I run into new people to our area almost every week and they want to know about our history of Robertson County. Someone asked me the other day, “what did you eat in the old days around here?” Well, I am so glad you asked because I have been wanting to tell everyone about “Poke Salet.”
Many of us older folks are familiar with it and knew of our grandparents who ate it almost every week. But what is it?
The name “Poke Salet” or some call it “Poke Salad” is a dish made from the Poke weed. “Poke Sallet” was the original name and it was a middle English word. The name came from England many centuries ago. Poke Salad was and is still consumed in Appalachia and has been for many centuries. Before I go any further and you desire to go out and pick up and eat it just to see what it is like, I need to tell you that this plant is poisonous! To be eatable it has to be boiled at least twice with new water each time. Then it is safe to eat. (I wonder how many times people tried this plant before they found out what they had to do to keep it from killing them?)
The plant does have fruit and this is when it is most dangerous. It has a reddish stem and dark purple berries. If you have spent time in the woods you probably have seen it. It has always been in abundance. It was eaten by people who didn’t have much food for the family. Do you remember the song by Tony Joe White, “Polk Salad Annie?” (He didn’t know how to spell “Poke” correctly, I guess, and used “Polk’)…