Foraging wild food

[Linea_Norway]

Hi.

I forage edible mushrooms and edible plants. I am looking for ideas to eat all the plants that I have collected in May.

Copied from the thread "empty the freezer", I have to following plants and mushrooms in my freezer:
- Sea kale (Crambe maritima, strandkål) flower heads (broccoli like food).
- Sea kale (Crambe maritima, strandkål) young leaves.
(I also had a shitload of not so young sea kale leaves and made them into sauerkraut, which needs to ferment for another 5 weeks.)
- Fiddleheads (Matteuccia struthiopteris, strutseving).
- Wild garlic (Allium ursinum, ramsløk) frozen in cubes.
- Wild garlic (Allium ursinum, ramsløk) frozen as whole leaves.
- Ground elder/Bishop's weed (Aegopodium podagraria, skvallerkål).
- Good King Henry/Poor man's asparagus (Blitum bonus-henricus, stolt henrik).
- Alliaria petiolata (løkurt, no english name).Tastes like union. To be used as herb.
- Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa, engsyre). To be used as herb.
- Orpine leaves (Hylotelephium maximum, smørbukk).
- Bittercress (Barbarea vulgaris, vinterkarse). Not very good for eating directly. to be mixed with other food.
- Caraway (Carum carvi, karve). Leaves and root.
- Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica, brennesle).
- Broadleaf plantain (Plantago major, groblad).
- Cicely (Myrrhis odorata, spansk kjørvel). Is sweet, can be used in cakes.
- Whole, medium size porcini (boletus edulis, steinsopp) mushrooms.
- Cortinarius caperatus mushroom (rimsopp). Not sure if DH wants to eat it.
- Orange birch bolete (Leccinum versipelle, rødskrubb). Not sure if DH wants to eat it.

Between the () are the scientific and Norwegian names, for me to remember which is which.

Please help me with ideas of what to do with my plants.

And share you own foraging.

[ericrugiero]

It's great that you are foraging for wild plants.  I've never heard of most of those so I can't help with any ideas on what they can be used for. 

The extent of my foraging so far has been limited to mushrooms (chanterelle and morel) and blackberries. 

[Aelias]

Oh man!  I have no idea to do with most of this stuff, but it's fantastic that you're doing this.  I did a little research on foraging in my area, but it's more urban so I'm concerned about the quality of the soil and potential lead and other pollutants leaching into the leaves.

It sounds like a lot of this is greens and other herbs.  A nice bright salad with a simple dressing (oil and salt, maybe a touch of vinegar or lemon) is my favorite way to eat really fresh greens.  And, as far as I'm concerned, herbs make great salad greens on their own.  I would think any recipe that calls for spinach or kale, you could sub in your foraged greens and herbs.

Let us know what you come up with!

[Jenny Wren]

I've been getting more into foraging lately. Of the botanists I know, they fall into two camps -- those that forage extensively and those that don't because they know how many plants are deadly. It appears I'm going to fall into the first camp.

I don't recognize many of your plants, but here are my recent finds and how I prepared them:

Deadnettles (Lamium purpureum) -- used to make a pesto sauce for a mint, arugala, artichoke and ricotta flatbread
Morels -- for everything, mmmmmm!
Stinging nettles -- I just use these as a wilted green for a side dish or warm salad base, usually with a bit of garlic.
Miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) -- I use it on sandwiches, in salads, in tacos, to top flatbread -- anywhere I'd use fresh sprouts.
Fiddleheads -- My favorite way is to saute in a bit of butter with garlic and dried chili peppers.

I tend to use most green parts on flatbreads/pizzas, in sandwiches or tacos/wraps, or in salads. I follow a facebook group for local edibles, but still always doublecheck their info because it's not always right. It is a great place for recipes, though.

[Serendip]

Ooh--lucky you with all these plants and mushrooms!

I use any recipe I normally cook to use up greens--usually if it calls for spinach it can handle something like nettle (or radish greens once the garden is productive) but will have a stronger flavour. I often make a lentil/coconut/green soup (can copy out recipe if you'd like it) or else something like this https://www.veganricha.com/2013/10/palak-tofu-tofu-in-spinach-curry-vegan.html  (can use cheese instead of tofu but nice to have options)

I  dry nettle for tea and also brew it fresh, drink it cool --strongly infused.

