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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!
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 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.
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?
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!