Calling all Persians (please help me find this herb)

December 16, 2019 3:22 PM

It's 2019 and we have the internet and planes, but searching high and low for an "impossible to find" herb that grows wild in northern Iran and is an essential ingredient in Gilaki cuisine. In English it's chochaq or chochagh or chouchagh, Latin is erynginium caucasicum, (a type of sea holly), image is here. Far Reaches Farm in Port Townsend, WA appears to have bedding plants for $15 each, but I need seeds. There are occasional mentions of people growing their own in Canada and the U.K., but I haven't been able to track down anyone... and I've asked famous Persian chefs and cookbook authors. So I turn to MetaFilter ... thank you!
posted by cyndigo to Food & Drink (5 answers total)

Richters.com in Ontario, Canada sells the seeds. Sorry I don’t know how to make a link. They have every kind of herb!
posted by antiquated at 3:54 PM on December 16, 2019 [6 favorites]

I can ask my hairdresser. She supported my efforts to make tahdig and sometimes gives me saffron.
posted by rw at 5:05 PM on December 16, 2019 [2 favorites]

Oh wait, the Richters seeds are listed as Eryngium campestre, perhaps you could contact them to see how similar they might be?
posted by antiquated at 5:11 PM on December 16, 2019 [3 favorites]

Ask about using planting seeds for cooking because I have been told/warned that commercial seed is treated and is not safe for consumption.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:25 PM on December 16, 2019 [6 favorites]

Have you asked Far Reaches about seeds? Could you buy the plants from Far Reaches and harvest the seeds yourself each fall?
posted by amaire at 7:48 PM on December 16, 2019 [1 favorite]