Hearts of Palm from Trachycarpus?!

[ramsay_palm]

Newbie posting here for the first time, so please go easy on me.

I recently watched an episode of Gordon Ramsay's uncharted, in which he harvests hearts of palm from palm trees growing along the slopes of Mount Athos in Greece.

Based on my admittedly rudimentary knowledge about palms, I'd say these are common Trachycarpus, but I'm not entirely sure, as I was under the impression that a) hearts of palm are usually harvested in more tropical climates (Costa Rica, Hawaii, Brazil, etc.) and b) only species like the coconut, acai, and palmetto have a culinary use, with palms like the Trachycarpus serving a merely decorative purpose.

Is this not the case?

Here's the video I'm referring to:

Thanks in advance.

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by ramsay_palm
Grammar

[Darold Petty]

Ramsay_palm,  Welcome to Palmtalk !  

The palm shown in this video is the Mediterranean fan palm,  Chamerops humilis.  Trachycarpus is a single trunked taller palm and most species don't sucker.

This is a savage process that results in the death of the stem, although not the other suckering growth points on the same root.

I usually only eat the heart of palms that have to be removed for some other reason.  I have eaten Archotophoenix, Howea, and Rhopalostylis.  They all taste about the same.

If you purchase canned hearts of palm at the grocery store, do not purchase product from Brazil,  as it is harvested from the wild population of palms.  I buy this palm heart from sources in Costa Rica, or other countries which use a different species,  grown as an agricultural product.

[PalmatierMeg]

Trachycarpus are solitary palms. If you try to harvest the heart you will kill the whole palm. That's a deadly and expensive little snack. I don't know if Trachies produce palatable hearts.

[ramsay_palm]

  On 7/10/2022 at 3:25 PM, Darold Petty said:

Ramsay_palm,  Welcome to Palmtalk !  

The palm shown in this video is the Mediterranean fan palm,  Chamerops humilis.  Trachycarpus is a single trunked taller palm and most species don't sucker.

This is a savage process that results in the death of the stem, although not the other suckering growth points on the same root.

I usually only eat the heart of palms that have to be removed for some other reason.  I have eaten Archotophoenix, Howea, and Rhopalostylis.  They all taste about the same.

If you purchase canned hearts of palm at the grocery store, do not purchase product from Brazil,  as it is harvested from the wild population of palms.  I buy this palm heart from sources in Costa Rica, or other countries which use a different species,  grown as an agricultural product.

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Thanks for the warm welcome and informative answer!

One of my daily rituals is going for these long, leisurely walks along my neighborhood. Very much like the palms that populate the landscape of the Tokyo suburb I call home, I am a transplant from halfway across the globe myself, and the sense of 'novelty,' if you will, has never really worn off, even though it's been over a decade since I first arrived in the country.

Trachycarpus are everywhere where I live (I can think of 4 or 5 locations off the top of my head), so naturally, I've developed a sense of affection for these spiky creatures. I've also come across Washingtonia and Sago palms, but these are far less common and can only be found in coastal areas, so I'm less familiar with these species.

I was under the impression that the stem would just grow back, but I now understand nature of the process shown in the video. I was think of ordering canned hearts of palm from Amazon, so I'll make sure to buy ethically-sourced product.

  On 7/10/2022 at 7:39 PM, PalmatierMeg said:

Trachycarpus are solitary palms. If you try to harvest the heart you will kill the whole palm. That's a deadly and expensive little snack. I don't know if Trachies produce palatable hearts.

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Yeah, I think they should just be left alone...

[The Germinator]

When they felled one of my Queens, I showed the workers the heart and we ate it with lemon and Tajin... They loved it. They could not believe they were passing up this delicacy on their jobs.