Burdock Root and the Invention of Velcro

Raw Burdock Roots

The other night we were at our favorite local Mongolian hot pot restaurant, Little Sheep Hot Pot, in Clairemont Mesa (San Diego) with some friends, when I decided to try to identify some of the oddities floating in our broth and giving it such an enticing flavor. The first which I have been able to identify is Burdock Root, of which there were two small versions floating in our soup.

According to Wikipedia, burdock is a thistle native to the old world and whose greens can cause a contact dermatitis in humans. It is widely used in Asian cooking and imparts a, "sweet, mild, and pungent flavor with a little muddy harshness." It is also of course ascribed a number of medicinal properties as well in oriental medicine (magic).

Burdock Burr

The burdock burr, which hooks into the fur of animals as a mechanism of seed dispersal, apparently inspired the invention of velcro. The Swiss inventor George de Mestral, while on a walk with his dog in the 1940s, investigated this evolutionary adaptation and the hook and loop system of velcro was born.

A great example of inspiration from nature!

-S