Fat Hen in Australia: How to forage and use it in your recipes

fat hen location in australia map chenopodium

Fat Hen Australia Distribution

Chenopodium album, commonly known as Fat hen (not a large bird), is a plant that has been used as food since the first human settlements developed. This wild green can be found across the northern hemisphere, from the United Kingdom to India, Japan and North America. Before spinach was introduced in the UK, fat hen was used as a common green to accompany various meals

There are several related native and exotic fat hen species in Australia, ten of which are quite widespread. All the species are edible, but the descriptions that you’ll find here apply to the common exotic, Chenopodium album.

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Fat Hen Leaves

Fat hen is a versatile wild plant, it can be used as food in many recipes, it has medicinal properties, and its young shoots can be used to create a green dye. In addition, crushed fresh roots can be used as a substitute for soap. I, myself, have crafted several walking sticks from the main stalk of the plant. They are light, flexible, and very strong – excellent companions for my long walks.

Fat hen has been a key cultural species in all the countries where it grows. Although these days it is mostly regarded as a weed that causes crop losses due to contamination, there is a resurgence of the perceived value of this plant and of the benefits it brings to our nutritional landscape. I tend to harvest this plant and then dry and store the leaves for future use. I add a bunch of them whenever I’m making a soup or a root vegetable casserole. 

 

How to identify and forage fat hen

Fat hen is a tall annual plant that grows 2 meters high and spreads 1 meter across. The plant has a conical shape and usually features a single, erect, bumpy stalk with stripes running along its length. Chenopodium album is easily recognised by the dusty coating on the underside of the younger leaves, which gives it a silvery look. 

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Fat Hen Leaf

Leaves and stalks

Fat hen’s leaves grow alternately up the stalk, and new sprouts emerge from the fork of the stems. The leaves have a diamond shape with pointy edges and can grow up to 12 centimetres long and 10 centimetres wide, they are also said to resemble geese feet. The under surface of the new leaves often features a white, flour-like coating that can be rubbed off. 

The single, hairless central stalk is much-branched, lumpy and can have red or light-green streaks running vertically along its length. 

fat hen flower edible weed

Fat Hen Flowers

Flowers, fruit and seeds

Fat hen’s flowers are light-green and quite small and emerge from the tip of the branches in big clusters. The fruit is a small, green-sliver, roundish pod. Fat hen’s fruit can grow up to one to two millimetres wide and each of these pod-like fruits contains a single seed. The plant produces fruits and seeds in copious amounts. They often appear in large clusters, making them easy to harvest. 


How to use fat hen in your recipe

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Fat Hen young leaves

Fat hen is a highly regarded vegetable in many parts of the world, particularly in northern India, where it is cultivated and sold in food markets for use in curries, soups and bread. In India fat hen is popularly called bathua, and the seeds are used crate a porridge-like meal or fermented to create mildly alcoholic beverages. 

 

Fat hen’s flavour is very similar to spinach but with a distinctive ‘dough-like’ taste, not unlike uncooked bread. Fat hen is very filling – even a small quantity of these greens provides for a very satisfying meal. 

The leaves are the most commonly eaten part of the plant. While the leaves can be eaten raw it is preferable to consume them cooked due to the high content of oxalic acid (commonly found in many vegetables). To avoid the overaccumulation of this compound in your digestive system, it is advisable to eat the plant as part of a complex diet. 

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Fat Hen bushes

Seeds are very nutritious as they are high in protein (about 16%) and can be used in soups or sprouted and eaten raw. The seeds should be soaked overnight and then rinsed before eating, to increase the availability of nutrients and remove the bitter taste of saponin.
Fat hen’s flowers are also edible, and they can be used as an edible decoration to your salads. Fat hen’s leaves can be used to make a delicious pesto that can be stored in the fridge covered with olive oil for up to one week. 



This recipe for a delicious fat hen pesto bake is one of many ways to use this wild green to be creative in your meal prep (recipe from: EatWeeds.co.uk). 

Fat Hen Pesto Bake

Ingredients:

  •  3 medium zucchini, sliced

  •  6 medium tomatoes, sliced

  •  50g breadcrumbs

  •  50g cheddar cheese

Pesto:

  • 100g Fat Hen

  • 50g pine nuts (or any nut of your choice)

  • 100ml olive oil

  •  salt and pepper

Method

  • Blend the Fat Hen and pine nuts until coarsely chopped.

  • Add olive oil and blend again along with the salt and pepper, until of the pesto consistency you like.

  • Layer the sliced courgettes and tomatoes in an ovenproof dish.

  • Smear pesto on top of the courgettes and tomatoes.

  • Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and cheese.

  • Bake in an oven at 190C / Gas Mark 5 for 40 minutes.

 Medicinal Use 

Fat hen is not commonly used in herbal medicine, though it does have gentle medicinal properties and can be a very nutritious and healthy addition to your diet. The leaves can function as anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic. They can also function as mild laxatives and help relieve toothache. Fat hen’s leaves can be applied as a wash or applied to relieve pain from bug bites and sunstroke. 

Wild food plants Australia fat hen

Fat Hen Botanical Drawing

 

Toxicity:

As previously mentioned, fat hen, if consumed in high amounts can be toxic to our digestive system. The plant contains saponins, a component that can barely be absorbed by the body, though if consumed in moderate quantity they don’t cause any harm. To avoid the toxicity of saponins, it is advised to consume this plant cooked rather than raw as the process of cooking helps break down this component. 

Fat hen also contains oxalic acid (present also in many other greens) that can prevent some of the nutrients in the food not to be absorbed by the body. 

People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take special caution in including this plant in their diet as it may aggravate their conditions.    

 DISCLAIMER: This information should be used as a guide only. It is not my intention to advise anyone on medical conditions, rather, I'm just presenting a new way to look at the plants growing in your yard.

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