Stinging nettle: how to harvest it, cook it and brew it

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Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is the free green at the bottom of the garden. Young tops picked in spring cook down like spinach, dry into a dark green tea, and carry protein, iron and vitamin C. This page covers which parts to pick, how to take the sting out, how to brew it, and who should leave it alone.

What it is credited with

• Herbalists class nettle leaf as a diuretic, and traditionally use the infusion to increase urinary volume and flow.
• Naturopathy treats it as a spring tonic: the classic remineralising cure taken over a few weeks when energy is flat.
• Because of its iron and vitamin C content, it has a long reputation as a revitalising food for people who feel drained.
• In European folk medicine, nettle leaf was used for stiff, aching joints — including the old practice of urtication, deliberately brushing the fresh plant on the skin.
• Traditional herbalism used nettle infusions and washes for blemish-prone, irritated or flaky skin.
• Nettle root has a long-standing reputation in European herbalism for supporting urinary comfort in older men.
• It is described as astringent, and was traditionally applied to small wounds and grazes.
• It appears in countless hair lotions and rinses, credited with cleansing the scalp, reducing dandruff and adding body to the hair.
• Herbalists also credit the leaf with antioxidant and liver-supporting properties.

How to use it

The infusion (leaf)

• Use a small handful of fresh young leaves, or a heaped teaspoon of dried leaf, per mug.
• Pour water just off the boil over them and cover the mug — covering keeps the aroma in.
• Steep 8 to 10 minutes, strain, drink warm.
• Two to three mugs a day is the usual traditional pattern, taken as a course of two to three weeks, then a break.
• Drink it earlier in the day rather than at bedtime: it is a diuretic.

The cold macerate

• Steep dried leaf in cold water overnight in a covered jar, in the fridge.
• Strain in the morning. The taste is gentler, greener and less tannic than the hot brew.
• Drink within the day.

In the kitchen

• Pick only the top four to six leaves of young shoots. Wear gloves.
• Soak ten minutes in cold water, or drop straight into boiling water — either kills the sting.
• Wilt like spinach in butter or oil with garlic, two to three minutes.
• Nettle soup: sweat onion and potato, add stock, add a colander of leaves at the very end, blend.
• Also good in risotto, pasta filling, quiche, and blended into a green pesto with walnuts.
• Blanch and freeze in portions if you pick more than you can eat.

The hair rinse

• Simmer a large handful of leaves in a litre of water for 15 minutes, off the heat 20 minutes more.
• Strain, cool to lukewarm, pour over the scalp after shampooing and massage in.
• Leave a few minutes, rinse or not, as you prefer. Traditionally repeated once or twice a week.

Growing and harvesting it

• Nettle grows very easily in part sun, in nitrogen-rich soil — the richer the patch, the lusher the leaf.
• Snails and slugs are fond of it; check young shoots.
• Do not bother with pots: the yield is far too small to be worth it.
• Cut a patch back hard in early summer and you get a tender second flush in late summer.
• Leaves from flowering and seeding plants turn gritty and are best left for the compost or the fertiliser barrel.
• Read also: make your own nettle fertiliser and use nettle tea on tomato plants.

Frequently Asked Questions

The one thing to remember: pick the top few leaves of young shoots with gloves in early spring, soak them ten minutes or cook them, and they lose their sting entirely.

Does nettle still sting once it is prepared?

No. The stinging hairs are deactivated by heat and by soaking. Ten minutes in cold water, a couple of minutes in boiling water, or thorough drying all do the job. Only fresh, untreated leaves sting.

When is the best time to pick nettles?

Early to mid-spring, when the shoots are young and tender, is the prime window. Cutting a patch back hard in early summer gives a second tender flush in late summer. Once the plant flowers and sets seed, leave the leaves alone.

How much nettle tea can I drink in a day?

Traditional practice is two to three mugs a day, taken as a course of two to three weeks with a break afterwards rather than continuously. Drink it earlier in the day, since it is a diuretic. If you take any daily medication, check with a pharmacist first.

Can I use nettle if I am pregnant?

Not as a remedy or a course of infusions without professional advice. Nettle is best avoided in pregnancy and while breastfeeding in medicinal form. Cooked young leaves eaten as a vegetable are a different matter, but ask your midwife or doctor if you are unsure.

Is nettle better than spinach?

Nutritionally it holds up very well: it is the leaf vegetable with the highest protein content, around 80 kcal per 3.5 oz (100 g), and it carries roughly half the oxalates of spinach. It cooks the same way and tastes deeper and more mineral.

This information is provided for general interest and reflects the traditional use of plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice. If you are on medication, pregnant, or in any doubt, ask a healthcare professional.