Pineapple Weed Sugar

I love pineapple weed.  Almost every one I know loves pineapple weed.  People that aren't foragers recognize it too.  I always hear 'Oh, I've always wondered what that was!' when I point it out to students.

Pineapple weed (Matricaria discoidea) is a tough, beautiful little herb that seems to thrive in the worst soils.   Dry dirt driveways, trail heads, well-worn footpaths, these are the places to seek pineapple weed.  And you will be rewarded with a sweet fragrant plant that supplies an almost perfect cup of tea.  Herbally, it's used the same way Chamomile is.  I've often wondered if most of the 'medicine' that comes from a few herbal teas is simply from practicing stillness for a few moments, filling your head with steam as you sip and watching the world go by, just for a few minutes.

I've often tried to 'keep' the flavor of pineapple weed.  Mostly I've been unsuccessful.  The oils dissipate quickly when drying.  Last year, I infused some of the herb in glycerin.  It was good for things like cream cheese frosting, but really was too sweet to use for much else.  This year though, I tried infusing sugar with it and the oils seem to be binding with the sugar.  I am going to use this for glazes and baking.

Mix 1 cup of pineapple weed heads with one cup of sugar.  Run through the blender in small batches.  The sugar will get wet and lumpy from the crushed flower heads.   Spread mix out on a baking sheet and dry.  (It took about two days.)  Occasionally, I broke the chunks up with a fork.

If you don't mind the lumps, you can use it as it is.  Otherwise you can run it through a blender again.

It's a beautiful shade of green and smells so good!