Ketchup - I saw some of these recently and wanted to try them, but bottled it 'cos they were so expensive. I was only planning to do something very plain and simple like fry them in butter (although I've never tried them before) but the question is - what would you say is a reasonable price to pay? (In our market they were €10 for 250 grammes.)

(And DB don't come in here if you find it soooo boring....)

I'm intrigued, Brewer, what are Jets de Houblons?

Zzzzzzz

Hop shoots or something like that.

Here are a couple of recipes for hops shoots. With all the beer in Belgium I wonder why they're considered such a delicacy. I can't imagine they're all that rare, but apparently harvesting is very labor-intensive. I learn something new every day.
<a href="http://www.allaboutbeer.com/food/hops.html" Target="_BLANK">http://www.allaboutbeer.com/food/hops.html</a>

Never saw them on sale. The production is very limited, because the hops are there for the beer, and the 'hoppekeesten'are only a byproduct. I never understood why nobody invested in planting hops only for the shoots? Maybe too difficult? Anyway, I suppose the price you saw was rather OK, but wherever did you find them?

Use them plain in an ommelette. It's better to go and taste them in a reputed restaurant (such as Hommelhof in Watou or some restaurants in Asse). The hoppekeest-season lasts only a couple of weeks, so hurry!

Well I've got to wait until next Sunday before I get another chance to make a purchase, but thanks for that Ketchup. They were in one of the veg stalls at the street market by the train station in Waterloo -

They're supposed to be divine aren't they?

Bof!*

(*: the same applies for beluga caviar)

Brewer go to <a href="http://www.xquis.com" Target="_BLANK">www.xquis.com</a> or google.be and find plenty of ideas for your hop shoots.

Thanks Surfer that's an interesting site. The ones I get though are (much like Dizzy) going to be plain and simple.

Google winds me up these days - everyone seems to have beaten their page rank system and consequently half the searches turn up pointless blogs or sites trying to sell you something.

Brewer, today on VTM's Lekker Thuis, Piet Huyenstruyt was cooking with hop shoots, as well as another day last week. You find recipes on their website. I also heard someone else talking about when to use them, and the old fashioned thought was only for a week each side of Easter. (Strange as Easter can fall anytime between late March and late April)