Does anyone gather wild foods?

[crosses]

I was wondering if anyone gathers wild foods. I have never done this, but I do take fruit (with permission) from neighbor's fruit trees. Does anyone know of a good book to get about wild food?

[csonneman]

I do not know of a book about collecting wild food. There are some good ones about mushrooms. However I do hunt and that is such a cost saving thing. I know that it is not the most popular thing lately but Let me tell you I can get between 75-200 lbs of meat and it will last me all year. No more $12 steaks at the store.

Also you get out and get good exercise and it is free. Hunting will cost some up front but within a year you have recouped the costs.

If you are not interested in the idea of hunting, find a friend, family, or coworker that does. Buy a license and let them fill it for you. That way you get the food and they do the work.

Besides you can also find a lot of other wild foods out there and a lot of money savings. I have saved about $200 since January on not having to buy meat.

[kashi]

My parents used to collect wild strawberries in the country. We've also collected chokecherries. I don't now because I am locked in by concrete. I don't know of any books, either, but I'm sure there's got to be one, or a good website out there at the very least.

[mom-from-missouri]

I pick up walnuts at the park. I first called the city for permission. They said please take all I want, as they sometimes damage the mowers. Last year I got a whole pickup full. I took them to the local grain elevator to be hulled. I only kept what I wanted, then they bought the rest from me to resell. When they give them back to you hulled, they will give you an extra burlap bag if you ask. I just put a few nuts i the extra bag at a time, then place the bag in the driveway. Running over them is a great way to crack them.

[SeeAPenny]

I just heard today on the radio that Garlic Mustard (super invasive non-native plant species) is fully edible. I always figured it probably was, since it's said to have originally been brought over from Europe by early settlers as a pot herb. It can be used like spinach in salads, soups, pestos, and stirfries. Happily I don't have any in my yard here (yet anyway -- it's just a few blocks away, so knock on wood), and hope I never do -- but now I know what to do with it if it ever dares to show it's ugly face around here....

(Other than that, I pick dandelion greens, lamb's quarters, purslane, and make dandelion blossom and violet jelly...)

[mom-from-missouri]

what is violet jelly??

[SeeAPenny]

Oh, it's jelly (or syrup, if you don't have pectin on hand) made from violet blossoms. It's absolutely GORGEOUSLY rich in color....


VIOLET FLOWER JELLY

2 cups violet blossoms, loosely packed
2 cups boiling water

1/4 cup lemon juice
1 pkg. powdered pectin
4 cups sugar

For the violet infusion : Pour boiling water on blossoms and cover
12-24 hours (If you can't get to the cooking within 24 hours, store
in the refrigerator).

For the Jelly : Bring 2 cups of the infusion with lemon juice and
pectin to a rolling boil (one you can't stir down). Add sugar all
at once and bring back to rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove
from heat and let boiling die down. Skim off foam with large spoon.
Pour immediately into hot sterilized jars and seal.

Makes 4-5 cups of jelly.

[mom-from-missouri]

Your talking the little purple violets that grow wild?? We have those everywhere. Do you remove the petals, or use the whold head?? What kind of taste does it have??

[SeeAPenny]

Yep, exactly. The little wild purple violets that grow everywhere. You just use the whole head (removing as much as the green stem as you can without going nuts about it). It's a very delicate flavor . Actually, it's mostly a sweet flavor, from the sugar-- oh, but the color! The color is really amazing -- such a deep, deep purple. When you hold a jar up to the sunlight, it looks like beautiful stained glass. No doubt there are all kind of anti-oxidents in there with such deep, rich color. Anyway, I make violet jelly (and dandelion jelly -- yes, made with dandelion blossoms) every spring with my children from the blossoms in our yard, just because....

[mom-from-missouri]

I'm going to try it. What does the dandelion taste like? Do you use the same receipe??

[SeeAPenny]

Again, as with the violet jelly -- the flavor of dandelion jelly is mostly 'sweet' from the sugar, with a touch of lemon, from the lemon juice. But again, the color is simply amazing, opulent. Like liquid gold (probably more anti-oxident action happening there as well). Dandelion jelly is a little more labor intensive to make than violet jelly, because of the task of separating the blossom/petals from the green caps -- but, ultimately it's worth it for the pretty results. And also, I guess it's just fun to 'make something from nothing' as it were, KWIM?

Here is a recipe I cut and pasted from the internet. It's basically the same one that I use.... (Note --it really is best to use fresh lemon juice if at all possible (bottled lemon juice has sort of a 'metallic-y' taste to it that doesn't compliment the jelly)).


Dandelion Jelly


Ingredients:

* 4 cups yellow parts of dandelion blossoms
* 3 cups boiling water
* 4 1/2 cups sugar
* 2 Tbsp Freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1 pkg powdered pectin

Pick lots and lots of blossoms, setting them out on newspaperoutside for 10-15 minutes to give any bug visitors and creepy crawlies a chance to walk away. Next, pull the yellow blossoms apart from the green part, or 'cap'. Make sure there are no green parts since the green parts have a bitter flavor (without the green cap, the blossom will essentially become shredded). Pack the blossoms/shreds into a 4 cup measure. More blossoms mean more flavor for the jelly. Bring the water to a boil and fill the water with dandelion blossom shreds. Simmer over very gentle heat about 10 minutes to make an infusion. Pour the water and blossoms through a strainer. Press the blossoms as dry as possible to extract the maximum amount of water. Add more blossoms to the strained water infusion and simmer for about 10 minutes. Continue simmering and straining until all the blossoms are used up. Add more water to make up 3 cups. You lose some liquid because it is caught in the blossoms. Strain the infusion very well. I use a coffee filter. Combine infusion with lemon juice, sugar and pectin. Bring to roiling boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Boil hard for one minute. Skim. Pour into hot jars and seal.

[crosses]

Thanks for all the the information on the flower jelly. I'll have to try that too. I think I'll go to my local library and see if I can find a good book on edible wild food there.

[PRICEPLUS]

I have gathered blueberries and raspberries growing wild. I also hunt. If I take all the organically grown meat the state allows me to take in big and small game I will save hundreds of dollars.

The fish here have mercury and pcp problems so you have to be careful but you can eat up to 1/2 a pound per week.(Not recommended for children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers.)

[momma4]

I use to pick boysenberries as a kid. Just not much around here wild I am pretty much in town and we have landscapers who won't even let my flowers grow

[JBinKC]

There are plenty of books like from "Wildman" Steve Brill or classics like from Euell Gibbons. Right now for me it is the middle of mulberry season here (they look like Blackberries and produce consistently for about 40 days) and there is nothing wrong with dandelion greens if they are a little less than 1/4 of the greens in a salad.