[Kay-Ell]

The kale, garlic, asparagus, mushrooms and bittercress sound like they’re dying to be made into a curry!

[Rosy]

- Stinging nettle (brennesle).

1. Use for tea - just pour hot water over the leaves. My grandmother taught me to use it as a "seasonal cleanse" each spring. (Blut Reinigung or Blood Purification). Fresh leaves are most potent in the spring.
The local pharmacy carried it as a tonic. (back in Germany). The roots are used for medicinal purposes as well.
I have never seen stinging nettle in my area in the states - so I just buy a box of tea bags in the health food store every spring:).

I've never considered it as a food staple but rather as a herbal medicine not to be used as a daily tea on an ongoing basis. I'd use it like a green in a spring soup that's all.
Here is what webmd in the US has to say about it: https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-664/stinging-nettle


2. Stinging nettle is also very beneficial as a "plant tea" in your garden. Excellent fertilizer and strengthening agent for your garden plants. Just throw a big bunch of nettles in a couple of buckets of water - let sit for about two weeks - voila, your plants will love you for it.
Any experienced gardener in Germany loves that stuff:)  even though it becomes a stinky vile mess while it is soaking.

3. We have wild elderberries since our property borders a big ditch in the back.
 This year I'm harvesting the flowers to make Elderflower Champagne:). My mom's old 1952 cookbook has a simple recipe.

We have enough flowers so that I might try to make an old dessert recipe too. The edible flowers will be dipped into a crepe-like dough then deep fried and dusted with sugar or powdered sugar.

4. There is a native Florida hibiscus that makes excellent tea - the small reddish pink flowers are more potent in the spring. The Asian section of our local flea market sells them fresh.
(The internet says it is known to be good for your kidney, liver, urinary tract and to lower your blood pressure. So again, not a tea I'd drink by the pitcher or long term. It is used in Chinese herbal medicine as well.)
For now, I just have a can of sweet hibiscus tea which upon closer inspection turns out to be mixed with rosehip and berry leaf teas - from the grocery store.

It is an attractive purple bush that I once planted in the yard before I knew about the tea. It was way too prolific and making babies right and left. So now I'm waiting for the new fence to be up before I plant one in a different part of the yard where it can go wild once it is established.

Sorry, not a forager - I just like herb teas and grow herbs for tea and spices for cooking, like bay leaf and lemon verbena, basil and dill...

[Linea_Norway]

The kale, garlic, asparagus, mushrooms and bittercress sound like they’re dying to be made into a curry!

Good idea, I will try that.

[Linea_Norway]

I've been getting more into foraging lately. Of the botanists I know, they fall into two camps -- those that forage extensively and those that don't because they know how many plants are deadly. It appears I'm going to fall into the first camp.

I don't recognize many of your plants, but here are my recent finds and how I prepared them:

Deadnettles (Lamium purpureum) -- used to make a pesto sauce for a mint, arugala, artichoke and ricotta flatbread
Morels -- for everything, mmmmmm!
Stinging nettles -- I just use these as a wilted green for a side dish or warm salad base, usually with a bit of garlic.
Miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) -- I use it on sandwiches, in salads, in tacos, to top flatbread -- anywhere I'd use fresh sprouts.
Fiddleheads -- My favorite way is to saute in a bit of butter with garlic and dried chili peppers.

I tend to use most green parts on flatbreads/pizzas, in sandwiches or tacos/wraps, or in salads. I follow a facebook group for local edibles, but still always doublecheck their info because it's not always right. It is a great place for recipes, though.

I used a recipe for fiddleheads where I saute-d them with butter and garlic, and served with flakes of parmesan cheese, pine nuts and salt and pepper. I think I used also vinegar on it. Tasted nice.

My DH is someone who easily can taste bitterness. He finds many plants bitter. I think he is one of those supertasters. It is easier to hide such tastes in a curry or a croquette.

[Linea_Norway]

- Stinging nettle (brennesle).

