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:''For other uses of the name samphire, see [[Samphire]]''
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Rock samphire
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| phylum= [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Apiales]]
| familia = [[Apiaceae]]
| genus = '''''Crithmum'''''
| species = '''''C. maritimum'''''
| binomial = ''Crithmum maritimum''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L]].
}}
'''Samphire''', or '''rock samphire''' (''Crithmum maritimum''), the sole species of the genus ''Crithmum'', is an edible wild plant found in coastal regions of mainland [[Great Britain]]. The term '''[[samphire]]''' is used for several unrelated species of coastal plant.
In [[King Lear]], [[Shakespeare]] refers to the dangerous practice of collecting rock samphire from cliffs. ''"Half-way down, Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!"''
== Culinary Use ==
''It is not certain whether the following information refers to the rock samphire or the marsh samphire ([[glasswort]]).''
Samphire has fleshy, divided [[Aroma compound|aromatic]] [[leaf|leaves]] that have long been regarded as a delicacy in [[Norfolk]] and [[Lancashire]]. In former times, samphire was prepared as a pickle, but is now appearing as a garnish in [[London]] restaurants.
To prepare it for the table, samphire is trimmed of its hard root, washed and plunged into boiling water for a few minutes. It is often served with a mixture of [[butter]] and [[vinegar]] but also with butter alone. It is also delicious in Risotto (e.g. [[Rick Stein]]'s Shrimp and Samphire Risotto).
The flavour is highly reminiscent of [[asparagus]], and samphire is sometimes referred to as "poor man's asparagus" (although that name has also been applied to [[Good King Henry]], [[Hop (plant)|Hop]] shoots as well as the [[Leek (vegetable)|leek]]).
== Sources ==
* http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/shrimpandsamphireris_3208.shtml
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/gqt/samphire.shtml BBC Gardener's Question Time] - where there is apparently some confusion between the [[glasswort]] (marsh samphire, found in Suffolk) and the rock samphire (found in Dorset).
* [http://www.biffvernon.freeserve.co.uk/samphire.htm Biff Vernon] discusses the common confusion between marsh samphire and rock samphire, and reproduces a poem on the subject by [[William Logan (poet)|William Logan]].
* [http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/samphi10.html Botanical.com]
* [http://www.riverhouse.com.au/factsheets/rock_samphire.html Riverhouse]
[[Category:Apiaceae]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
[[Category:Stem vegetables]]
[[Category:Halophytes and salt tolerant plants]]
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Rock samphire
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| phylum= [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Apiales]]
| familia = [[Apiaceae]]
| genus = '''''Crithmum'''''
| species = '''''C. maritimum'''''
| binomial = ''Crithmum maritimum''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L]].
}}
'''Samphire''', or '''rock samphire''' (''Crithmum maritimum''), the sole species of the genus ''Crithmum'', is an edible wild plant found in coastal regions of mainland [[Great Britain]]. The term '''[[samphire]]''' is used for several unrelated species of coastal plant.
In [[King Lear]], [[Shakespeare]] refers to the dangerous practice of collecting rock samphire from cliffs. ''"Half-way down, Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!"''
== Culinary Use ==
''It is not certain whether the following information refers to the rock samphire or the marsh samphire ([[glasswort]]).''
Samphire has fleshy, divided [[Aroma compound|aromatic]] [[leaf|leaves]] that have long been regarded as a delicacy in [[Norfolk]] and [[Lancashire]]. In former times, samphire was prepared as a pickle, but is now appearing as a garnish in [[London]] restaurants.
To prepare it for the table, samphire is trimmed of its hard root, washed and plunged into boiling water for a few minutes. It is often served with a mixture of [[butter]] and [[vinegar]] but also with butter alone. It is also delicious in Risotto (e.g. [[Rick Stein]]'s Shrimp and Samphire Risotto).
The flavour is highly reminiscent of [[asparagus]], and samphire is sometimes referred to as "poor man's asparagus" (although that name has also been applied to [[Good King Henry]], [[Hop (plant)|Hop]] shoots as well as the [[Leek (vegetable)|leek]]).
== Sources ==
* http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/shrimpandsamphireris_3208.shtml
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/gqt/samphire.shtml BBC Gardener's Question Time] - where there is apparently some confusion between the [[glasswort]] (marsh samphire, found in Suffolk) and the rock samphire (found in Dorset).
* [http://www.biffvernon.freeserve.co.uk/samphire.htm Biff Vernon] discusses the common confusion between marsh samphire and rock samphire, and reproduces a poem on the subject by [[William Logan (poet)|William Logan]].
* [http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/samphi10.html Botanical.com]
* [http://www.riverhouse.com.au/factsheets/rock_samphire.html Riverhouse]
[[Category:Apiaceae]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
[[Category:Stem vegetables]]
[[Category:Halophytes and salt tolerant plants]]
