called “alleluia”. Those pretty golden green, slightly acid leaves have the taste reminding the green apple with a delicate scent of green lemon’s peel and important astringent qualities. We could compare oxalis to the meadow sorrel but it is much more delicate.
Walking in the woods during the spring time, you can meet the pretty white flowers elegantly veined with pink. They have the same slightly acid taste as the leaves, particularly delicate, and can also be consumed.
 FRANÇOIS COUPLAN
François Couplan is specialist of traditional uses of wild and cultivated plants, the domain he has studied on five continents. Etnobotanist (Doctor in Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Paris), since 1975 he teaches the uses of wild plants during field trainings in Europe (France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium) and in the United States. He is the founder of “soft survival”, deep experiences of life in harmony with nature.
He joins his scientific background to the thorough experience of life in the midst of nature that he explored all around the world. In particular he lived with Indian tribes of North America and collected their traditions. François Couplan is the author of numerous works about plants and nature (23 published till today). He regularly contributes to different magazines in France, Switzerland and Germany and has published more than 500 articles about plants. He has also set the Institute of Research on Properties of Flora (France and Switzerland) and recommends the “natural agriculture” that aims to semi-cultivate the spontaneous vegetation. François Couplan attaches a great importance to emphasizing the value of unrecognized edible plants and presents them to the restaurant owners and to the public via conferences, trainings, personalized services, publications and medias. At present he works in particular on our ancestors’ diet in the Paleolithic period and collaborates with great kitchen chefs in many countries (Marc Veyrat, Annecy; Alain Passard, Paris; Carlo Crisci, Cossonay (Switzerland); Jean-Georges Vongerichten, New York; Jean-Marie Dumaine, Sinzig, Germany; etc.) on the rehabilitation of the forgotten tastes. For many years François Couplan travels up and down the planet in search of alimentary traditions of different cultural groups that inhabit our world: the relations between people and plants are countless and fascinating. The result of his explorations will be resumed the Encyclopedia of edible plants of the whole world. François Couplan is also a photographer and regularly illustrates his articles and books with his pictures.
Francois Couplan
CH-1692 Massonnens
Switzerland
Tél. : 00/41.26.653.19.78
(en Suisse : 026/653.19.78)
Fax : 00.41.26.653.27.47
e-mail : fcouplan@dplanet.ch
http://www.couplan.com
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