Photo of pokeberries...from a stock photo website...
Have you ever seen a pokeberry and wondered what you could do with it? I know I certainly have. Pokeweed is a common weed, growing on roadsides, along the edges of fields, and in other areas of disturbed soil. It is easily recognized recognized as the plant reaches the end of summer, with its magenta streaked stalks and dark black clusters of berries.
Pokeberries have the distinction of being not only a traditional herbal remedy for rheumatism and a foraged, wild food, but also of being highly toxic. The plant starts with a low concentration of toxins in the spring, when it was typically picked to use as a vegetable. Leaves or stalks would have to be boiled in several changes of water to remove residual toxins before being eaten. As the plant matures, the level of toxins grows in the plant. The seeds contained in the berries are highly toxic. The root is the most poisonous part of the plant. Here is a link to a study on the toxicity of pokeberries.
Here is my disclaimer: This process centers on a poisonous plant. Wear gloves and use caution if doing this in a home with children or animals. Keep the ink well-sealed, not just to prevent anyone from ingesting it…but also to keep it from spilling and staining things…Onward:
Pokeberries,with their bright magenta juice, seem promising as a source of dye, but accounts I read about that dissuaded me from trying it. The dye doesn’t seem very practical for fabric dyeing since it is neither lightfast nor washfast. Of course, opinions varied, but the general consensus was that it’s not a fast dye.
I had, however read about the use of pokeberry to make an ink, which was popular in the American colonies and can be seen in examples of letters from that time period. There are numerous theories that are being floated around on the internet about how exactly to formulate this ink.
Without delving into historical documents, I picked a method that involved fermentation. Some information about un-fermented inks mentioned that they had a tendency to go bad or mold…So, off I went to buy my packet of yeast, and forage for pokeberries on the side of the road near the bus stop.
Here is what you need to make pokeberry ink:
- pokeberries
- yeast
- a lidded container, with an opening, that you can ferment poisonous berries in
- a thin cloth for straining the ink
- a container to store the ink in
STEP 1) Bring the pokeberries home and put them in your fermentation container. The container needs to have a lid, so that it doesn’t attract fruit flies, but it needs a small opening so that there is some air flow. I found what I believe to be the perfect container for this: a large plastic iced coffee cup with a slit in the plastic lid for a straw. You get containment and air flow, without needing to slice holes into other plastic containers and dull your knives.
Some of the pokeberries in the cup before I removed them from the stalk
STEP 2) Cover the air hole and vigorously shake the container. This will mash the berries without creating the mess of using a spoon to crush them. The mashing will release the juices.
STEP 3) Let the juice sit overnight.
STEP 4) The next day, add some yeast, mixing well. I had about a pint of berries and used half a packet of yeast. Experiment.
STEP 5) Wait a few days. The ink will ferment and you will notice the color change from a reddish-tone magenta to a cool-tone purple.
Straining the berry pulp out of the fermented ink
STEP 6) Strain the berry pulp out of the ink. Put your ink in a storage container. Play with it!
The difference in the color of the fresh juice and the fermented ink can be seen below. The fresh juice was more red-magenta color. The finished ink is a more cool-tone purple color. I think it is beautiful. If you want to read more about making pokeberry ink, here is a webforum for people who use fountain pens discussing homemade inks, and here is discussion of the fermentation method of making the ink.
Here are the before and after photos of the raw juice and fermented ink:
Fresh Juice
The Final Product! Very Purple!
Inspired by a recent visit to an Ethiopian restaurant, I’ve been reading up on Ethiopian cooking. I was excited by the spongy injera bread, the atomically spicy collard greens with cottage cheese, the beautiful lentils, the cool salad of potatos and herbs, and all the various vegetables, each in a unique, spiced sauce.
.
