We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Food

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is Monk's Beard?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated: May 16, 2024
Views: 35,127
Share

Monk's beard, also called agretti or Barba di Frate, Beard of the Friar, refers to the leaves of the plant Salsola soda, which are eaten as a leafy green vegetable, especially in places like Tuscany. The plant is native to Europe, and it’s a fairly invasive species, which now grows wild in many parts of North America. Despite its relative ease at establishing itself, the season for purchasing monk's beard for cooking is very short — about five weeks long in early spring when the leaves are most tender and fresh. Its rarity in culinary use outside of Italy has made this a popular vegetable, showing up in more and more of the finer restaurants throughout Europe and the US when it is in season.

The name monk's beard comes from the history of harvesting the plant. This relative to chicory is thought to have been cultivated by the Cappuccino Monks or Capuchin Monks in Tuscany. There are basically two methods of serving the green, which has been compared in taste to chard, spinach, and a variety of other fresh tangy greens. Monk's beard is often either steamed or boiled, and it may receive a light dressing of olive oil and/or a little lemon juice. Alternately the cooked greens can be added to pasta, or to fish dishes where the slightly bitter taste tends to complement the fish well.

Another way of preparing monk’s beard is to use it fresh and raw as a salad green. It can either be served alone with a vinaigrette of your choosing, or it can be mixed with other salad greens, especially baby ones, to provide a very tangy and what many describe as “crunchy and grassy” tasting salad. Monk's beard is more typically served cooked rather than raw.

Like spinach, the leaves of monk's beard can be very dirty and muddy. They need several thorough washings so you don’t serve up dirt with your greens. Generally only the leaves are considered edible, while the stem and the small white flowers at the top of the plant are not consumed. The central stem tends to be hard and rubbery, while the leaves have small white stems attaching to the central stem which are much more tender and fine to eat.

Since the monk's beard season is so short, you may want to grow your own rather than attempting to get it in stores. You can buy seeds and starts from a number of nurseries, and from many nursery catalogs and Internet nurseries. If you haven’t had time to grow your own, check with the head of produce at a nearby natural foods or specialty foods store to see where and when you can find the green available.

Share
DelightedCooking is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a DelightedCooking contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.
Discussion Comments
By Buster29 — On Feb 22, 2014

I don't know how ambitious I'd want to be about finding Monk's beard in stores if the growing season is so short. It doesn't sound any different than the other greens available for most of the year. I'll probably look for it on an upscale restaurant's salad menu, but I don't think I'll be searching for it at the local grocery stores.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a DelightedCooking contributor, Tricia...
Learn more
Share
https://www.delightedcooking.com/what-is-monks-beard.htm
Copy this link
DelightedCooking, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

DelightedCooking, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.