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.
Television shows have brought to public attention what had become arcane knowledge - the fact that many native plants are tasty, nutritious, or therapeutic. There is a wealth of great books and, now, online sites dedicated to teaching people how to identify and use plants that grow in cracks of sidewalks, in vacant city lots, or along the highways and by-ways.
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.
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.
Today this is a hobby, although it's gotten a lot of attention as a survival skill. Sometimes people learned the skill from their parents and grandparents. They may search out field cress in the spring to cook like collards, know that young dandelion greens make a spring tonic, and go each summer to pick berries from thorny tangles. 'Wildcrafters make a living harvesting ginseng and goldenseal from the mountains to sell to herbalists. There are other indigenous, therapeutic herbs in California, like immunity-boosting elderberries and vitamin C-rich rose hips.
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.
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.
Television shows have brought to public attention what had become arcane knowledge - the fact that many native plants are tasty, nutritious, or therapeutic. There is a wealth of great books and, now, online sites dedicated to teaching people how to identify and use plants that grow in cracks of sidewalks, in vacant city lots, or along the highways and by-ways.
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.
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.
Today this is a hobby, although it's gotten a lot of attention as a survival skill. Sometimes people learned the skill from their parents and grandparents. They may search out field cress in the spring to cook like collards, know that young dandelion greens make a spring tonic, and go each summer to pick berries from thorny tangles. 'Wildcrafters make a living harvesting ginseng and goldenseal from the mountains to sell to herbalists. There are other indigenous, therapeutic herbs in California, like immunity-boosting elderberries and vitamin C-rich rose hips.
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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You can visit livingwild.org for more helpful information about Foraging Wild Food In CA.
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