The bulbous calf chervil belongs to the umbelliferous family. Visually, it resembles meadow chervil. Its turnip-like root is a little-known gourmet vegetable. It is also known as chervil beet. Other names are: Bulbous Chervil, Turnip Chervil or Turnip Calf Chervil, and Earth Chestnut.
Here’s what you should know about bulbous calf chervil.
The turnip-like root of bulbous calf chap is a little-known gourmet vegetable. Calf’s crookneck is a genus of plant in the umbellifer family. The tuberous calf’s crookneck (Chaerophyllum bulbosum) has a so-called hypocotyl tuber – just like beet or radish. This tuber is located under the thickened stem base and has earned the plant the epithet “tuberous”. This root tuber forms the tasty part of the plant. In its raw state, it tastes spicy-hot. After cooking, the taste is completely changed. The aroma is sweetish and reminiscent of the sweet chestnut (chestnut), which is why it is also called ground chestnut. If the tuber has been exposed to frost, it tastes hazelnutty after cooking. The above-ground leaf and flower part of the plant reaches a stately height of 80 – 200 cm. At the same time, the tender shoot tips can also be used for cooking. The tubers are rather small. With their spherical or conical shape, they reach a length of 1.5 – 10 cm and a diameter between 3 and 6 cm. Their weight is 140 – 200 g per root. The outer rind is gray-brown and can also be eaten. Two subspecies are distinguished: Siberian chervil beet has adapted to the habitat in Russia. It survives steppe fires unscathed because its root can survive in the soil for up to 10 years and sprout again. The native chervil beet is biennial. Its tuber serves as a nutrient reserve that is used up during flowering. The bulbous calf chervil with its two subspecies is originally found in Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the Balkans, Russia and Western Siberia. In Austria and Germany it was introduced by monks during the Middle Ages. All wild growing chervil beets are remnants of former vegetable cultivation. The plant reached France only in the 19th century. There it is nowadays considered a delicatessen vegetable. In general, this vegetable variety has largely fallen into oblivion and is hardly or not at all cultivated anymore. Cultivation is similar to that of carrots and parsnips. Seeds are sown in the field after the autumn harvest in September/ October. The cultivation period is 9 – 10 months. The tuber is harvested in July. Since the tuber develops its real aroma only when the leaves are removed, it is stored for several months. The optimal storage temperature is 4 °C. Short treatment at freezing temperature is also possible to provoke the hazelnut aroma of the root vegetable. On sale comes the rare vegetable tuber between Novemer and March.
Importance for health
Chervil beet is very nutritious because of its high content of starch and protein. Unlike most vegetables, the bulbous calf chervil is genetically still in a completely original state. Only in France were two cultivars bred in 1986. There are no genetic breeding adaptations to fertilizers or pesticides. For those who value food that is as natural as possible, the chervil is a unique vegetable on the plate. It is an ideal food as part of a slow food diet.
Ingredients and nutritional values
The tuber consists mostly of proteins and starch. The native chervil beet has a much higher starch content than its Siberian relative. If the tuber is frozen, its sugar content increases. The root vegetable is above all a healthy source of energy. At the same time, it is very low in fat.
Intolerances and allergies
Intolerances are not known. However, the root vegetable is almost completely forgotten and is rarely consumed. Therefore, there are no studies on this. In general, especially diabetics should be mindful of consumption and check for themselves whether the sugar and starch content is well digestible for them.
Shopping and kitchen tips
The chervil bulb can not be bought in the supermarket. It can be found at weekly markets with farmer self-marketing. However, it is very rare.Since the wild plant differs in yield from cultivated plants, after sowing in a field they do not grow as regularly and densely as classic cultivated vegetables. The root shape and size is also different for each turnip calf crop. The cultivation of this old vegetable variety is therefore only interesting for small or organic farms that have a close relationship with customers through direct marketing. Alternatively, the sales market via online ordering services is interesting. This is mainly used in the organic sector. Larger farms that sell their harvest to middlemen cannot sell these vegetables. Since storage for several months before sale is also costly, all these conditions have an impact on the price. As a rarity with difficult-to-calculate yields and very limited sales opportunities, the price per kilo is unusually high. Those on a tight budget can sow the plant in their own gardens. It is comfortable in a moist, semi-shaded, sandy location. It should be fertilized only moderately. In no case should wild plants be harvested from the wild. The umbelliferous plant is easy for laymen to confuse with other plants that it resembles. These include not only harmless plants such as wild carrot and meadow chervil, but also highly poisonous species such as spotted hemlock. If you do not want to consume the purchased or home-grown tubers right away, you can wrap them in damp sand like carrots and store them for a longer period of time.
Preparation tips
As a delicate kitchen vegetable, the bulbous calf’s crookneck is unbeatably versatile. It can be used in hot dishes on the one hand as a potato substitute with fantastic flavor or as a vegetable garnish. It can also be used in soups, ragouts and raw vegetable dishes. Just like early potatoes, the tubers can be braised, roasted or baked in the oven. The skin should also be used. Like potatoes, the tubers must be prepared with fat. Whether greaves lard, butter or oil is a matter of taste. In this way, the chervil tubers – best seasoned with salt, parsley or chervil – are a great alternative to the potato side dish on meat. Their chestnut flavor with a slight hint of marzipan comes out elegantly here. This also applies to a delicate preparation as a beetroot side dish. Here the tuber can be prepared like Teltower Rübchen. They are caramelized in a butter–sugar mixture in a frying pan. Then everything is deglazed with vegetable or meat broth (depending on the dish) and bound with flour. Elegant are also creamy soups. Here the tubers are boiled. Then the root meat can be squeezed out of the rind and prepared into a creamy starter with salt and herbs. As a raw food, the tuber can be grated. Because of its pungent spiciness, it can be combined with milder beet varieties – carrot, parsnip or even beet.
