Food-and-Drink
A Safe and Foolproof Way to Forage for Wild Edibles
I love foraging and I'm fortunate to have local experts available.
But I'm the first to admit that locating, harvesting and preparing wild edibles could be a daunting task to the beginner.
I have written about the availability of wild edibles in many farmers markets and specialty stores. This is a very good way to start. Once you learn these plants, you will find it easier to recognize them in the wild. My Wild Food Recipes page has my recipes and links to recipes from other sources.
For me, nothing beats fresh picked. But locally grown is a very close second. Wild plants are filled with nutrition, but as you should with any new food, always test a small amount to ensure edibility.
Here is a list of plants that you may find for sale:
Burdock root - available in spring, summer or fall, remove the outer part to reach edible core
Chickweed - tastes like corn, grows early spring and autumn, eat raw or cooked
Dandelion - early spring leaves for salad or steamed vegetable
Day lily - shoots good early spring, buds and flowers in summer
Fiddlehead ferns - very early spring, use only tightly coiled fiddleheads
Garlic mustard - excellent raw spring through summer, cook roots in autumn Jerusalem artichoke - late fall or early spring is the best time for these tubers
Lambs quarters - eat raw early spring, cook larger leaves
Mint - includes bee balm, pennyroyal, spearmint, wild thyme, wintergreen
Morels - very early spring, short season, sold dried more often than fresh
Nettles - best in early spring - steam to get rid of the sting
Purslane - available in summer, good raw in salad or cooked
Ramp - wild leeks available in early spring, good raw or cooked
Sheep sorrel - refreshing lemon taste, I use in salad
Staghorn sumac - steep berries for a natural "lemonade"
Violet - leaves and blossoms in mid spring, leaves good in summer
Watercress - available in early spring and autumn
My Wild Recipe Page booklist includes many cookbooks. Where I have tested recipes, these authors have been reliable. I will continue to add my favorite recipes to this page.
Writer and naturalist JJ Murphy has been eating wild foods since her farmer parents pulled weeds from the veggie garden and she ate the weeds. JJ continues to forage and write in Harriman, NY, posting recipes and resource information at http://www.WriterByNature.com. |
JJ Murphy
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