People have gathered edible plants and animals from the wild forever. This may seem alien to those who think meals come from supermarkets and restaurants, but it is still a way of life for many peoples of the world. Even in the ultra-civilized United States, interest in foraging wild food in Ca to NY is growing.
Those not into gourmet cooking or survival skills may wonder why anyone would go outside to find things to eat. Even residents of inner cities are doing it. Some do it out of necessity: remember Ernest Hemingway rhapsodizing about how good pigeons tasted when he was a hungry student in Paris. Others think it romantic, do it as a hobby, or follow the trend of cooking foraged foods.
Recently, television and survival websites have brought this food source back to the public's attention. It used to be knowledge found only in magazines like 'Mother Earth News' or in out-of-print books - or learned from grandparents. The fact is that many indigenous plants, even ones that grow in the cracks of sidewalks or vacant city lots, are tasty, nutritious, and even therapeutic.
Most people know a little about foraging, even if they wouldn't think so. Almost everyone has picked berries on the side of the road or the trail. Schoolchildren read that Native Americans made flour from acorns, taught the Pilgrims how to eat oysters, and hunted buffalo for food, clothing, and warm robes. Most adults know that some wild mushrooms are edible but all toadstools are poisonous.
This knowledge may be important someday in a time of famine. In that case, it will be helpful to know a mushroom from a toadstool. Mushrooms are valuable foods, with a taste that mimics meat and a high protein content. Making a salad of plantain, dandelion greens, watercress from a stream, and a few edible mushrooms can be lunch for a hungry person. In warm places like California, with long growing seasons, foraging is easier.
Country folk may search out field cress in the spring or harvest ginseng and goldenseal to sell to herbalists, but most people do no more than pick berries in summer or go clamming off New England shores. California is blessed with many healthful wild plants, like elderberry bushes (elderberry wine is delicious, and syrup made from the berries boosts the immune system)and wild rose hips. The vast majority of people are unaware of the treasures that grow around them.
Others may not think of themselves as foragers, yet they sprinkle nasturtium flowers in their salads or saute day-lily buds at the peak of perfection (when the buds show color but are not yet open). Day-lily buds cooked in butter taste like asparagus. Suburbanites may sugar violet flowers for cake decorations or add a sprig of mint to a glass of iced tea.
Many fine restaurants are featuring 'ramps', or wild leeks, on their menus. This brings up the subject of 'responsible harvesting', making sure to protect native populations of edible and medicinal herbs and other plants. States do this by placing plants on the endangered list or making woodland preserves off limits for foraging. All wild-food gatherers should know the laws and police themselves to preserve this natural resource.
Those not into gourmet cooking or survival skills may wonder why anyone would go outside to find things to eat. Even residents of inner cities are doing it. Some do it out of necessity: remember Ernest Hemingway rhapsodizing about how good pigeons tasted when he was a hungry student in Paris. Others think it romantic, do it as a hobby, or follow the trend of cooking foraged foods.
Recently, television and survival websites have brought this food source back to the public's attention. It used to be knowledge found only in magazines like 'Mother Earth News' or in out-of-print books - or learned from grandparents. The fact is that many indigenous plants, even ones that grow in the cracks of sidewalks or vacant city lots, are tasty, nutritious, and even therapeutic.
Most people know a little about foraging, even if they wouldn't think so. Almost everyone has picked berries on the side of the road or the trail. Schoolchildren read that Native Americans made flour from acorns, taught the Pilgrims how to eat oysters, and hunted buffalo for food, clothing, and warm robes. Most adults know that some wild mushrooms are edible but all toadstools are poisonous.
This knowledge may be important someday in a time of famine. In that case, it will be helpful to know a mushroom from a toadstool. Mushrooms are valuable foods, with a taste that mimics meat and a high protein content. Making a salad of plantain, dandelion greens, watercress from a stream, and a few edible mushrooms can be lunch for a hungry person. In warm places like California, with long growing seasons, foraging is easier.
Country folk may search out field cress in the spring or harvest ginseng and goldenseal to sell to herbalists, but most people do no more than pick berries in summer or go clamming off New England shores. California is blessed with many healthful wild plants, like elderberry bushes (elderberry wine is delicious, and syrup made from the berries boosts the immune system)and wild rose hips. The vast majority of people are unaware of the treasures that grow around them.
Others may not think of themselves as foragers, yet they sprinkle nasturtium flowers in their salads or saute day-lily buds at the peak of perfection (when the buds show color but are not yet open). Day-lily buds cooked in butter taste like asparagus. Suburbanites may sugar violet flowers for cake decorations or add a sprig of mint to a glass of iced tea.
Many fine restaurants are featuring 'ramps', or wild leeks, on their menus. This brings up the subject of 'responsible harvesting', making sure to protect native populations of edible and medicinal herbs and other plants. States do this by placing plants on the endangered list or making woodland preserves off limits for foraging. All wild-food gatherers should know the laws and police themselves to preserve this natural resource.
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