Nettle soup is a common use of the plant, particularly in Northern and Eastern Europe. Nettles are sometimes used in cheesemaking, such as for Cornish Yarg and as a flavouring in varieties of Gouda.Nettles are used in Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Hercegovina as part of the dough filling for the börek pastry. The top baby leaves are selected and simmered, and then mixed with other ingredients such as herbs and rice, before being used as a filling between dough layers. Similarly, in Greece the tender leaves are often used, after simmering, as a filling for hortopita, which is similar to spanakopita, but with wild greens rather than spinach for filling.Young nettles can also be used to make an alcoholic drink. Competitive eating
In the UK, an annual World Nettle Eating Championship draws thousands of people to Dorset, where competitors attempt to eat as much of the raw plant as possible. Competitors are given 60 cm (24 in) stalks of the plant, from which they strip the leaves and eat them. Whoever strips and eats the most stinging nettle leaves in a fixed time is the winner. The competition dates back to 1986, when two neighbouring farmers attempted to settle a dispute about which had the worst infestation of nettles, and one of them said, "Ill eat any nettle of yours thats longer than mine." Traditional medicine
As Old English stiðe, nettle is one of the nine plants invoked in the pagan Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm, recorded in 10th century traditional medicine.
Etymology
Urtica is derived from a Latin word meaning sting.Dioica (δίοικος) is derived from Greek, meaning of two houses (having separate staminate and pistillate plants; dioecious). Distribution and habitat
U. dioica is considered to be native to Europe, much of temperate Asia and western North Africa. It is abundant in northern Europe and much of Asia, usually found in the countryside. It is less widespread in southern Europe and north Africa, where it is restricted by its need for moist soil, but is still common. It has been introduced to many other parts of the world. In North America, it is widely distributed in Canada and the United States, where it is found in every province and state except for Hawaii, and also can be found in northernmost Mexico. It grows in abundance in the Pacific Northwest, especially in places where annual rainfall is high. The European subspecies has been introduced into Australia, North America and South America.In Europe, nettles have a strong association with human habitation and buildings. The presence of nettles may indicate the site of a long-abandoned building, and can also indicate soil fertility. Human and animal waste may be responsible for elevated levels of phosphate and nitrogen in the soil, providing an ideal environment for nettles. Ecology
Nettles are the larval food plant for several species of butterflies, such as the peacock butterfly, comma (Polygonia c-album), and the small tortoiseshell.