Salsify: The Victorian Oyster Plant Making a Stunning Return
Salsify is a root vegetable that was once a popular food in colonial America and across Europe, developing a delicate, nutty flavor with a hint of oyster when cooked, hence its nickname “oyster plant.” This long, slender root that resembles a carrot comes in two varieties: white salsify with its tan color and black salsify with a smoother, dark brown surface. The plant was particularly popular in Victorian era kitchens in England during winter months when fresh vegetables were harder to come by, and it was brought to North America during colonization, becoming a hit in New England and the mid-Atlantic states.
Once a Victorian-era favorite, this root vegetable disappeared when faster-growing crops took center stage, though the long, slender roots take patience to grow but reward you with a flavor that’s surprisingly similar to oysters when cooked. In season from October through to late January, salsify makes a delicious alternative to common winter root vegetables. Today’s chefs are rediscovering its culinary potential, using it in everything from soups and fritters to elegant restaurant preparations that showcase its unique seafood-like qualities.
Cardoon: The Mediterranean Giant That Graced Ancient Tables
Cardoon is a robust, thistle-like perennial native to the Mediterranean, long cultivated both as a striking ornamental and for its edible stalks, with early civilizations like the Greeks, Romans, and Persians consuming it. In Victorian-era England and colonial North America, cardoon was admired for its foliage and vibrant purple flowers that resemble artichoke flowers, once widely consumed as a vegetable, though today it survives mainly in specialty markets and gardens.
Culinarily, cardoon offers a flavor reminiscent of the nutty, robust taste of artichoke, with thick leaf stalks traditionally blanched by wrapping or covering to exclude light to reduce bitterness and tenderize them, then prepared by braising or adding to stews. The revival of this architectural vegetable in modern kitchens reflects chefs’ desire to offer diners something truly distinctive – a connection to ancient Mediterranean culinary traditions that predates our common vegetables by centuries.
Purple Carrots: Ancient Roots With Modern Appeal
These striking purple-skinned carrots with orange cores were common before the 17th century, when orange varieties became popular due to their improved taste and storage qualities, with their intense color coming from anthocyanins, the same compounds found in blueberries. The neighbor kids always gather when these are pulled from the ground – their faces lighting up at the ‘magic’ purple carrots, and beyond the novelty, they’re notably sweeter than orange carrots after a light frost.
These varieties contain high amounts of anthocyanin, which is a strong antioxidant found in other purple plants like aubergines, and regardless of the strange appearance, they taste exactly like other white varieties of potato and do not lose their color during cooking, which can be used to put an interesting twist in ordinary dinner dishes by having purple chips or purple mash. Chefs are embracing these colorful heirlooms not just for their Instagram-worthy appearance, but for their superior nutritional profile and the conversation they spark at the dining table.
Scorzonera: The Black Salsify That Outshines Its Cousin
Scorzonera, or black salsify, is a close relative of salsify but stands out with its dark, almost black skin and creamy white flesh, highly regarded in European cuisine for its subtle flavor and medicinal properties, being slightly sweeter than its white counterpart with a hint of nuttiness that pairs beautifully with butter and lemon. This too-little-known root is truly one of the “great” vegetables with its unique flavor, at least in the vegetable world, and while both salsify and scorzonera are fine, scorzonera is consistently the better-tasting (“more refined and richer in taste”) and more productive.
Historically, it was used in soup recipes, gratins, and even desserts thanks to its creamy texture, and packed with potassium, iron, and inulin, this retro vegetable is not only delicious but also great for digestive health. Modern chefs appreciate its versatility and the fact that it’s a perennial crop, meaning sustainable harvests year after year. The growing interest in forgotten European vegetables has positioned scorzonera as a premium ingredient in upscale restaurants seeking authentic historical flavors.
Sea Kale: Victorian Seaside Delicacy Returns to Refined Menus
Native to the shores of northern Europe, sea kale is a hardy coastal plant that once graced Victorian dining tables but is now largely forgotten outside of specialty gardens, cultivated in Britain for decades where it was a fashionable delicacy and often served at elegant dinners. The plant itself has sweet-smelling white flowers and broad blue-green leaves that are harvested in spring since they grow more bitter as the season progresses, with these leaves eaten much like regular kale, sautéed, blanched, or massaged with salt and paired with a perfect salad dressing to match the plant’s unique flavor, while sea kale shoots were also often picked and eaten much like asparagus, offering a tender, nutty flavor.
Its decline in popularity was more about shifting agricultural trends than it was about taste: Vegetables that required less effort to cultivate quickly outpaced it. However, with sustainability and foraging becoming major culinary trends, adventurous chefs are reintroducing this coastal treasure to modern palates. Its resistance to harsh growing conditions and unique maritime flavor profile make it an excellent choice for restaurants emphasizing local, wild ingredients.
Tromboncino Squash: The Musical Vegetable That Defeats Pests
Shaped like a curved trombone (hence the name), this Italian heirloom can be harvested young as summer squash or allowed to mature into winter squash, with its resistance to squash borers making it popular before modern pesticides. When garden space gets tight, they can be trained up an arch trellis with the fruits hanging down like musical instruments, drawing comments from everyone who visits, and they never develop the bitterness that affects zucchini in late summer.
