Fennel – Traditional (Maltese) uses

As an infusion To cure inflamed eyes Helps with lactation Boiled (seed). “The mother will continue drinking the herbal tea made from the seed of the herb, she will flush away the water retention and for the baby when he is breastfeeding it will help him a lot with gas...

Nettle Pesto and Wild Asparagus Timbales

Spring foraging brings wild plants directly from the countryside to the kitchen. In Malta, Warren J Bugeja, expert of our Maltese partner organisation explores this tradition through seasonal ingredients including young nettles and wild asparagus. His recipe combines...

Nettle in literature and popular culture

Nettle, often stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), appears in popular culture mainly as a symbol of pain, protection, resilience, and folklore, with metaphorical uses outnumbering literal depictions. Film Short films like “Nettles” (2018) by Raven Jackson...

Nettle – History

Ubiquitous when in season and in recorded use as far back as the Bronze Age (circa 3000 BC – 1200 BC), nettles have often substituted for spinach and other leafy greens, providing a source of nutrition for starving peasants in times of famine. Dioscorides...

Mint in Popular Culture – Food, drink, and everyday ritual

Culturally, mint is inseparable from tea: in the Middle East and North Africa, mint tea is a core ritual of hospitality, friendship, and slow conversation, often poured from a height to aerate and cool it. In India and Pakistan, mint appears in chutneys, raitas, and...