Red Clover
Trifolium pratense NL: Rode klaver - F: Trèfle des prés Clovers are known as great soil improvers and can also help with eliminating unwanted weed species. They loosen subsoil, oxygenating it with their roots, naturally fix nitrogen in the soil up to 60-70kg per acre and are also great bee-friends. As food they should be consumed moderately in their raw form due to their high content in oxalic acid. Young leaves and young flowering heads are eaten raw in salads, or cooked like spinach. The seeds can be sprouted and used in salads or cooked. Do not eat the seeds raw, as they contain trypsin inhibitors, meaning that it can interfere with certain enzymes that help in the digestion of proteins. Those substances are normally destroyed if the seed is sprouted first. Flowers and seed pods can be dried to make a delicate herbal tea, or can be ground into a powder and used as a flour to enrich meals. Root is also edible, cooked. Red Clover is traditionally known for its powerful cleansing prope...