Especially tasty hemp seeds.
Grower: Ineta Sproģe, 62 years old, certified organic farm, agricultural consultant, from Sidrabi, Koknese Region
HISTORY
“Hemp has been a part of our family's culinary tradition since the 1960s. We grew it in our garden in the Limbaži region. When I inquired about the origin of our seeds, my mother mentioned Katvari, a nearby village. While researching local history, I discovered ethnographic records from Plāči village in the Limbaži region, praising the quality of hemp grown there for its digestive benefits. However, Plāči village is actually closer to Cēsis than Limbaži, leaving the exact origin of our seeds a bit of a mystery.
Hemp has always been grown in our allotment garden. On special occasions, we would prepare a hemp seed butter. The seeds were roasted in a pan until they started popping, then ground and combined with fresh butter, creating a flavorful and nutritious treat.”
GROWING
“To ensure optimal growth and harvest, hemp sown in small gardens should be planted densely to prevent it from becoming tall and bushy like a fir tree. Sparsely planted hemp often grows excessively bushy, making it challenging to collect good seeds due to uneven ripening and the need for branch-by-branch harvesting. Dense planting promotes straight, branchless growth.
In larger fields, hemp is typically sown in rows similar to potatoes, with a spacing of 70 cm between rows. This facilitates cultivation and weed control. Initially, soil needs to be loosened around the seed to prevent weeds from overwhelming the young hemp plants. However, as the hemp matures, it tends to outgrow and suppress weeds on its own. For extensive cultivation, hemp can be sown in the field like rye.
When harvesting a larger hemp crop, the plants can either be bundled into sheaves or threshed directly in the field. While birds were less of a problem in the past, they now pose a significant challenge to seed collection. When my mother and I had about 60-70 hemp plants, we found that harvesting hemp with garden shears and allowing it to dry in the shade for a week before shaking out the seeds is a more effective and efficient method. To ensure complete seed extraction, gently beating the plants with a stick is recommended. Overdrying should be avoided as it can lead to loss of seeds and crumbling of leaves which burdens the cleaning.
Although trimmers or mowers can be used for hemp harvesting, I prefer the traditional method of involving friends and family. Together, we cut the hemp with garden shears, bundle it, and leave it to dry for a week. If the weather is unfavorable, we opt to thresh the hemp directly on the field. While this may result in some seed loss, it significantly reduces labor intensity.
To extract the seeds, I place the hemp on a box and gently beat it with a stick. This simple method ensures clean seeds without the contamination of weed seeds often associated with combine harvesting. I personally find this process enjoyable. While I've typically cultivated no more than a hectare of hemp, in recent years, I've limited my plantings to 0.1-0.3 hectares. However, my cousin has planted a larger field of my hemp seeds to produce tea. As I age, I've gradually reduced the size of my garden.
Stende Research Centre is currently working to certify my hemp, and I aspire to name it 'Sidrabi' hemp. Additionally, my hemp seeds are stored in the gene bank in Salaspils, and now I am confident that these delicious hemp seeds will not disappear.”
RECIPES
Hemp Butter
“We usually made a spread by mixing roasted hemp seeds with butter. The process begins by roasting the hemp seeds in a pan over a moderate heat until they start to crackle. Once roasted, the seeds are ground using a meat grinder or coffee grinder. While I now prefer to roast them in the oven, the actor Andris Bērziņš shared a story that his grandmother would put on a large leather apron, and go to the grandfather's smithy. There, they would put heated stones on the hemp seeds in the apron and roll the stones around to roast the seeds. It is an intriguing method, reminiscent of cooking soup with hot stones. While it might be a family legend, it's certainly a unique approach to roasting hemp seeds.”
Hemp Milk
“These hemp seeds have been soaking in water for 24 hours. We pour out the water for soaking and add fresh water or birch sap, then blend it in a three-liter jar until the liquid turns from gray to white. This usually takes about two or three minutes. Here, I have a cup of hemp seeds with five cups of water added. The blended mixture is poured into a mesh bag and placed in a bowl with a sieve. We then squeeze out the liquid as if milking a cow. The remaining pulp can be used as a scrub in the sauna or added to bread dough. To enhance the flavor, I add a pinch of salt and a little honey. Children enjoy it with bananas, but I’m going to blend it with strawberries today.”
Ineta also makes ice cream using this hemp milk, adding coconut oil for a thicker consistency.
Sandra Stabinge and Anitra Tooma visited Ineta Sproģe on July 1, 2020.
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