Wild Edibles

reply to post by The Utopian Penguin


I went to Hobby Lobby last week and got a "kit" for an herbal terrarium. It's got everything you need to start a little indoor herbal garden of 5 herbs: basil, dill, parsley, sage, cilantro. The basil was the first to sprout. Then the dill and sage. Today the parsley and cilantro started coming through. It's very rewarding to see all those food flavorings grow so easily.

I only have to water it once every 3 months! Am trying to figure out how to do something larger scale for a regular garden of vegetables using the same terrarium method. Vegetables take up a lot more space so I'll have to put on my thinking cap but I certainly welcome any and all suggestions.

I know we have some experienced gardeners here as well as those with knowledge of wild edibles. Would like to hear of your experiences with foraged foods and any recipes you'd like to share.

There's more than just wild plants that are edible. For the more adventurous there's also the critters that compete with you for your food supply.

Locust:
Gather locusts at night then pick up those out of shells (remove shells from others). Don't let the sun shine on them or they will spoil. Wash them then fry them in a small amount of oil. Eat hot or cold.

Yellow Jacket Soup:
Gather the ground dwelling wasps whole comb early in the morning. Place over heat right side up to loosen grubs. Remove grubs. Place comb over heat again until the cover parches. Remove and pick out the yellow jackets and brown in oven. Make soup by boiling in water. Season with a little oil and salt.

Dieters can take solace knowing that lettuce is a mild sedative and hypnotic. It is also used for irritable coughs.

It also produces a type of latex that has its own uses.

Lentils recipes per request:

Ezekiel Bread Mix
2-1/2C. hard red wheat (or kamut)
1-1/2C. spelt (or rye)
1/2C. barley
1/4C. millet
1/4C. lentils
2T. great Northern beans
2T. red kidney beans
2T. pinto beans.
Mix all grains in a bowl and grind into a fine flour. 5-1/4C.=3 loaves worth.
Bread:
4C. tepid water
1C. honey
1/2C. oil
2T. yeast.
Mix and set aside 5 minutes until frothy. In a separate bowl add 2-3t. salt to the flour. Add flour mix to the "wet" mixture for a cake-like batter. Pour into 3 loaf pans at 170 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR! Raise heat to 350 for 25-30 minutes. Keeps well in freezer up to 3 months in ziplock freezer bags.


Veggie Loaf:
2C. dried lentils (soaked overnight)
Wash, boil with salt pork until soft, constantly adding water to prevent burning. Season with salt, pepper and celery salt. Finally chop the salt pork. Mix the lentils. Add 1C. fine bread crumbs, little bit chopped onions or taste of garlic, 2T. chili, 1 egg stirred into mixture. Bake in buttered baking dish putting thin layer of bread crumbs, well buttered, on top. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

Didn't see anything about wild buckeyes...similar to acorns I believe but don't quote me on that lol.
I do know that hard dry chunks of pine sap was chewed like gum in the civil war era, some reenactment places still sell pine pitch

reply to post by AnonymousMoose


The information I have about buckeyes is that the seeds are poisonous. Species include: Texas Buckeye, Ohio Buckeye, Horse Chestnut and the Painted Buckeye. The yellow Buckeye is poisonous but can be soaked and roasted to remove toxic element. The Red Buckeye is poisonous but can be used to stupefy fish for easy catching of them. The gummy roots can be used as a soap substitute.

If you know of a way to make these seeds edible or otherwise useful, by all means, share it here. I love learning ways to turn useless or harmful things into useful and helpful things.

Nut Loaf:

1C. slightly moistened bread crumbs
1C. chopped nuts
1t. salt
1/2t. celery salt
1/2t. paprika
1t. milk with 1T. melted butter.
Mix everything together. Shape into loaves. Place in buttered pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

Choke Cherries:

Can be picked and dried for winter use.
2C. dried cherries
1-1/2C. sugar
Cook cherries for 1/2 hour. Sieve. Cook 10 minutes then add sugar slowly. Thicken with flour and water, stir in slowly. Cook until thickened. Chill and it is ready to serve.

For video and visual ID and to see some plants growing in the wild, go to the Tube and look up "Eat the Weeds" with Green Dean. He's got over 100 videos showing wild edibles.

Edit: You forgot to add Fireweed. It's that tall plant that has purple or pink flowers which turn into fluffy seed in autumn. The entire plant is edible. It's quite popular with moose. They just love eating it. In the spring cut new shoots and cook/eat just like asparagus. They are quite tasty. We ate some this spring.

