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Discovering Wild Foods
Natural Beauty and Health Magazine |
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Any time we’re outdoors in America, be it on a city street, in a suburban back yard, or in the country, the natural fecundity of our planet insures that some form of plant life thrives nearby. The Earth is so fertile that wild plants even come up in the cracks of urban sidewalks.
And these are the same species that have been attracted to human-altered habitats for thousands of years. In the past, most people studied these plants and used many of them for food, medicine, or crafts. Today, most of us either ignore them, or purposefully try to destroy them (with far-reaching collateral damage to the environment) as unwanted “weeds.”
What’s the real story behind these valuable species, and how can we enjoy our long-abused green neighbors today, while improving our health and protecting the environment?
It’s not hard to start looking for the local plants that have been there all the time, and many are easy to learn, an important consideration: you must identify any plant you’re going to consume with 100% certainty, since there are poisonous species around too. Also, pick at least 50 feet from heavy traffic, to avoid heavy metal contamination (and don’t collect where people have sprayed long-lived pesticides and herbicides). Collect common species where they are common, common sense because they’ll be easier to pick, and picking species that protect themselves by rapid regeneration won’t harm the environment.
Here’s a small sampling of a few of the hundreds of tasty, nutritious wild herbs, greens, roots, and mushrooms that enrich the American landscape in the fall.
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Purslane is a sweet-sour succulent that was cultivated as food in India hundreds of years ago, and is now making a comeback in farmer's markets and green markets across the country. Thick reddish-green stems creeping 4-10 inches along the ground support small, paddle-shaped, stalkless smooth-edged leaves 1/2-2 inches long. Tiny yellow 5-petaled flowers hide at the bases of the leaves and give way to equally-tiny capsules of edible black, mustard-sized seeds in late summer and fall (if you can collect enough of them, you can grind them into flour). Look for purslane in sandy, sunny areas. It especially likes garden tomato patches. A great source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C, iron, beta-carotene, calcium, phosphorus, and riboflavin, its main medicinal use today is to help prevent heart disease, especially for people who avoid animal sources of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Use the leaves and stems in salads, soups, stews, mock egg dishes, and casseroles; or pickle the stems. Purslane cooks in 10 minutes. |
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This common "weed" is quite expensive if you buy it in health food stores or Asian markets, but it's free and widespread, growing in abandoned fields, along roadsides, on disturbed soil, and in urban parks throughout much of the US. The first year, this biennial's coarse, wedge-shaped, long-stalked leaves, up to one foot across and 2 feet broad (and whitish underneath), emerge from a large, long, deep taproot that's whitish after you scrub off the soil. By mid-spring of the second year, leaves also emerge from a 3-foot tall flower stalk (which is also edible, peeled and parboiled, while it's still young and tender), at which time the root becomes too tough to eat. The flowers look like small, purple shaving brushes, and the fruits they produce are dry, brown, bristly, globe-shaped burrs, seed containers that stick to everything. Cooked and eaten, or simmered for tea, the thinly-sliced root's a traditional blood purifier and detoxifier, good for the liver, kidneys, urinary tract, and skin. It also provides vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, potassium, sulfur, silica, chromium, and manganese, plus the starch inulin - good for diabetics and hypoglycemics. Dig up the first-year taproot with a shovel when you find it growing in soil free of rocks; easiest after rainy weather, when the soil is softer. Trying to extract the deep root from dry, rocky soil is nearly impossible. Use the thinly-sliced root in soups, stews, casseroles, or sauces, simmered (you can also sauté it first) or baked at least 20 minutes, or until tender. It imparts a rich, nutty, earthy flavor to any dish. |
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Here's a tree native to Eastern North America, and escaped from cultivation in other regions. This medium-sized tree is easy to recognize. It has three kinds of leaves: oval, two-lobed like a mitten, and three-lobed; all with smooth edges, and fragrant when crushed. Sassafras grows along the edges of woods and in overgrown fields. You can also purchase sassafras root in herb and health food stores, although the FDA tried to remove it from the market after they discovered that rats fed astronomical quantities of an extract, safrole, over long periods of time convert it into a carcinogen (which humans don't). But the alcohol in beer makes it 14 times as carcinogenic to humans as safrole concentrate is to rodents, and the government never went after beer. So all the experiment proves is that there are a lot of rats in the FDA! Use the cambium (out layer) of the roots of saplings, which are always in abundance and easy to pull out of the ground. Shave off this soft layer surrounding the hard with a paring knife, chop the cambium finely (it also dries well), and you have a seasoning you can use like cinnamon, in baked goods and desserts, curries, beverages, ice cream, marinades, Creole dishes, and sprinkled on squash. Native Americans simmered the root 20 minutes, covered, over low heat, and used the decoction as a beverage, as spring tonic, and for the liver. Chill this tea, add sparkling water and a sweetener, and you have root beer! Dry the young leaves early in the summer and grind them into a powder. Add this to gumbos after cooking is complete for flavor thickness. |
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This must be the most easy wild mushroom to identify. It looks like a ball of Styrofoam. This globe-shaped mushroom can be as large as a beach ball or as small as a softball. Runners at the base are a fungus that decomposes dead organic material in the soil. The mushroom itself is the fungus’ reproductive organ. You eat it when it’s young and still soft and white inside – like cream cheese (or like tofu if you’re a vegetarian). Once it turns yellow, or fills with powdery spores, the best thing to do is note the location, and return earlier the following year.
Other puffball species, which are also excellent edibles, aren’t white, and don’t grow as large, but you could confuse some of the smaller puffballs with other poisonous mushrooms if you don’t cut them open and make sure they’re soft and white inside, and don’t have a cap and stem inside that hasn’t opened yet. Giant puffballs grow in old pastures and on well-drained hard-packed bare soil throughout the US. Look for them in the summer and fall. Cook the mushroom right away (I don’t advise eating any mushrooms raw – some can make you sick, and all contain carcinogenic hydrazines that cooking destroys) or it will begin to yellow and become inedible. Trim away the skin if it's encrusted with dirt, and cut out any damaged parts with a paring knife. Avoid washing under water to avoid soggyness. Slice this mushroom, sauté it, steam it, or simmer it in soups. It's also great baked or grilled. It has a rich, earthy flavor with a texture of marshmallow. This mushroom doesn't dehydrate well, but you can cook it and freeze it for long-term storage. Happy foraging! |
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Wildman" Steve Brill has been leading Wild Food and Ecology Tours in parks throughout Greater NY since 1982. He’s the author of Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not-So-Wild) Places (William Morrow Publishers, 1994) and The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook (Harvard Common Press, 2002). He has hosted a radio series on WBAI in NYC and a cable TV series in Queens. He’s appeared on CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, LateNight with David Letterman, MTV, The Today Show, and many other national and international TV and radio shows. He’s also been featured in The New York Times and in newspapers and magazines around the world, and he's worked with hundreds of diverse organizations throughout the Northeast. But he's still best-know for having been handcuffed and arrested by undercover park rangers for eating a dandelion in Central Park! To learn more about edible/medicinal wild plants and mushrooms, visit "Wildman's" web site, http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com.
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