Foraging for Food

Good skill set for survival scenarios... OR, if you are just into the woods, an easy way to save money, or perhaps MAKE money, off the land. Here is a quick list of common foodsources often overlooked. At least in my area. These may not apply to your locale, but a quick google will give you lots of ideas!
Here is a site for the USDA zones of plant hardiness that you can use to see if a certain type of foodsource is native to your area. www.usna.usda.gov...

Dandelions - Dandelions have a few good uses. With the petals, you can make dandelion muffins. See fat-of-the-land.blogspot.com... for a recipe. The roots can make a pretty good coffee. See www.prodigalgardens.info... for instructions here.

Garlic and Onions - I'm sure most are familiar with this one, but how many actually pick it? I don't forage onions, but I'll tell ya', I haven't bought garlic in years.

Mushrooms - Please do your homework on this one if you dare to try it... or have someone show you local to where you live for the specific types of edible mushrooms. My favorite to find is the Morel. They are delicious. If you happen to live in an area that is condusive to Morel growth, all you need do is look around sycamore trees after prolonged rain in the warm months. Look close. They can be tough to find, but once you find one, keep looking in the same area. This is what they look like: [atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5f08a06f12b2.jpg[/atsimg] They taste wonderful (and can bring in up to 50 bucks per pound at market!) Here is a site with a diagram of poisonous vs. edible mushrooms mdc.mo.gov...

Pashion Fruit - A great snack and with any fruit, very nutritious. Here is what they look like. Indigenous to the SouthEastern US. [atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5c4ba0c518a9.jpg[/atsimg]
That was the flower and this is the fruit [atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d0a13b72689c.jpg[/atsimg]
They are often called "maypops". As in, if you step on them, they may pop (get it? pretty lame) But they are very tasty. I pick them whenever I find them. WHERE EVER I find them. Nobody cares because nobody even knows what they are. But they grow wild.

These are just a few of the many foods you can find wild in your backyard. I'm hoping that maybe we can throw around a bunch more!


[edit on 29-8-2009 by JayinAR]

[edit on 29-8-2009 by JayinAR]

Thank you!!!!! My husband and I hike nature all of the time and a few weeks ago we came across some "maypops". The flowers look like something alien in real life and we just knew they were poison!! Now I know! We had never seen them before!!! On another note... I started a thread months ago about the dandelion and I swear I have seen fewer this year that I ever remember...usually they are everywhere and I didn't even have any in my yard this year.... strange!

reply to post by Greenize


Yep, that is Passion Fruit.
Very good. If you pick it while it is green, like in that photo, you should wait until it turns yellow to eat it. They are very good. Very nutritious.

I've noticed a lack of dandilions this year also. Strange.

reply to post by JayinAR


Just out of curiousity, does the flavor of the fruit resemble anything that I may have eaten...say like a banana?

reply to post by Greenize


Eh, it is not quite like a banana, more sugary.
Umm...well, I can't really think of anything that is too much like it. It is pretty unique.

How about you, know any otherwise little-known foods found in the woods?

reply to post by JayinAR


I know around here persimmon trees grow in the wild. Persimmons once ripe are really good...plus inside the seed if you cut it in half you will find either a fork spoon or knife... I bet you knew that already! I have compiled a list and saved it to my pc of edible flowers. Pawpaws grow wild too around here as do mulberry trees, blackberries, and elderberries..

reply to post by Greenize


Persimmon:
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1b44f7f1b7a1.jpg[/atsimg]
Yes, very good. It grows on a tree. Horses will kill themselves eating them! They are that good.

Pawpaw:
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7a3d7543feb8.jpg[/atsimg]
These actually DO taste like bananas. Just a little sweeter.

Good additions.
I think this could be helpful for people who simply don't know that you can find these things in the wild.

Every time I've split the seed of a persimmon it lied to me.

There are lots more. Maybe if more people come to the thread we can talk about them.

Pawpaws drive me nuts, because I can smell them all along the Missouri river every fall, but I can't ever find any!

They taste like a rotten tropical fruit and smell horrid, but are supposedly really good for you.

My additions
Dandelion flowers, the yellow flowers themselves, breaded and fried are delicious.

Here in the midwest there are walnuts, mulberries, and acorns everywhere. With a little research you can be making yourself acorn bread toast with walnutbutter and mulberry jam.

I also love those big, thick Oyster mushrooms, but they can be confused with a few that are poisonous.

reply to post by maus80


You see, I actually like the taste of pawpaws. They taste like an oversweetened banana. Can't eat too many of them, but one every now and then isn't bad.
Of course, you can always use them to make bread and sort of dillute the flavor. Like you said, they are very good for you...
Here is a picture of a pawpaw tree, in case you go looking for it again.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/71189edbc771.jpg[/atsimg]

PS - Dang, the pic was too big. Anyhow, the one on the right is the pawpaw in autumn.

[edit on 29-8-2009 by JayinAR]

reply to post by maus80


I would add that if you are going to do anything with the dandelion flowers you should pick them early in the morning. Before the flower fully opens.

But thanks for the suggestions!

I to have noticed a lack of dandelions.Last year my yard was over run with them, this year I haven't seen not one in my yard. I think this is a consperacy that needs to be investigated.

Wild Grape Leaves can be eaten, they are plentiful here in Western NC and are a little tart but definately palatable. Pretty easy to recognise as well if you've ever seen a regular grape vine, just make sure you know what it is before you eat them.
Kudzu, no idea what it tastes like, but I understand it's edible as well, the cursed vine isn't native and INCREDIBLY invasive so if you find a patch of it, eat it, you will be doing us all a favor lol.
I was going to say Dandelion but somebody beat me to it, there's a plant here that look alot like dandelion though that I think can cause a nasty belly ache, it even has a yellow flower that looks like a dandelion, so make sure you know they are dandelions. The bad one has a fuzzy leaf with a darker color.
I wish I had a good field guide to edible plants, most of the ones I know about are common ones, looking forwards to what others post here for sure!

reply to post by calstorm


It really is pretty weird. They are still around, but not as much.

I have noticed a marked decrease. I still see them, but not as much.
Maybe it has something to do with the weather. We've been unusually rainy and cool around these parts this summer.
But I doubt that has anything to do with it.

reply to post by twitchy


Cool. Thanks for that!
I had no idea what Kudzu was. According to Wiki it is a sort of cure-all, also.
From migraines to cancer to alcohol cravings.

I've noticed the Dandelion disappearance here in Missouri too, a friend got a pygmy goat this spring, and they love dandelions. I've taken her grand kids out to pick them for him multiple times this spring/summer, and we can barely find them anywhere!

Just a few here and there in town too, even in open lots that are usually almost solid with them. Strange...

In the winter, certain pine cones produce pine nuts that are edible. Also, some tree barks have a thin lining inside of them that is edible and can be boiled into a soup...

reply to post by Greenize


Which types would those be?
We have a lot of shortleaf and loblollys around here.

I forgot another very good one : May Apples!

They look like patches of small green umbrellas, with each plant growing one pretty white flower. The flowers produce a fruit that I always loved when I was a kid. It can be made into jam, juice, wine, pie, or eaten raw.

It smells so good that a bowl of the ripe fruits makes some of the best and most unique potpourri you could ever want.

I keep telling myself that one of these years I'm going to experiment with some wild blackberry, mulberry, grape, and mayapple wines. Everyone keeps talking about dandelion wine, but it's supposedly disgusting and an instant headache; seems like a huge waste of time when there are so many delicious indigenous fruits around.

S&F excellent thread on what to look for. I think that if more members would post how to's like this, with reference to being able to sell foraged goods, then it could really help People!