1. Use for tea - just pour hot water over the leaves. My grandmother taught me to use it as a "seasonal cleanse" each spring. (Blut Reinigung or Blood Purification). Fresh leaves are most potent in the spring.
The local pharmacy carried it as a tonic. (back in Germany). The roots are used for medicinal purposes as well.
I have never seen stinging nettle in my area in the states - so I just buy a box of tea bags in the health food store every spring:).

I've never considered it as a food staple but rather as a herbal medicine not to be used as a daily tea on an ongoing basis. I'd use it like a green in a spring soup that's all.
Here is what webmd in the US has to say about it: https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-664/stinging-nettle


2. Stinging nettle is also very beneficial as a "plant tea" in your garden. Excellent fertilizer and strengthening agent for your garden plants. Just throw a big bunch of nettles in a couple of buckets of water - let sit for about two weeks - voila, your plants will love you for it.
Any experienced gardener in Germany loves that stuff:)  even though it becomes a stinky vile mess while it is soaking.

3. We have wild elderberries since our property borders a big ditch in the back.
 This year I'm harvesting the flowers to make Elderflower Champagne:). My mom's old 1952 cookbook has a simple recipe.

We have enough flowers so that I might try to make an old dessert recipe too. The edible flowers will be dipped into a crepe-like dough then deep fried and dusted with sugar or powdered sugar.

4. There is a native Florida hibiscus that makes excellent tea - the small reddish pink flowers are more potent in the spring. The Asian section of our local flea market sells them fresh.
(The internet says it is known to be good for your kidney, liver, urinary tract and to lower your blood pressure. So again, not a tea I'd drink by the pitcher or long term. It is used in Chinese herbal medicine as well.)
For now, I just have a can of sweet hibiscus tea which upon closer inspection turns out to be mixed with rosehip and berry leaf teas - from the grocery store.

It is an attractive purple bush that I once planted in the yard before I knew about the tea. It was way too prolific and making babies right and left. So now I'm waiting for the new fence to be up before I plant one in a different part of the yard where it can go wild once it is established.

Sorry, not a forager - I just like herb teas and grow herbs for tea and spices for cooking, like bay leaf and lemon verbena, basil and dill...

I have also dried a lot of stuff for tea:
- Stinging nettle (pretty good tea indeed)
- Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium, geitrams)
- Elm fruits
- Ground-Ivy (Glechoma hederacea, korsknapp)
- Lady's mantle (Alchemilla, marikåpe)
And something else that I can't recall right now.

Since I have so high blood pressure I am currently trying to avoid drinking tea all day long. I now stick to one cup of normal tea per day and drink either water or herbal tea. And it is very good to drink my own herbal tea.

[habanero]

Stinging nettle for soup. This was actually a dish at Bagatelle back in the days (first restaurant in Norway with 2 michelin stars).

Ramsløk (wild garlic) for flavoring buttery sauces for fish or fresh aspargus or make herb butter for steaks, pork chops etc.

Prochini has absloutely nothing to in a curry imo. They have a distinct, delicate flavour and tossing them into a spicy dish would be a massive waste. Try drying, make a powder from them and mix with butter for example. Or serve in a mild pata dish. Or pan-fry and serve on sourdough bread with some fresh parsley and butter. Its one of the finest products nature has to offer, so treat accordingly.

[Linea_Norway]

Stinging nettle for soup. This was actually a dish at Bagatelle back in the days (first restaurant in Norway with 2 michelin stars).

Ramsløk (wild garlic) for flavoring buttery sauces for fish or fresh aspargus or make herb butter for steaks, pork chops etc.

Prochini has absloutely nothing to in a curry imo. They have a distinct, delicate flavour and tossing them into a spicy dish would be a massive waste. Try drying, make a powder from them and mix with butter for example. Or serve in a mild pata dish. Or pan-fry and serve on sourdough bread with some fresh parsley and butter. Its one of the finest products nature has to offer, so treat accordingly.

I had a large load of porcini last autumn. I dried most of it and even sold some. Tried to sell first in general on Finn, but ended up selling the lot for half price to a friend. We have also been eating the dried ones in many dishes during the autumn and winter, as the delicate mushroom it is.

The curry can be made with the plants. I have 2 other mushrooms that I would rather use for the curry, the rimsopp or the rødskrubb. The porcini that is in the freezer are whole frozen small porcinis and can be cut into reasonably fresh slices to go with a meat dish. They are of restaurant quality and I would indeed not put it into a curry.

[habanero]

For selling porcini you should maybe try contacting an upper-end italian restaurant directly.

[Linea_Norway]

I also use mushrooms for making mushroom soy sauce. The first time with sarcodon (skjellpiggsopper) species and the last time with leftover chunks of porcini and Craterellus tubaeformis (traktkantarell). Both went very well.

My last bunch has been finished a long time ago, so I should make new. I guess I could use the orange birch bolete (rødskrubb) in the freezer for that. Then I hope it works equally well with a mushroom that has first been frozen for most of the year.

[habanero]

Try a small batch. Frozen veg might or might not ferment.

[Linea_Norway]

The kale, garlic, asparagus, mushrooms and bittercress sound like they’re dying to be made into a curry!

Good idea, I will try that.

Well, the curry with the sea kale was no success, unfortunately. It was the first time we ate the kale. The sea kale tasted bitter. My spontaniously made curry was bitter as well. I just added normal curry spices together without looking at a recipe. It was not unedible, but not good either. I through away the remaining sea kale. But I still have a batch in the fridge to make sauerkraut.

I hope my next dish will be better.

[Jenny Wren]

The kale, garlic, asparagus, mushrooms and bittercress sound like they’re dying to be made into a curry!

Good idea, I will try that.

Well, the curry with the sea kale was no success, unfortunately. It was the first time we ate the kale. The sea kale tasted bitter. My spontaniously made curry was bitter as well. I just added normal curry spices together without looking at a recipe. It was not unedible, but not good either. I through away the remaining sea kale. But I still have a batch in the fridge to make sauerkraut.

I hope my next dish will be better.

Too bad! With really bitter greens, I go for fermenting or vinegar-heavy dressings, so the sauerkraut will hopefully be delish. I also like to toss them into spicy-sweet Asian style dishes. The sweet and spicy combination helps offset the bitter.

[sneeds]

https://honest-food.net/foraging-recipes/ has great recipes for foraged greens and mushrooms, etc.

[Linea_Norway]

https://honest-food.net/foraging-recipes/ has great recipes for foraged greens and mushrooms, etc.

Thanks, I will try to make the Italian marinated mushrooms when that time of the year arrives. I made marinated mushrooms earlier from a Norwegian recipe, but I didn't find the result so tasteful.

[habanero]

You can pick spruce sprouts (granskudd) now and make pesto. Also makes good jelly and syrup.
https://www.nrk.no/mat/granskuddpesto-1.12844557 (norwegian link)

Leaves from rowan (rogn) makes great icecream. Tastes a lot like almonds and en hip in trendy restaurants.

[Linea_Norway]

You can pick spruce sprouts (granskudd) now and make pesto. Also makes good jelly and syrup.
https://www.nrk.no/mat/granskuddpesto-1.12844557 (norwegian link)

Leaves from rowan (rogn) makes great icecream. Tastes a lot like almonds and en hip in trendy restaurants.

I recently made some spruce sprout pesto, because we didn't have normal pesto. It has the typical taste of spruce sprouts. I also put some on my cheese sandwich, instead of butter. That tastes quite particular.
I still have a batch of sirup that we made last year, I think we have a liter left. But it has now started to look less appetizing, so maybe it's a good idea to replace it with a new batch.

We have also made ice cream from rowan. It gets a nice green colour, the colour that fits for pistachio ice cream. But we still need to add some extra taste before it becomes good. I think we used a small bottle of almond flavour that you can get at baking department in the store. Problem with ice cream is that it is very difficult to store it for a long time. It has usually been eaten within a few days.

[nancy33]

I forage mulberries elderberries strawberry tree fruits ornamental plums and wild grapes. Rose hips and of course wild blackberries. Also I have found peach and apricot trees at parks, parking lot etc. the ornamental plum trees with the dark purple leaves are everywhere around here and they are delicious. There are some trees in my office parking lot I am waiting for them to ripen  and I can literally drive up to the tree and pick them for a snack  pineapple guava hedges as well u can forage the fruit but I don’t care for it that much

[Linea_Norway]

Yesterday I found an egg, beside a pile of feathers that I think used to be the mother bird. I cooked, cut it in two to check whether there was not a young bird inside. And then I ate it. Tasted pretty similar as chicken egg.

