Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Heartsease along with all the Heartsease containing recipes presented on this site, with 4 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Heartsease as a major wild food ingredient.

Heartsease, Viola tricolor (also known as: Heart's Ease, Heart's Delight, Field Pansy, Tickle-my-fancy, Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me, Jack behind the garden gate, Kiss Me Behind the Garden Gate, Come-and-cuddle-me, Herb Trinity, Three faces in a hood, Kiss me Love, Kiss Me Love at the Garden Gate, Kiss me Quick, Monkey's Face, Two Faces in a Hood, Love-in-idleness, Love Lies Bleeding, Johnny-jump-up, Trinity Violet and Wild Pansy) is a flowering plant and a member of the Violaceae (violet) family which is native to Europe (but which has been introduced into North America). They are small annual or short-lived perennial plants that are typically found in cultivated and waste ground, short grassland and hedgerows. They have small oval, blunt-toothed leaves and symmetrical flowers with four upswept or fan-shaped petals, two each side, and one broad, lobed lower petal pointing downward (flowers are 1.5cm in diameter). The plants are creeping or ramping (able to climb over other plants) in habit, reaching at most 15 cm in height. The flowers usually appear in April and last until the September and are either purple, blue, yellow or white with the upper two petals typically darker in hue than the others. The flowers are hermaphrodite and self-fertile and self fertilization is common, though flowers are also pollinated by bees.

Heartsease is the wild parent of garden pansies and in the past, one of its common names was 'pansy'. Indeed, when Shakespeare refers to 'pansy' in his plays, he is referring to heartsease.

This plant has been used for centuries and is one of the early treats of the culinary calendar. The flowers themselves are very pretty and can be used to brighten-up a salad (particularly a fruit salad). Traditionally the flowers have also been candied by preserving in sugar before being used to decorate cakes and pastries. What is surprising, however, is the use of heartsease leaves. Though not particularly tasty themselves (they can, however, be used to bulk-up a salad) they exude a substance which thickens-up stews and broths (just like the related sweet violets). Thus adding a handful of violet leaves to a stock will make a much thicker sauce. Indeed, heartsease leaves have been used as a thickener for centuries. They can also be used in pies and jams as an aid to setting.

The flower buds are edible and can be used raw in salads. They can also be chopped and added to soups and stews as a thickening agent. The flowers can be added to salads and jellies and can be used to decorate the tops of jams and jellies. They are also a colourful addition to ice cubes and make a wonderful garnish to desserts of man kinds. They can also be candied and used as decorations for cakes.

Though no adverse effects have been reported for heartsease flowers or leaves, it should be noted that heartsease contains cyclotides. Though not present in medicinal quantities in any single plant, these short peptides do have drug properties. Indeed, a number of the cyclotides seen in heartsease are cytotoxic and may be beneficial in the treatment of cancers. Some of the main chemical constituents of the plant are the aglycones: apigenin, chrysoeriol, isorhamnetin, kaempferol, luteolin, quercetin and rutin. Plants also contain saponins (4.40%), mucilages (10.26%) and carotenoids (8.45 mg/100g vegetal product).

The plant's common English name, Heartsease comes from its long use in herbalism. Indeed, an infusion of the flowers was one of the traditional remedies for a broken heart. It is a mild diuretic and as a result it has traditionally been prescribed for gout and rheumatoid arthritis. It should be noted, however, that in some people large doses of heartsease can act as a powerful emetic (inducing vomiting).

References:

[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants