I first had mache on the island of St Martin in the Caribbean in about 1995. I loved it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it for sale in a store. So when I saw that I could buy seeds (and had a garden) I sent away for them. It’s not hard to grow but it’s a cold weather plant and so it bolts in hot weather. I threw the seeds in a raised bed in April putting a plastic prison blanket over to keep the goddam squirrels out, although at the time they may have been too busy “procreating” every 30 seconds to care much about wantonly destroying my lettuce patch.
We’ve had good weather for mache (until recently). And I’ve had more than a little of it.
A. This is not the mache I had in St Martin. There were 4 seed options, I got 2 of them. Neither are right.
B. Oh my god that dirt. It takes less effort to clean the garage floor than it does to get the water to run clear.
C. If left in dressing (salt and vinegar) for any length of time (3 minutes) it wilts to a slime-like consistency that’s really not in keeping with optimal salad standards, my love of day-old salad not withstanding.
And D. Meh.