The leaves can be used in a tea and the root is also edible.

But the most important thing regarding wild edibles, harvest what you can but do not destroy the entire plant if at all possible. Things like nettles can just be cut and they will branch out and become more bushy.

If you do end up taking most of the plant, especially roots, replant some parts so the plants will continue to survive. Otherwise save seeds and spread around, or take plant cuttings and grow in your own gardens.

[edit on 9/9/2009 by Ceara]

I've watched all of Dean Greens videos and alerted a few of my friends to them as well. He's getting better with the video camera. Very helpful series. Isn't he adorable?

Thanks for the notice about fireweed. Didn't really "forget" just felt like I was talking to myself here. If there's any interest in this subject I figure people will add to it; if not, it'll die a natural death and I've done my duty.

I know there are plenty of people on ATS who have experience with foraging and utilizing foraged foods. Still hoping some might drop by and educate the rest of us. Glad you did.

reply to post by whitewave


Good thread

I've got a collection of winter foraging videos in this one
Survival Skills: Winter and how to survive it
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I LOVE this thread! The food that is in the wild i find is so much tastier than super market vegetables! When I go out to do landscaping with my friend, the people who hire him see a garden full of weeds and annoying bamboo! Not me! I see a vegetable garden and building supplies! I read somewhere that once you take the edible part from a fern, it doesn't grow back, is this true?

Also I found LOTS of wild nut trees in texas while i was out camping, a lot of pecans and walnuts! Also i didn't know but the inner bark of pine trees is edible and very delicious! The only drawback to harvesting the inner bark is that it kills the tree

Originally posted by LeTan
I LOVE this thread! The food that is in the wild i find is so much tastier than super market vegetables!

Not even slightly comparable. I've been eating on a cantaloupe that a neighbor gave me from her garden and it just melts on my tongue and is so sweet and juicy. The dandelion fritters I've been making from my own lawn clippings make for a choice breakfast.

When I go out to do landscaping with my friend, the people who hire him see a garden full of weeds and annoying bamboo! Not me! I see a vegetable garden and building supplies!

LOL. Me too. Fortunately, people are pretty willing to part with what they see as noxious waste. I know some people that have a large prickly pear cactus outside their apartment door that someone planted long ago for ornamentation. The current resident thought it was hideous and "stickery". I made them a prickly pear omelette and now they see it as "wonderful".

I read somewhere that once you take the edible part from a fern, it doesn't grow back, is this true?

Jeez! I hope not. Can someone confirm or deny this one?

Also I found LOTS of wild nut trees in texas while i was out camping, a lot of pecans and walnuts! Also i didn't know but the inner bark of pine trees is edible and very delicious! The only drawback to harvesting the inner bark is that it kills the tree

Seems like no one gathers nuts. They just complain about all the "litter" in their yard. What I wouldn't give to have some property with nut and fruit trees on it littering my property! Again, I hope it's not true about killing the entire tree harvesting the inner bark. Maybe it depends on the amount taken? Verification anyone?

reply to post by warrenb


Great thread you've got going there, warrenb. I'll have to watch the videos tonight.
You might also be interested in this thread if you're into self-sufficiency.

Thanks for letting us know about those informative videos. Sounds like good stuff to know.

Originally posted by whitewave

I know there are plenty of people on ATS who have experience with foraging and utilizing foraged foods. Still hoping some might drop by and educate the rest of us. Glad you did.

I'm glad to see someone else interested! I visit other people's gardens to help them ID certain plants/flowers and I say this plant is edible, or that plant is medicinal, and they look at me funny! Oh well. lol

Just wanted to add one more thing. A lot of people say they just love dandelion root coffee. I wanted to try it, and honestly I hated it. At first, it has a pleasant, nutty flavor but then develops into just an awful after taste.

I keep saying one more thing, but other thoughts pop into my head! One wild berry I found this summer that is very delicious is the Dewberry. It's a very low growing raspberry family plant, almost like a ground cover and produces a very tiny berry. Would need to eat a lot to get anything out of it, but they make nice trail food.

And high bush cranberry. Here in Quebec they call it "Pembina," which is pronounced something like pem-in-awe, with the emphasis on the first syllable. Many people say they smell bad when cooking, but make terrific jams, jellies and even wine. One gentleman I spoke with dared me that if he gave me real cranberry sauce and high bush cranberry sauce side by side at Thanksgiving, that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them. Well soon enough I will be testing that theory! The berries are almost ripe.

