This is Luf. Now that there have been several good rains, it seems like every day a new luf plant appears in my yard. Challenging me.
In traditional Galilee Arab cooking, luf is not only a delicacy, but is considered to have powerful medicinal properties. A doctor I know told me of families bringing pots of luf to relatives in the oncology wards. My experience, however, has been somewhat the opposite.
As a natural protective mechanism, luf is full of a kind of toxin. If you know how to prepare it properly, however, this toxin can be neutralized. Two winters ago, my Bedouin friend Nadya, explained to me how this is done: you just use lots of lemon juice when you cook it.
Following her instructions, I picked a nice handful of leaves, chopped them and sautéed them in oil, squeezing copious amounts of juice on the little green pile. And in fact, it was delicious – until my entire mouth and throat started to prickle and swell. Trying not to panic, I sucked on a piece of lemon and after a few minutes, the symptoms subsided. Last year, luf and I kept our distance.
But this year, I am ready to try again. In my edible wild plants class, our teacher explained his own system for cooking luf – using wild sorrel leaves as the neutralizing agent.
Perhaps eating luf for generations builds up some kind of tolerance – which I am, sadly, not the beneficiary of. When I told Nadya about my luf experience, she just laughed. But the last laugh will be mine. I am making a solemn vow that spring will not arrive without my having prepared, eaten, and enjoyed luf. As blog is my witness.
Fatimah
April 30, 2009
Hello there,
Very interesting.
Well i married into an arab family and they eat this a few times at the beginning of the year.And thats right,you get a better taste when you add lemon,i think they call the wild sorrel leaves حميظ (hum-mead)
The thing is,i noticed that horses never eat luf,which they say that its poisonous,but us humans eat it.
A docter also told us that luf helps fight Cancer.
I was realy looking on the net for info about luf,then i found your blog
Thanks for sharing
Fatimah
abbieros
May 2, 2009
Thanks Fatimah for writing. In fact, a Bedouin friend of mine once told me that only humans and porcupines eat luf. I wonder where you are picking luf – and when? Or do you buy it in a cultivated version? I hope you noticed that there is another posting about luf on this blog…
Fatimah
May 3, 2009
Hello Abbieros,
We usually pick luf around February,March time.The hills around D meida and Kafar manda usually have them.I was trying to find some info about luf and its benefits,but couldn’t find the info i wanted.
At the moment, in April and May is the time for Thyme.We make Zar-tar from this.
I´m going to check out the rest of this blog a little bit later on hopefully.
wudl
March 3, 2013
Hello,
I just read your book and it was awesome; beautiful descriptions of nature and the wild plants and a beautiful story of coexistence. It makes me feel connected to the land even though it’s been almost seven years since I was last in Israel, and makes me want to cook more Levantine-style food (though in California I of course do not have access to the wonderful Holy Land produce).
Incidentally, when you mention luf, do you know whether the “luf” mentioned in the Mishnah is the same as the plant you talk about here? I am inclined to think it is, except that some of the classic commentators (eg Rambam) seem to say that it is a type of onion (is it maybe related to the onion family?). Nonetheless, Hanokh Albeck, who published the standard academic text of the Mishnah, also says that the botanical name of the Mishnah’s luf is the genus Arum, and after searching through google, I found that there is a species of Arum called Arum palaestinum, which is (not surprisingly) the luf you are talking about. Do you by any chance have any more information as to the identity of luf? I’d be happy to hear any more information.
Thanks for sharing all this; it is truly inspiring.
Abbie Rosner
March 3, 2013
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment. I’m so pleased you enjoyed the book. About luf, what I was referring to is indeed Arum palaestinum. I am not at all an expert on Talmudic references to local plants, but my friend Uri Meir-Chissik is, and in his book (in Hebrew) on edible wild plants, he writes that luf is mentioned numerous times in the Talmudic texts. Luf has traditionally been used here for medicinal purposes, as it is today. It’s not my favorite – I prefer to observe it admiringly from a distance.