Last week's post about foraging for pink pepper led one reader to ask, "Where do you draw your knowledge of foraging from?" From websites to books to organizations, here are some of the resources we use to identify and safely eat wild foods. Do you forage for mushrooms, berries, edible flowers, or other foods? Share you own suggestions in the comments.
We never eat anything foraged in the wild (or in our urban neighborhoods) without doing lots of research to confirm the identity and safety of the food. This may involve talking to locals with deep knowledge and history, contacting scientists, and studying field guides. Here of some of our go-to resources:
Books
Our favorite foraging books include The Forager's Harvest and Nature's Garden by Samuel Thayer and Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places by "Wildman" Steve Brill. (In the New York City area, you can go foraging with the Wildman himself.) Check your local bookstore and library for guides specific to your region, too.
Websites
Bookmarked sites in our Foraging folder include Foraging.com, Foraging Pictures, Eat the Weeds, and USDA PLANTS Database. Hank Shaw's column at The Atlantic is also a great read.
Organizations
Many cities and regions have a native plant society, which may hold foraging walks and can direct you to local experts, books, and other resources. In addition, mycological societies often hold lectures and walks where you can learn about mushrooms in your area. We've also brought samples or sent photographs to mycologists and the local natural history museum to help confirm our finds.
How do you learn about foraging and identifying edible plants? Leave a comment!
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I use "Hedgerow" - one of the River Cottage Handbooks - in the UK. It's brilliant.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hedgerow-River-Cottage-Handbook-Wright/dp/140880185X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300742617&sr=1-1
Thanks! I followed your suggestions from last week and I've signed up for a couple of classes with forageSF.com (they cover the San Francisco & East Bay) in foraging and identifying mushrooms - although the second class scares me!
I definitely plan on ordering the books, but I also ordered a pack of 'Wild Cards: Edible Wild Foods' from Amazon to take with me on hikes and camping trips. Thanks again! :)
Hank Shaw, the blogger at Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook is a foraging expert and has an encyclopedia of foraging coming out in May. His blog is honest-food.net.
I learned how to hunt mushrooms when I was around 10 by a stranger I met while playing the woods (Yeah, yeah I've always lived dangerously - and to clear things up I played in the woods on a daily basis and had taste tested a good number of things I saw animals eat.)
When I came how witha shopping bag full of morel mushrooms my dad had a fit. Not sure if it was over the mushrooms or the stranger that I had helped hunt them all afternoon. But eventually he did some research and finding edible things around the neighborhood and park became a hobby of ours. We never poisoned ourselves but seeing the critters that live in mulberries freaked us both out.
haha! I love pixiewithsticks comment :-) Sounds just like my childhood. I discovered fiddleheads from a neighbor while in the woods, she taught me how to pic them while they are not poisonous. I also found mullberries and wild strawberries by the stream in our backyard and sourgrass (which I'm still not sure is supposed to be edible, but I liked eating it regardless).
Note, foraging in tropical places brings a whole new meaning to the verb - i.e. foraging in the Caribbean means nutmegs, mace, guava, mangos, greatfruit, oranges, bananas, coco, and coconuts. It was like walking into Willy Wonkas Chocolate Factory, but with produce :-)
http://the3foragers.blogspot.com
Our blog following the adventures of a small foraging family in Connecticut, it also lists the resources and books we use
Hippy parents. :D
My limited foraging knowledge comes from hiking with old-timers:)
Thanks for all these great foraging posts! I just found a pink pepper tree on a walk yesterday (thanks Kitchn!) and I'm so excited to go back and do some harvesting.
And morganong: I'm now signed up to take a forage class with forageSF too- thanks for the link!