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Besides the obvious hunting, clamming or fishing (and I realize these endeavors are not for everyone), I am curious as to what wild foods people may be harvesting to supplement their diet. I, for one, make use of the abundance of yucca blooms available in the spring. They are delicious in stir fry or steamed by themselves with a dash of garlic. And perfectly edible. Health Natural, Information for Natural and healthy living - Yucca
When in Oregon during the fall, we hunt for Chantrelle mushrooms. Fantastic grilled over an open fire!
I have also been known to collect wild mustard greens, wild berries and the elusive feral asparagus!!!
Is anyone else utilizing wild foods? If so, please provide links so we can all benefit from learning more!
I probably would if I liked that kind of food. Which I don't. We do pick some wild blackberries in June. Also, I like nuts, but around here the nuts are mostly black walnuts and hickory nuts which I am not fond of.
When I lived in Georgia, we had two enormous pecan trees. Some years were great, others not so great, but the nuts were delicious!
Right, that's how it is here. I dont have any on my property, but the neighbor's trees share.
Some are large pecans and some small. Also, some years they are plentiful and other years not so much. I dont know what the reason, but they seem to do it that way.
Great thread! I've been harvesting wild greens and berries for years, as well as medicine plants and roots that grow here in Southeast Alaska. In fact my entire spring and summer are filled with gathering and 'putting up' for the year. Here are just a couple "freebies" I gather in the wild.
My springtime favorite veggies are fiddleheads (young fern shoots) and stinging nettles. Fiddleheads remind me of asparagus a bit and are delicious steamed with hollandiase sauce. Blanched and frozen I have fiddleheads all year for soups & stews, omletts, spaghetti sauce. Cream of fiddlehead soup is another favorite. They are extremely high in iron, potassium and vitamins A, B, and C. Fiddleheads should always be eaten cooked because raw they contain a vitamin B depleting enzyme that is destroyed when heated. The more you harvest, the more they grow!
It's the nettles I anticipate each spring as they tell me that spring is really finally here. First chance I get I jump in my skiff and head to the old abandoned Tlinget village site about 20 miles from me where they are thick. The natives knew a good thing when they found it. They are a delicious veggie that seems to chase away the winter "sluggies". Wear gloves, of course, when harvesting - but the sting goes out as soon as they are blanched or dried. Nettles taste a bit like spinach (only better) and have a more robust texture. They should be harvested when about 3-6" tall and can be harvested several times throughout the season if you pinch off the tender tops as this pruning encourages more young growth and will keep you in fresh nettles through most of the summer. I blanch them and freeze in ziploc bags. Nettles contain a whole host of goodies, protien, chlorophyll, vitamins A,C, D, iron, calcium, potassium. Dried nettles make a wonderful healing tea, a great rinse for weak or thinning hair and houseplants love nettle tea so save the water when you cook them. Try steamed nettles with garlic, lemon and olive oil as a side dish - or stirfry with ginger and serve over rice.
Wild, unpolluted, greens provide many times more vitamins and minerals than do domestic garden greens. Try some!
That is so interesting to me, and I would try them if I could. Asparagus is expensive but so good, and that fiddleheads sound like a great alternative, and possibly better for us! You are so lucky to live out where you can find such things.
We have one cherry, one apple, and two mulberry trees in our yard. The previous owners did us a great favor.
You're my favorite kind of neighbor.
In my last home I planted apple, cherry, and peach trees, and there was already an apricot tree that was big enough to supply me, the birds, and a family of raccoons with all the apricots we could eat. There was a plum tree as well, but the deer usually ate the plums before I got the chance to pick them.
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!
Unfortunately, however, I would starve to death in the wild. The only thing I know about is wild black berries. Yum.
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