Gathering edible plants and animals from the great outdoors is nothing new. It was once the way of life for all creatures on earth, including humans. This method of getting breakfast, lunch, and dinner may seem strange to residents of North America today who shop at supermarkets and eat at restaurants. However, interest in foraging wild food in CA and other states is growing.
Of course, many people are perfectly happy to get their food from supermarkets and restaurants. If they really want fresh, they patronize farmer's markets in their area. However, it's trendy now to cook with foraged ingredients, like purslane or ramps (wild leeks). Others may have grown up eating dandelion salad, wild asparagus, and fish fresh from the pond. They know how fresh really tastes.
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.
Actually, most residents of North America know a little, like the facts that dandelions are edible or that toadstools are poisonous. They may have learned that native Americans made flour out of acorns, ate enough oysters to leave impressive piles of shells, and made pemmican out of dried meat and berries.
Obviously, this knowledge may be important someday if the economy collapses and supermarket shelves are empty. Mushrooms are a valuable source of protein and other nutrients, so it would be too bad to be starving and afraid to eat them. Especially in California's long growing season, knowing how to identify dandelions, plantain, and watercress would be very helpful.
There are lots of old favorites, like field cress, watercress, and cattails. Dandelion greens, lamb's quarters, plantain, and wild onions are other familiar foods. Berries, nuts, and honey from the hive are natural delicacies. Ginseng, goldenseal, native mints, rose hips, and elderberries have medicinal properties, another thing that might be good to know.
However, even those who never think of the word 'foraging' may garnish their ice tea with a sprig of wild mint or crystallize violets for cake decorations. Some may harvest day lily buds, saute them in butter, and enjoy them as much as cultivated asparagus. Others may know that plantain from the yard is sure to please their guinea pigs.
Foraging, like any other use of natural resources, requires responsible harvesting. Naturalists already fear that the gourmet craze for ramps might endanger that plant. There are ways to take a little and leave enough behind to sustain the population of valuable plants and animals. This is a very important part of being an educated forager in California and other parts of the country.
Of course, many people are perfectly happy to get their food from supermarkets and restaurants. If they really want fresh, they patronize farmer's markets in their area. However, it's trendy now to cook with foraged ingredients, like purslane or ramps (wild leeks). Others may have grown up eating dandelion salad, wild asparagus, and fish fresh from the pond. They know how fresh really tastes.
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.
Actually, most residents of North America know a little, like the facts that dandelions are edible or that toadstools are poisonous. They may have learned that native Americans made flour out of acorns, ate enough oysters to leave impressive piles of shells, and made pemmican out of dried meat and berries.
Obviously, this knowledge may be important someday if the economy collapses and supermarket shelves are empty. Mushrooms are a valuable source of protein and other nutrients, so it would be too bad to be starving and afraid to eat them. Especially in California's long growing season, knowing how to identify dandelions, plantain, and watercress would be very helpful.
There are lots of old favorites, like field cress, watercress, and cattails. Dandelion greens, lamb's quarters, plantain, and wild onions are other familiar foods. Berries, nuts, and honey from the hive are natural delicacies. Ginseng, goldenseal, native mints, rose hips, and elderberries have medicinal properties, another thing that might be good to know.
However, even those who never think of the word 'foraging' may garnish their ice tea with a sprig of wild mint or crystallize violets for cake decorations. Some may harvest day lily buds, saute them in butter, and enjoy them as much as cultivated asparagus. Others may know that plantain from the yard is sure to please their guinea pigs.
Foraging, like any other use of natural resources, requires responsible harvesting. Naturalists already fear that the gourmet craze for ramps might endanger that plant. There are ways to take a little and leave enough behind to sustain the population of valuable plants and animals. This is a very important part of being an educated forager in California and other parts of the country.
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You can visit livingwild.org for more helpful information about Foraging Wild Food In CA.