They can be harvested when 8-12 inches long for tender, zucchini-like use, or allowed to grow to 3 feet where they develop a butternut-like flavor and hard shell that allows them to keep for months without refrigeration. Chefs love this dual-purpose vegetable because it offers flexibility in menu planning – the same plant can provide fresh summer vegetables and long-storing winter ingredients. Its pest resistance also appeals to sustainable farming practices that many upscale restaurants now prioritize.
Good King Henry: The Perennial Spinach Alternative
Good King Henry is a perennial vegetable in the same plant family as quinoa and lamb’s quarters. This forgotten European green was once a staple in cottage gardens across England and northern Europe, valued for its ability to provide fresh greens year after year without replanting. Most “forgotten” vegetables originated in Europe and are described as ‘ripe for a renewal’ for those looking for something unique to distinguish themselves from other growers.
Unlike annual spinach, Good King Henry emerges early in spring and continues producing tender leaves throughout the growing season. Its shoots can be harvested and prepared like asparagus, while mature leaves work wonderfully in soups, stews, and sautéed dishes. The fact that it’s a perennial makes it incredibly appealing to chefs focused on sustainable practices and restaurant gardens that need reliable, low-maintenance crops.
Glass Gem Corn: Cherokee Heritage Meets Modern Artistry
Glass Gem Corn is a strikingly beautiful addition for modern homesteaders, being a lovely heirloom with Cherokee roots and glass-bead-looking rainbow colors that looks beautiful as decor when dried and placed in a cornucopia for a holiday table, and it also makes delicious popcorn! This extraordinary variety represents both cultural preservation and culinary innovation, connecting diners to Indigenous food traditions while providing a spectacular visual presentation.
Chefs are incorporating Glass Gem corn into their menus not just as popcorn garnishes, but ground into colorful cornmeal for breads, polenta, and other grain-based dishes. The multicolored kernels create naturally vibrant foods without artificial coloring, appealing to health-conscious diners. Restaurants focusing on native ingredients and historical authenticity find this corn particularly valuable for telling the story of America’s agricultural heritage.
Watermelon Radish: The Surprising Beauty Inside
This is a large root vegetable that grows to about the size of a baseball, forming part of the horseradish family with a mild peppery flavor, and the watermelon radishes look, as the name states, very similar to a miniature watermelon with a soft green to white exterior and bright pink on the inside. All radishes are high in ascorbic acid, folic acid and potassium and they make a good source for calcium, magnesium and copper.
The dramatic color contrast makes watermelon radishes a chef’s dream for creating visually stunning dishes. When sliced thin, they reveal intricate pink and white patterns that look like delicate flowers or abstract art. Their mild flavor makes them versatile for both raw preparations like salads and carpaccio, as well as cooked applications where they maintain their striking appearance. High-end restaurants prize them for their ability to elevate simple dishes into Instagram-worthy presentations.
Black Spanish Radish: The Winter Warrior With Ancient Roots
Few vegetables have an appearance as striking as the Black Spanish radish, an heirloom root that once enjoyed widespread popularity across Europe, with records suggesting it was grown as far back as the 16th century and by the early 1800s had made its way to American soil where it was cultivated alongside other hardy root vegetables, with its jet-black skin and snowy white interior along with its reputation for both culinary and medicinal uses securing it a steady following for centuries.
Beneath its rugged, dark exterior lies a crisp flesh with a strong, peppery bite that’s notably sharper and more pungent than the common red radish, and when sliced thin in salads or grated into slaws, it adds a lively, nose-tingling kick, while roasting or simmering it in soups softens its heat and brings out a mellow sweetness, and beyond the table, it was long valued for its purported healing properties, particularly as a digestive aid and liver detoxifier. Chefs appreciate its dual nature – raw for heat and cooked for sweetness – offering multiple flavor profiles from a single ingredient.
Miner’s Lettuce: California Gold Rush Green Goes Gourmet
While most forgotten vegetables have European origins, miner’s lettuce is native to the western coast of North America and once played a crucial role in California’s history, with indigenous peoples having long used it for medicinal purposes before Europeans arrived in the Americas, and during the mid-19th-century California Gold Rush, prospectors discovered the plant and relied on it to ward off scurvy thanks to its high vitamin C content, with the name “miner’s lettuce” reflecting its importance to those who staked their fortunes on the California hills.
This delicate green is recognizable by its round, cup-shaped leaves that cradle the plant’s tiny flowers, with its taste being crisp and juicy like spinach but with the fresh crunch of lettuce, traditionally eaten raw where it adds freshness to salads and sandwiches, though it can also be lightly steamed or wilted and used in soups and stews. Modern California chefs are embracing this native green as part of the farm-to-table movement, celebrating local food history while providing diners with a uniquely Californian ingredient that tells the story of the state’s pioneering past.
In 2025, the plates will feature forgotten vegetables, pickles, kefir, fermented products, fermented products, edible flowers (especially hibiscus), and revisited variants of butter with herbs and chilies. Heritage vegetables are keenly sought by chefs striving to distinguish themselves in the kitchen, with many top hotels and restaurants, such as The Pig and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, now growing their own, guaranteeing a fresh supply. Chefs across Asia are bringing forgotten ingredients back to life, with efforts not only preserving culinary heritage but also promoting sustainability.
