Stinging nettle, cleavers, garlic mustard, elderberries, poke weed, lambs quarter...
Do you gather and eat anything that would be considered out of the norm?
Top | Newest First | Oldest First
4meAndyou 路 F
I researched a lot of that stuff, and have a book that mentions many of those things.
Stinging nettle can only be used in the spring, if you wear protective clothing and gloves, and only gather the new spring leaves. I once watched a show all about it...and the woman on the show made a lovely casserole of potatoes, onions, baby stinging nettle leaves, and bacon.
I researched Kudzu, which is edible, but there is also an issue with access to plants uncontaminated by roadside toxic emissions. Again, one should only use the new leaves in spring, and exercise caution because it grows in areas where copperhead snakes are common.
With my little group of cub scouts, I taught them how to find and harvest wild carrots, (Queen Anne's lace), but we did not cook them because I was a little cloudy on how to differentiate it from Hemlock, which is nearly identical. You can eat the bulbous roots of cat tails, but I never wanted to gather them. I don't like bog water.
I also watched a survival show on television once, where they gathered and crushed acorns. The crushed acorns then had to be left in running water, (a stream), in a bag overnight to remove the tannins, and the following morning they cooked them and had a good, nutty flavored cereal.
I did find an edible wild mushroom once. It was purplish and looked like a brain. Unfortunately, even though I soaked and soaked it, it was a bug hotel, and the bugs continued to run out even after I got the sliced mushroom into a pan with butter...馃ぃ馃ぃ馃ぃ
My next door neighbor used to gather dandelion greens in the spring, and she allowed me to sample a dish of dandelion greens Parmesan...which was VERY good. If you put chemicals on your lawn, you should NOT gather them from your lawn.
My brother had elderberries growing in his back yard in Michigan, and he used to make wine from them.
Stinging nettle can only be used in the spring, if you wear protective clothing and gloves, and only gather the new spring leaves. I once watched a show all about it...and the woman on the show made a lovely casserole of potatoes, onions, baby stinging nettle leaves, and bacon.
I researched Kudzu, which is edible, but there is also an issue with access to plants uncontaminated by roadside toxic emissions. Again, one should only use the new leaves in spring, and exercise caution because it grows in areas where copperhead snakes are common.
With my little group of cub scouts, I taught them how to find and harvest wild carrots, (Queen Anne's lace), but we did not cook them because I was a little cloudy on how to differentiate it from Hemlock, which is nearly identical. You can eat the bulbous roots of cat tails, but I never wanted to gather them. I don't like bog water.
I also watched a survival show on television once, where they gathered and crushed acorns. The crushed acorns then had to be left in running water, (a stream), in a bag overnight to remove the tannins, and the following morning they cooked them and had a good, nutty flavored cereal.
I did find an edible wild mushroom once. It was purplish and looked like a brain. Unfortunately, even though I soaked and soaked it, it was a bug hotel, and the bugs continued to run out even after I got the sliced mushroom into a pan with butter...馃ぃ馃ぃ馃ぃ
My next door neighbor used to gather dandelion greens in the spring, and she allowed me to sample a dish of dandelion greens Parmesan...which was VERY good. If you put chemicals on your lawn, you should NOT gather them from your lawn.
My brother had elderberries growing in his back yard in Michigan, and he used to make wine from them.
UnderLockDown 路 M
@4meAndyou I've gathered for many years. It was a good way to carry less food while back packing. I've had wild celery a couple times, it's so much better than the stuff we can buy!!! Problem is, like wild carrots, it's easy to make a mistake. Even with years of experience, some things just aren't worth messing with unless you can call yourself an expert.
SethGreene531 路 M
