Lost root vegetables are to return
of Hortiplus want to bring back traditional roots into gardens and
kitchens. (All pictures ep)
by David Eppenberger
(17 February 2022) Many root vegetables once cultivated in Switzerland have been forgotten in the course of mechanisation. But seed expert Robert Zollinger is convinced that common salsify, rampion bellflower and greater burdock have many exciting flavours, colours and shapes that need to be rediscovered.
Many people know the common evening primrose from railway journeys because the plant with the large yellow flowers likes to grow in the ballast along the tracks. That is why it is also known as the “railway plant”. Only die-hard wild vegetable fans know that, contrary to the widespread rumour, it is not poisonous, but edible and healthy. In the 18th century, it was popular in farm gardens because of its fleshy taproot. If it is steamed a little, it develops a white-reddish colour pattern, which is why it is also called “ham root” in horticultural literature. However, hardly anyone uses it in the kitchen today. The situation is similar for other traditional root vegetables that have fallen into oblivion. Or who has heard of greater burdock, rampion bellflower, earth-chestnut, cotton thistle, carline thistle or common salsify? These are all root vegetables that were once cultivated in Switzerland but are no longer found in today’s vegetable assortment.
varieties were examined and assessed
Making seeds fit for cultivation again
The continuing loss of diversity of varieties and species in agriculture is a fact. “Six apple varieties account for 80 per cent of the cultivated area in Switzerland today,” explains Christina Kägi of the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG). But there are more than 3,000 other fruit varieties in Switzerland that no longer meet the demands of today’s market but are still of great value. As one of the coordinators of the National Action Plan for the Preservation and Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (NAP-PGREL), Christina Kägi is working to ensure that this genetic and culinary treasure is not lost.
Since 1999, more than 600 projects have been carried out within this framework to preserve crop plants diversity in Switzerland. In future, breeding should benefit from the seeds stored in the National Gene Bank in Changins, among other places. Old landraces of corn contain genetic material, such as black rust resistance in barley, which can be used in modern new breeds. So far most of the projects have mainly been about conserving seeds of old corn, vegetable or fruit varieties. “We looked at what was available and made sure that it didn’t get lost,” explains Christina Kägi.
During the last five years, however, more and more utilisation projects have been carried out with the aim of cultivating rare agricultural crops by breeding and making them fit for cultivation again. Especially in the case of vegetables, there are many species that are not suitable for mechanisation, but still stand out by culinary standards.
gastronomy again
Market gardens on the rise again
Robert Zollinger has been committed to the preservation of traditional crops all his professional life. Together with his wife, he once built up the organic seed garden centre Zollinger in Les Evouettes (VS), which he handed over to his sons four years ago. He has already carried out several examination and preservation projects within the framework of the NAP-PGREL. In the current project with the traditional roots, he grew 65 different varieties of seven species this year on the outskirts of Zurich with his company Hortiplus Zollinger. The FOAG supported the project financially, and the city of Zurich provided the land in the community garden Grünhölzli.
Still praised in older gardening literature, the root vegetables studied have now disappeared from the consciousness of gardeners, explains Robert Zollinger. There are understandable reasons for this: The ancient vegetables such as the rampion bellflower, the greater burdock or common salsify are the opposite of today’s uniform carrots, which are trimmed for mechanised cultivation and have to meet strict quality standards set by consumers.
Traditional roots, on the other hand, grow very differently: many-legged, thick or thin, long or short. In large-scale commercial vegetable production, their cultivation is far too time-consuming and therefore uneconomical. In the strictly timed vegetable market, no one has time to dig metres deep for roots that may then hardly yield anything. Robert Zollinger, however, sees a revival of the market garden tradition and a growing interest in tasty vegetables. “Roots have exciting flavours, colours and shapes that could be interesting not only for upscale gourmet cuisine.”
Obtaining suitable seeds pose a challenge
However, it was difficult to find enough and suitable seeds of the seven root species that were to be examined, explains seed expert Robert Zollinger. On the one hand, the seeds, some of which were only dust-sized, came from private individuals who responded to calls in magazines. On the other hand, they were stored in the National Gene Bank in Changins. In addition, Robert Zollinger occasionally searches for candidates at possible locations on his own initiative. For example, he knew from literature that earth-chestnuts still grow along corn fields in the Leuk region. When he arrived on site a few years ago on a scouting expedition, the field had already been harvested. But he found them anyway, because the boars had rummaged through the soil for the nodules. Zollinger smiles: “Boars just know what’s tasty.“
Successful tastings
But available seeds alone do not mean that they are suitable for cultivation. “It was easy to notice that the varieties are neglected in terms of breeding,” he explains. For example, the seeds often grow unevenly. Therefore, the first thing to do in these cultivation trials is to assess, based on the plants that have grown, which varieties are actually suitable for breeding. Particular emphasis is placed on agronomic and culinary criteria.
When the flowers blossom yellow and purple in Grünhölzli in the first year, it is nice to look at for the layman. But for breeder Zollinger it is clear that the usually biennial root vegetables should only flower in the second year, because the root is formed mainly in the first year. Such varieties that flower in the first year are therefore rated negatively in the selection.
Finally, only those varieties are reproduced that were able to prevail in the elaborate examination and evaluation process. In the end, seeds with varieties suitable for everyday use should be available on the market. The goal remains that the gnarled root vegetables find their way back into market gardens and kitchens. Zollinger is confident: “the first tastings with top chefs have already been very successful.“
Source: https://www.lid.ch/medien/mediendienst/aktueller-mediendienst/artikel/verschollene-wurzelgemuese-sollen-zurueckkehren/, 3 December 2021
(Translation “Swiss Viewpoint”)