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Thanks, DezertGirl, good information! I'd only tried the rhizome ("root") before with poor results, and didn't know the other parts were also edible.
How did you prepare the root? I have a pond in my community and there are plenty of cattails. However, I am worried about harvesting them due to the fact that the water is virtually stagnant. I tried the catfish out of there and they were icky! And there is no known type of fish, shellfish or seafood that I don't like! I don't think I'll be digging any cattail roots from there. Word was also that community association wanted someone to hunt the geese to control their numbers but Fish & Game said don't eat them! But we have other sources I would deem safe and I want to try cattails soon!
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
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Oh, this was some years ago. I don't think I even bothered to cook it, it seemed to tough and fibrous.
Those homeowner's association can be ridiculous. I'd say to volunteer to hunt them if you have a shotgun, and tell them you're taking the geese out to the dump or something like that, and then take one or two and cook it.
I've never eaten one, but I hear it doesn't taste very good unless you have a decent recipe. I guess you could feed it to your pets if you don't like it.
GrammasCabin - The abundance and diversity of Alaska never ceases to amaze me! Nature will provide her bounty for those of us that know how to benefit from her generosity.
The area in Oregon where we will be moving to also has lots of ferns. I was wondering if perhaps you had the latin/scientific name for the speices you harvest so I can possibly identify the same in Oregon? Links would be super! I want to try this amazing wild food. Thank you so much for sharing!
I also would like to know what kind of ferns....We have tons of ostrich ferns. Are they edible in spring?
Fiddleheads are popular in the mountains of Southern California. I found this on wikipedia ...
The fiddleheads of certain ferns are eaten as a cooked leaf vegetable; they must be cooked first to remove shikimic acid. The most popular of these are:
[quote=Sizzly Friddle;8266150]This is a myth. There is no rule of thumb to identify non-poisonous mushrooms. The only way to tell if a mushroom is edible is by correct identification.]
My Dad always used to insist that there always had to be 2 people if you wanted to eat wild mushrooms.....1 person to eat them and 1 to take notes.
This is a great thread! Can anyone recommend a good book/guide for identifying edible plants in Illinois/Midwest? I'm sure there are plenty of good books out there, but if someone has experience with a great one that would help a lot. Thanks!
I have poke in my backyard, so I'm going to mark where it is now so I can harvest the young leaves in the spring. I love greens so I'm looking forward to it.
Thanks to whoever rep'd me on this thread, I'd forgotten I even posted in here! Still a good thread!
Annie3, go to your public library! There will be tons of books on edible and medicinal plants in your area and librarians love to help. Also, if you have any elder Native friends or aquaintances ask them, chances are their mothers or grandmothers were skilled in using wild plants and they will be proud that you ask and more than willing to help.
As for pesticides and chemicals, of course none are used up here but when I buy fruits and veggies in the grocery store I wash them in a water bath with a small amount of grapefruit seed extract which I get from a company called NutriBiotic in northern California, I think it's Lakeport.
Did I mention that stinger nettles are one of my favorite wild greens? They are loaded with protien, vitamins A,C,D - iron, calcium, potassium as well as a substance called secretin which does a great job of cleaning heavy gunk from the lower tract caused by eating junk foods. When they are steamed or dried the stingy part is eliminated. Pick them in early spring when they are about 4-6 inches, they will continue to send up new shoots and you'll get 2 or 3 pickings. They're great steamed with a little garlic and lemon, they remind me of fresh spinach only better.
This year I've went for morels, asparagus and blackberries. Wild asparagus is my favorite, it grows so plentiful around here that I can go out for an hour and come back with enough for a week of asparagus and cheese at every dinner! Blackberries are great for jam too, as my girlfriend made a ton to give out as gifts this year. Of coarse morels were devoured daily on steaks or burgers or whatever.
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