I had considered to hatch the egg. I can probably feed a oung bird for a while. But I can't teach it to find it's own food later. Therefore I ate it.

[Rural]

I use broadleaf plantain more for medicine than food, though I do add it fresh to salads sometimes. But if you get an insect sting or rash from exposure to a plant (poison ivy is the usual culprit here), a poultice of plantain mashed up with water, or just run through a blender briefly, will clear it up unbelievably well.


I'd not thought of freezing it, and now I think I will, thanks. Usually it's growing when it's needed, but it would be good to have a small supply for winter.

[Raenia]

I've been wanting to get into foraging, but I have a question for those who do - how do you make sure the things you are eating are not treated with pesticides or grown in contaminated soil?  Or do you not worry about that, and if not, why not?

The place we will be living shortly is in an area that used to be very industrial, so my DH is very concerned about soil contamination, especially heavy metals and other chemicals which can stay in the ground for a long time and may be taken up by the plant, making it unsafe to eat.  We will be sending soil from our yard for testing to make sure it is safe, but how can we know that about foraged edibles?

[Jenny Wren]

I've been wanting to get into foraging, but I have a question for those who do - how do you make sure the things you are eating are not treated with pesticides or grown in contaminated soil?  Or do you not worry about that, and if not, why not?

The place we will be living shortly is in an area that used to be very industrial, so my DH is very concerned about soil contamination, especially heavy metals and other chemicals which can stay in the ground for a long time and may be taken up by the plant, making it unsafe to eat.  We will be sending soil from our yard for testing to make sure it is safe, but how can we know that about foraged edibles?

As for me, I forage from my own yard which is safe and untreated. I also forage from "wild places," such as forestry land. Just make sure no permits are required when foraging on public lands, and be aware of the protected plant species for your region. Generally, if you are off trail and not near a fenceline, roadside, or power line trail, you don't need to worry about herbicides. If you accessed the area via a public trail, there will usually be an herbicide warning on the trailhead sign if there has been any recent treatment for invasive species.

[Linea_Norway]

I am on my home from a mushroom trip to learn a new species. I found quite a lot of it, as well as another edible species.

[Rural]

I've been wanting to get into foraging, but I have a question for those who do - how do you make sure the things you are eating are not treated with pesticides or grown in contaminated soil?  Or do you not worry about that, and if not, why not?

The place we will be living shortly is in an area that used to be very industrial, so my DH is very concerned about soil contamination, especially heavy metals and other chemicals which can stay in the ground for a long time and may be taken up by the plant, making it unsafe to eat.  We will be sending soil from our yard for testing to make sure it is safe, but how can we know that about foraged edibles?

I would be very hesitant to forage in an area that was industrial - this is why I don't have any garden in my husband's grad school city (though I will eat figs from there - trees generally transmit less of the contaminants, far less than greens from ground cover, for example).


My own foraging is primarily on our property, which is climax forest, no roads or industry. I do also forage some in the area here - I'll collect from several feet off the side of a dirt road, but not a paved road since those see much more traffic. We also have abandoned fields and the like in the area which have been used for agriculture but never built on.

[Linea_Norway]

I usually forage in the forest where no pesticides are used.

Mushrooms can take up heavy metals and radio active contanimation from the ground. I have heard that greens don't do that. But in general it is recommended not to forage beside a heavy motorway. And not to pick greens where you know they use pesticides against weeds.

[Fishindude]

Caught a bunch of fish this past weekend to eat.   Does that count as foraging?

[Linea_Norway]

Caught a bunch of fish this past weekend to eat.   Does that count as foraging?

Yes, I would think so. It is catching your own food.
Whether it is free food, depends on your fishing license.

My husband also caught a trout last weekend, almost 2 kilos. Enough for 2 dinners for us.

[Linea_Norway]

Yesterday I put stinging nettle in the a pasta sauce with cream and blue cheese, together with another herb. The stinging nettle was not a success. DH found it hard to chew. Maybe it worked better as soup, which I have heard can be good. Or just dried as tea.

