Oatstraw Herb

Oatstraw is harvested from the tender green tops of the oat plant, cut and dried before the grain hardens. The flavour is soft, grassy and faintly sweet, closer to fresh hay than to anything sharp, with no bitterness behind it.

Oatstraw is also sold as oat straw, green oat tops or dried oatstraw, and the cut pieces are pale green to straw coloured, with a light, hay-like smell. It is a familiar ingredient in herbal tea blends and in baking blends, where it adds a soft cereal note. Cut and dried herbs like this keep best in a sealed jar, so a larger pack is easy to dip into over several weeks.

How to use it

Oatstraw is most at home in herbal tea blends, where it gives a smooth, mild cup on its own or a gentle base under stronger herbs. Infused into broth it leaves a comforting, earthy background note in soups and stews, and it can be blended into muffins, bread or cookies. Because the flavour is so mild, use a generous measure and a long steep; a short infusion tastes of very little.

Details

Also known as

Oatstraw Herb, Green Oat Tops, Oatgrass, Common Oat, Oat Leaf, Oat Stems
French: Tige d'Avoine
German: Haferstroh
Arabic: عشبة الشوفان
Chinese: 燕麦草 (Yànmài cǎo)
Spanish: Paja de avena
Turkish: Yulaf Sapı