Hop shoots

Commercial varieties of hop were introduced in Britain in the early sixteenth century by Flemish immigrants who were wise to the excellence of hop’s female catkins in the brewing beer.

Hop shoots is from the hop vine, Humulus lupulus, are a popular food in Belgium and the north of France around late March. The shoots are picked off the youngish plants as they start to grow up the hop poles.

People love to celebrate the first tender shoots of the season, and in many places hops are one of the first plants to poke up through the ground.

Edible and delicious, young hop shoots were common spring dish in England, often referred to as ‘poor man’s asparagus’.

Hop shoots are cooked in water just long enough to make them tender, and then often served with scrambled eggs or incorporated in a salad. Their sweet and aromatic flavor is set off by a slight touch of bitterness.

Hop extracts and oil have been used to flavor tobacco, yeasts, beverages other than beers, frozen dairy desserts, candy, gelatins, puddings, baked goods, various confections, chewing gums and condiments.
Hop shoots