[brute]

Foraged 40 pounds of chicken of the woods mushrooms (Laetiporus sulphureus ) this weekend, plus a few pounds of wild blueberries. In a month or so we'll begin collecting berries from spicebush here locally. Makes for a great addition to a malty beer (I love homebrewing), and we like it as an addition to corned beef as well.

[expatartist]

What a delicious thread. It inspired me to see if there's any foraging in Hong Kong where I live. Turns out, there's a private kitchen which uses 80% foraged food https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2112190/how-forage-feast-hong-kong-natures-larder-lantau-island-shaping

[Linea_Norway]

Foraged 40 pounds of chicken of the woods mushrooms (Laetiporus sulphureus ) this weekend, plus a few pounds of wild blueberries. In a month or so we'll begin collecting berries from spicebush here locally. Makes for a great addition to a malty beer (I love homebrewing), and we like it as an addition to corned beef as well.

An interesting and pretty mushroom. I haven't found it yet, because I think it grows with oak trees, and my local forest only has spruce, pine and birch. In Norway it is listed as not edible, because it can in some cases cause neurological symptoms and digestive problems. The official edibility list for mushrooms in Norway is in general very conservative.

We also brew beer at home. We don't put berries in it though, but we have added lots of interesting ingredients to beer through the years.

[Raenia]

Thanks @Lichen and @Rural for the advice, looks like I may be out of luck for foraging, as there aren't any good wild spaces and even the public parks are often treated and/or built on old industrial areas.  I'll just have to be very strategic to get the most out of my postage stamp gardening space!  Definitely hoping to move somewhere more rural eventually, maybe in RE, so maybe then I'll be able to forage more.

[Linea_Norway]

What a delicious thread. It inspired me to see if there's any foraging in Hong Kong where I live. Turns out, there's a private kitchen which uses 80% foraged food https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2112190/how-forage-feast-hong-kong-natures-larder-lantau-island-shaping

Cool with such a restaurant. Norwegian restaurants, including those with Michelin stars, are also using local edible plants in their menus. But I think they don't use anywhere near that percentage.

[brute]

Foraged 40 pounds of chicken of the woods mushrooms (Laetiporus sulphureus ) this weekend, plus a few pounds of wild blueberries. In a month or so we'll begin collecting berries from spicebush here locally. Makes for a great addition to a malty beer (I love homebrewing), and we like it as an addition to corned beef as well.

An interesting and pretty mushroom. I haven't found it yet, because I think it grows with oak trees, and my local forest only has spruce, pine and birch. In Norway it is listed as not edible, because it can in some cases cause neurological symptoms and digestive problems. The official edibility list for mushrooms in Norway is in general very conservative.

We also brew beer at home. We don't put berries in it though, but we have added lots of interesting ingredients to beer through the years.

Ah that makes sense. I've seen a different subspecies on conifers here, but we don't eat it. Too many people end up with those same digestive problems from them. Spicebush berries are very similar to allspice and add a rich, herbal spiciness to the brew.

[flower]

It's a great day when you find nettles.

Here is a great recipe for risotto that I have made a number of times:http://www.italiannotebook.com/food-wine/recipe-risotto-alle-ortiche/

I don't have a link but nettle and potato soup is delicious. There are lots of recipes out there.

[Jenny Wren]

We didn't plant a garden this year since we sold the house and are moving out on the 20th. But, the weeds have overtaken the beds where they aren't covered. I pulled up some wild lettuce and miner's lettuce this week. I also harvested some mallow and henbit for some more pesto making. Catmint was also discovered growing in a corner, much to the cat's and my teacup's delight.

I noticed some yarrow in the front yard. It's good for tea and has some medicinal uses, but for now I will just let it grow.

[Linea_Norway]

Today I picked a bunch of young Angelica Archangelica. I eat a little piece raw and it tastes too strong. I will dry the leaves to make tea. Hopefully that tastes better. The stilk can also be cooked and should then become less strong tasting. Maybe I should try that.

Today I made a salad with a lot of chicken weed. That is indeed a nice ingredient in a salad. DH liked it and he is often pretty critical. I also added tomatoes, avocado and some spring union.