Choke cherries are edible also but I really really don't recommend eating them raw, or it feels like you're eating sawdust. But I hear they also make great jams, jellies and wines.

Originally posted by LeTan
I read somewhere that once you take the edible part from a fern, it doesn't grow back, is this true?

I've never heard this, but many many people where I live collect the fiddleheads and store them in the freezer. The prime spring time combo foods I think would be fiddleheads, morel mushrooms and wild leeks/ramps. They even sell fiddleheads in our local grocery stores. Health Canada advises that fresh fiddleheads must be properly cooked before being consumed. So I hope no one really wants to eat them raw.

Never heard anyone say there was a shortage of fiddleheads, or that too many were picked. It's always abundant, every year. So perhaps it may not hurt the plant after all? *shrugs* Not really sure.

Not all ferns are going to be edible from what I understand. What you want is the Ostrich fern.

reply to post by Ceara


Thanks so much for weighing in with your expertise. Much appreciated. Agree with you about the dandelion root coffee.
I haven't found any of the so-called "coffee substitutes" (that I've tried) to actually taste like coffee. They may have a pleasant flavor but they don't taste like coffee.

Please feel free to share any recipes using wild edibles or any medicinal uses you've come across in your experiences with foraged foods.

Certain fruits contain enough natural pectin to make a firm jelly without adding artificial pectin. Apples, quinces, plums, some grapes and cranberries have more natural pectin than other fruits, especially if slightly under ripe.

Crab apples have the most and are added to other fruits to assure jellying. As a general rule, all fruits except currants should be picked slightly under ripe for jellying and fully ripe for jams.

Acorn (Quercus spp.) -- The fruit of the oak tree. A nutritious flour can be made from Acorns, though it takes a bit longer than preparing most wild edibles. When you get them home, dry them in an oven with just the pilot light on or at the lowest possible temperature in an electric model. This will kill any bugs as well. To prepare, shell the nuts and soak them in water for a few days. Adding wood ashes to the water will speed the leaching of bitterness. Change the water at least twice a day and check the flavor. When they are no longer bitter, grind the wet nuts in a meat grinder or food processor, then spread the coarse meal out on cookie sheets and dry in the sun or in an oven at very a low temperature. Use instead of flour or mix with it half and half. Acorns baked very dark can be used as a coffee substitute. The wood of the oak tree makes an excellent building material as well and bark can be soaked in water to produce a solution for tanning leather.

Cattail (Typha latifolia and T. augustifolia) -- In early spring, peel young leaves off to reach the growing stem, which can be eaten raw or cooked. Later in the year the green male flower spikes can be cooked & eaten like corn. The pollen can be used alone or with flour for pancake batter, fritters or bread. Gathering much of it takes time and work but it is very nutritious. Try putting the pollen-filled heads in a bag one by one and shaking off the pollen. Pour through a strainer to remove chaff before using. Male flowers (the ones on top with pollen) last only a short time, leaving the female flowers which develop into the brown cattail. The tough rhizomes can be made into flour any time of year. Clean and dry them in sun several days or in an oven or food dehydrator at 200 degrees for 2-4 hours. Pulverize in a grain mill or between two stones and sift or pick out stringy fibers. If you decide to grow your own, they are best in their own tub, since they will quickly try to take over a small water garden.

Juniper (Juniperus spp.) -- Eat berries raw or roast the seeds for a coffee substitute. Use dried and crushed berries as a seasoning for meat. Young twigs are good for tea.

Mallow (Malva neglecta) -- Leaves of this common wild plant can be eaten raw or cooked. They are mucilaginous and soothing, so can be used to thicken soups, or in a tea or syrup for sore throats or ulcers. The pretty pink or white flowers are also edible, as are those of most plants in the mallow family, such as Hibiscus, for example. They are lovely whole as garnishes, or shredded in a salad if the petals are large. Even the seeds can be eaten raw or pickled. If you grow mallow plants of other kinds and would like to eat them, do check with the seed company because some, like Malva sylvestris (which came with a warning, probably because one would expect them to be edible), may be poisonous. Be sure, and be safe!

wild edibles site

These are just some of the wild edibles listed. There's also a category for herbs, building healthy soil, index of plants and techniques etc.

I'll keep researching to add more.

Here's another site that looks a little more interesting than the previous I posted.

Wildcrafting

Has a list of plants with pictures, descriptions and locations.

Still searching.

reply to post by whitewave


I just bought the ingredients today, can't wait to try it.