Edible Weeds

[kg6ypa]

Wild edibles exist almost everywhere and are in abundance if you forage for them. Edible wild food has naturally grown in almost every corner of our planet for tens of thousands of years. Edible weeds, flowersand wild herbs were foraged and used as food (as well as medications); and they provided all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients required for the human body to maintain good health. Foraging for food used to be the way to survive.

Chances are edible weeds are in your backyard, on pathways you walk every day, or in fields you see every day. Many of these plants can be foraged and added to your daily diet to increase your nutritional intake.

There’s a plethora of wild herbs, weeds, flowers, shrubs, trees and vines all safe to eat so long as you identify them properly and know what part of the plant is usable!


http://www.ediblewildfood.com/edible-weeds.aspx

 

[Mudfoot]

Mmmmmm

 

[RatsoW8]

Until two years ago I used to mow down the pesky and large mushrooms that would pop up in my back yard in front of the apple trees. After a local news channel piece on spring mushrooms in MI I finally realized they were morels. Delicious.

 

[jeffbones]

hmm price of veggie has gone up a bit. this might be the solution!

 

[space cowboy]

food, clothes, rope, great livestock feed, hand cream, and entertainment.

doesn't get any better than that.

 

[Road Squawker]

Euell Gibbons thought like this too,...........

 

[jessejamesdallas]

Got plenty of cattails growing around the yard..."So what's for dinner?"

don't know...But you can bet your butt it won't be cattail soup!

 

[AA1PR]

I drove past this area just at the beginning of the week and the area along Otter Creek was encompassed with fiddleheads. It was wet and rainy then and for the last few days the sun has been bright and the days perfect. So all the ones I seen had opened up by now. That is OK as most of these were mature and I do not personally like them (a bit dry & sour). So I knew there must be some young ones here as well. So our search begins.



The basic areas to begin your search looked like this, as if there are some you are sure to find more. This plant is so common we all know what it looks like hopefully.

I like the small immature young fiddle heads and this is what we look for. To consume these I feel is an acquired taste. Either you like them or hate them I have found. Our findings may be a bit late but better now than never.

Here is a closer view of the ones my son gathered this morning.

Here they are all sliced to perfection and washed off in the colander, I like to wash them off and shake them around a bit as sometimes you can find bugs in them (extra flavorL). I cut the stalks off as close to the fiddlehead as possible. I like to sauté mine in butter over a medium heat until done. It is also recommended that you: “When cooking fiddleheads, first remove all the yellow/brown skin, then boil the sprouts twice with a change of water between boiling’s. Removing the water reduces the bitterness and the content of tannins and toxins.” According to the USDA

Carefully brush off and remove the papery brown scales.One must wash fiddleheads in clean, potable water several times until the wash water appears clean. Then bring a small amount of lightly salted water to a boil, add washed fiddleheads, and cook them at a steady boil for 10 minutes. Fiddleheads can also be washed clean and steamed for 20 minutes. Others like to serve them at once with melted butter or vinegar. The sooner they are eaten, the more delicate their flavor. They may be served, like asparagus, on toast. Cooked, chilled fiddleheads can be also served as a salad with an onion and vinegar dressing. I think we may add some to our stir fry later this evening as a first for me.



I am not a biologist but I avoid these hairy ones at all cost. *So please avoid them!*Not sure what causes it or if they are a sub species or what not?

If anyone else can add or contribute to this topic let's keep it moving. I am no expert but just a part of what I have gathered and done in my humble life time...

 

[AA1PR]

How many times have you ever stepped upon or over these little deserving plants that taste so delicious and are ever so nutritional…with multiple uses.

They were imported into our country as a food crop & now are thought of as a weed

Here is my digging stick for getting dandelions. I like the stick to be about 1” in diameter and maybe a foot long if not a bit more. We all know what dandelions look like so I did not take a picture of the flower. They are those annoying plants that seem to infest our yards and the likes. We all know them by the yellow flower and the arrow shaped leaves. Thankfully there are no poisonous look-a-likes for this species of plant. The meaning of the plant in French is “Lions Tooth”. This plant also has many medicinal uses, even though I will avoid discussion of them for our topic.

Chicory and wild lettuce also resemble dandelions in the spring and are also edible. The milky sap can be used as a improvised glue of sorts? It has been proven effective in removing warts, soothing sores and bee stings and blisters for some. The flowers are used in home made wines as well. Picking these before the flower’s blossom results in the best tasting plants.



** If there is one thing I must convey here is that if you are unsure of what you are touching or going to consume DO NOT ** get the correct books or do the research before you venture out. As in most cases a very small nibble or portion could/can kill you. **





Younger ones (plants) may not have the arrow shaped definition just yet. These I feel are somewhat tastier in my opinion. These leaves are excellent added to salads. Just try to get them before the yellow flower develops or otherwise they can be bitter tasting. Or you can boil them a couple of times in the summer and fall to improve their taste as well. The leaves have a higher nutritional value than any commercially produced vegetable one can buy. Just make sure you harvest them away from roadsides or known places where one uses pesticides.

Here my daughter is demonstrating how the digging stick is effective in the plants removal.

Here she is with the plant removed; this is a mature plant even though I feel the leaves on these mature ones are bitter. You can boil them to improve their taste if so desired, kind of reminds me of spinach. I intend to use just the roots this time for a coffee substitute. Not sure if you can see how more arrow shape defined a mature plant leaves are.

Here you can compare the new & old side by side before my consumption. The young leaves may go into a salad for lunch. The mature ones I will only use the roots as well as all the roots from the others for either boiling or a coffee alternative. The roots if found are edible all year long.

The roots are OK tasting boiled. To make the coffee substitute you first roast the roots and then grind them. You can than steep them over water and there you have your coffee substitute. I have never tried this yet, as this is the purpose here. I even read somewhere once that the root of goats beard can also be roasted and ground to make a coffee substitute. Goat’s Beard resembles a dandelion head when the white seeds are blossoming except it has holes in the pattern like a waffle ball effect. In my area they are not very common.



Here I tried to clean the roots as best as one could. I gently scraped the side of a knife broad side the roots to hopefully remove any excess soil.

Here are the cleaned roots in preparation to being roasted or in this case I am going to bake them until brittle in the oven. Or you can boil them at this point and consume them in this manner also.

Here the roots are before grinding and brewing for my coffee. This pile of roots after grinding maybe yielded a teaspoons worth. I left out the grinding pictures as I really broke it up into the finest pieces I could.

I wonder if you could use it to dye wood…LOL



So here is my homebrew coffee… so the next time you have these removed, at least enjoy the fruit of your labor. It actually tastes a bit like someone added a hint of tea to my coffee. Different but unique to say the least, so give it a try!

 

[PA629]

I gather fiddleheads, as well as dandelions and wild leeks (ramps) when they are in season. Still a bit early yet here in NW PA, we still have snow on the ground. Won't be gathering any free edibles till sometime in mid- to late-April.

 

[RatsoW8]

Interesting. I drove 15 minutes south today to gather a case of my favorite locally brewed blueberry maple stout.

We still have few months before the morels start popping up but I'm sure going to try the young dandelion greens.

 

[Beetle]

Taste like wild hick'ry nuts? Many parts are edible.
Maybe not that last one, thoug......

 

[PA629]

Interesting. I drove 15 minutes south today to gather a case of my favorite locally brewed blueberry maple stout.

We still have few months before the morels start popping up but I'm sure going to try the young dandelion greens.

We serve the greens wilted down with a warm sweet/sour bacon dressing. Also good on other greens such as spinach, and various lettuces.