The image, above, shows the full wild chervil plant(Anthriscus sylvestris), left, with a close-up of a
single leaf frond shown, right..
| Common Name: Wild Chervil |
| Scientific Name: Anthriscus sylvestris |
| Other Names: Cow Parsley, Wild Beaked Parsley and Keck |
| Family: Apiaceae |
| Range: Most of Europe, including Britain, south and east to N. Africa and Siberia. |
Physical Characteristics
Anthriscus sylvestris is a hardy Biennial plant, growing to 1.2m (4ft) by 60cm (2 ft) in size. It is hardy to zone 7 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers from April to June and the seeds ripen from June to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by bees. The plant is self-fertile.
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| Edible Parts: Leaves, Roots |
 Edibility Rating: 3 
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 Known Hazards: There are some reports that this plant is poisonous to animals. It is also VERY similar to some highly poisonous species (most notably fools' parsley Aethusa cynapium) and great care must be taken when identifying the plant, particularly as the leaves are best during the first year, before the plant flowers.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Wild Chervil along with all the Wild Chervil containing recipes presented on this site, with 3 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 Wild Chervil as a major wild food ingredient.
Wild chervil, Anthriscus sylvestris (also known as Cow Parsley, Wild Beaked Parsley and Keck) is a member of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae or carrot) family. It is a herbaceous biennial plant which is native to Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa. Like most other members of the family the plant has hollow stems and grows from 60 to 170cm tall. It is a very common plant on verges and the edges of woodland and can be an invasive and nuisance plant.
Wild Chervil is edible but should only be picked when young, as then it has a flavour something like a cross between fennel and parsley. When older it becomes more unpleasant and bitter in taste. However, unless you're absolutely certain of the identification of this species please, please don't pick it as it can be easily confused with two deadly poisonous species: fools' parsley Aethusa cynapium and hemlock Conium maculatum (one of the distinguishing features between them being the stems as wild chervil grows up to 1.2m high and has stout, pale green furrowed and slightly hairy stems. In contrast fools' parsley grows to only 0.5m tall, has thin, hairless ribbed and hollow stems. Hemlock has stout, smooth stems that are invariably purple-spotted. Do not take these as the only criteria and if you're going to pick wild chervil always take a proper filed guide with you and look at the leaves and flowers as well as the stems.). However, domestic chervil offers a very similar flavour and is easily grown from commercial seed (the cultivar is Anthriscus carefolium). If you are going to use this in your cooking (and I suggest that you do) then grow your own from verified commercial seed in your own garden. Wild chervil, like the commercial cultivar dries well, so you can pick plenty of young leaves when they are at their best, in the spring, and dry for use later in the season.
In the past, as well as being used as an herb, wild chervil leaves have also been cooked as a potherb. But, again, if not picked when young they can be unpleasant in taste and this has led to many reports of the plant not being worth picking. The root is also edible and can be prepared like carrot or parsnip.
[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
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 Wild Chervil as a major wild food ingredient.
Wild chervil, Anthriscus sylvestris (also known as Cow Parsley, Wild Beaked Parsley and Keck) is a member of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae or carrot) family. It is a herbaceous biennial plant which is native to Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa. Like most other members of the family the plant has hollow stems and grows from 60 to 170cm tall. It is a very common plant on verges and the edges of woodland and can be an invasive and nuisance plant.
Wild Chervil is edible but should only be picked when young, as then it has a flavour something like a cross between fennel and parsley. When older it becomes more unpleasant and bitter in taste. However, unless you're absolutely certain of the identification of this species please, please don't pick it as it can be easily confused with two deadly poisonous species: fools' parsley Aethusa cynapium and hemlock Conium maculatum (one of the distinguishing features between them being the stems as wild chervil grows up to 1.2m high and has stout, pale green furrowed and slightly hairy stems. In contrast fools' parsley grows to only 0.5m tall, has thin, hairless ribbed and hollow stems. Hemlock has stout, smooth stems that are invariably purple-spotted. Do not take these as the only criteria and if you're going to pick wild chervil always take a proper filed guide with you and look at the leaves and flowers as well as the stems.). However, domestic chervil offers a very similar flavour and is easily grown from commercial seed (the cultivar is Anthriscus carefolium). If you are going to use this in your cooking (and I suggest that you do) then grow your own from verified commercial seed in your own garden. Wild chervil, like the commercial cultivar dries well, so you can pick plenty of young leaves when they are at their best, in the spring, and dry for use later in the season.
In the past, as well as being used as an herb, wild chervil leaves have also been cooked as a potherb. But, again, if not picked when young they can be unpleasant in taste and this has led to many reports of the plant not being worth picking. The root is also edible and can be prepared like carrot or parsnip.
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
The alphabetical list of all Wild Chervil recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 3 recipes in total:
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| Asparagus Salad Origin: Britain | Risoto o Ddail Poethion a Pherlysiau Gwyllt (Risotto of Nettles and Wild Herbs) Origin: Welsh | Risotto of nettles and wild herbs Origin: Cape Verde |
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