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Message started by walter on Aug 11th, 2015 at 8:53pm

Title: Wild food
Post by walter on Aug 11th, 2015 at 8:53pm
Acorns were the staff of life before wheat. The Emory oak produces a yearly crop of acorns that do not have to be leached to remove tannin. You can eat them as is. In Mexico, they are served in cantinas insted of of the peanuts or pretzels we (in the U. S.) are accustmed to. They call them belotta.
The tree

The fruit of the tree  :)

And the hungry bull elk
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Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on Aug 12th, 2015 at 6:32am
True, but they require a lot of processing to get the tannic acids out. Best thing is to crush them and place them in a running stream until the tannins  are leached out. Not something for short term survival. 

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Tomas on Aug 12th, 2015 at 10:09am
When I was in mexico earlier this year I found an almond tree and tried to open an almond. I could not get it open! I even tried pounding it with a rock and stomping and everything but that little nut prevailed. It even broke the rock I was using on it!
I would a starved lol

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Masiakasaurus on Aug 13th, 2015 at 12:09am

slingbadger wrote on Aug 12th, 2015 at 6:32am:
True, but they require a lot of processing to get the tannic acids out. Best thing is to crush them and place them in a running stream until the tannins  are leached out. Not something for short term survival. 

True for most oaks, but not Emory Oak. The acorns from the Emory Oak are sweet straight from the tree.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bikewer on Aug 13th, 2015 at 9:37am
My idea of wild food is to venture into the actual produce isle rather than the canned-veggie isle....

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by curious_aardvark on Aug 13th, 2015 at 10:10am
coming up to my favourite time of the year.

The wild plums will be ripe in amonth or two and some blackberries are coming ripe already.

Nothing more pleasant than wandering with the dogs and munching as you go :-)

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Thearos on Aug 13th, 2015 at 12:21pm
Acorns, interesting. Can you make flour out of them ?

Wild food: i've eaten tiny wild strawberries (sour); boletus mushrooms (the ones with the yellow foam under the cap); and shellfish collected off the beach (quite delicious, gave me severe indigestion)

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Masiakasaurus on Aug 13th, 2015 at 3:32pm

Thearos wrote on Aug 13th, 2015 at 12:21pm:
Acorns, interesting. Can you make flour out of them ?

Wild food: i've eaten tiny wild strawberries (sour); boletus mushrooms (the ones with the yellow foam under the cap); and shellfish collected off the beach (quite delicious, gave me severe indigestion)

With most acorns, making flour out of them is the easiest and fastest way of leaching the tannins.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Steven on Aug 13th, 2015 at 5:01pm
grape, plum, chokecherry, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, mulberry, prickley pear pads and fruit, pecan, hickory, walnut, morel & chantrelle mushrooms, small game and birds, honey/honeycomb, I was never fond of field greens
lots of stuff out there to eat in the correct season.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Thearos on Aug 14th, 2015 at 4:29am
How do you make flour from acorns ? Bake and grind ?

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Cavemanzhi on Aug 14th, 2015 at 6:27am

Curious Aardvark wrote on Aug 13th, 2015 at 10:10am:
coming up to my favourite time of the year.

The wild plums will be ripe in amonth or two and some blackberries are coming ripe already.

Nothing more pleasant than wandering with the dogs and munching as you go :-)


This is one of my favorite things since moving to the UK!  Wild blackberries are everywhere! A few of my neighbors have plum trees and apple trees that they don't mind me plucking from. ;D I even have a strawberry plant in my front yard that is starting to bear fruit, if I can just out smart the Jackdaws I'd get to eat more of them.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Jabames on Aug 14th, 2015 at 8:19pm
For me and my family in Alaska,  wild food is 2 freezers full of salmon and moose for the winter  :).

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Masiakasaurus on Aug 15th, 2015 at 3:10am

Thearos wrote on Aug 14th, 2015 at 4:29am:
How do you make flour from acorns ? Bake and grind ?

Crack the acorns open to remove the nutmeat and grind or smash the nutmeat with water to form a paste. Then the paste can be dried into flour (after leeching the tannins out.) The only way I know how is to mix equal parts cold water and acorn flour in a jar, store the jar in the fridge, pour off and replace a large portion of the water at least once a day, agitate the mixture at least once a day, and drain off all of the water (through cheesecloth) once the flour tastes bland instead of bitter. Usually takes less than a week, but not always. Definitely not a survival skill when done my way, and definitely shows why access to the ultra-low tannin Emory Oak would be a good thing.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Thearos on Aug 15th, 2015 at 5:18am
Fussy, indeed. Tannins are unfit for human consumption in any quantities, I assume (people speak of tannins in red wine).

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on Aug 15th, 2015 at 10:27am
Those are the same tannins. 

They will give you a case of constipation that will be fatal.  The western Native American tribes that depended heavily on acorns actually had plants with laxative side effects as part of their regular diet.

The way to leach tannins on a much larger scale is to prep as Mas said, then put them in a pillow case in running water.  You will have to agitate two or three times a day until the bitter taste is gone.  Then spread and dry in the sun.  You can use a T shirt in a survival situation. 

That is why I recommend dicing them as fine as you can instead of smashing them to a paste, they dry better and quicker.  They will mold up quickly, even if you dry them in an oven, after using tap water on them.  Once they are dry, grind them and freeze them.  (Stick them in a cheap coffee grinder and run them trough a couple of times on the finest setting, if they wad up, they need to dried some more.)

And they are less likely to cause digestive problems if you mix them with some other type of flour, such as corn meal.  Or cattail pollen or root flour.  But the tannins that remain will cause constipation if you don't drink lots of water.

And keep in mind that the tribes that depended  on acorns were mostly western tribes, the humidity is pretty low and it is usually sunny and hot and the acorns dried pretty quick.  Eastern tribes used chestnuts, hickory nuts, walnuts and several other different types of nuts instead of acorns for a reason.

And last, if you want to try this, white oaks have less tannins than red oaks.  Or, the darker yellower to orange the meat is, the more tannins you will have to  remove..   


Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Masiakasaurus on Aug 15th, 2015 at 1:02pm

Thearos wrote on Aug 15th, 2015 at 5:18am:
Fussy, indeed. Tannins are unfit for human consumption in any quantities, I assume (people speak of tannins in red wine).

What Bill said. I'd just like to add that tannins aren't bad in and of themselves, but the amount in acorns is excessive. Tannins are the source of the bitter flavor and astringent mouthfeel in some red wines and teas. In fact, tea is almost entirely tannins dissolved in water. The concentration of tannins in acorns is many thousand times that of tea and wine and pushes it from being a flavoring to being a poison. (Also, bitterly astringent flour isn't as appetizing as a sweet and nutty flour.)

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Aug 16th, 2015 at 1:37pm
The best way to make get the tannins out prior to making flour as Mas describes is to first smash the acorns into small pieces about half the size of rock salt.  Place these pieces in some sort of porous fabric like cheese cloth and place them under some sort of running water.  A clear, fast running stream will work if you're in the wild; a spigot if not.  How long this process takes depends on several factors like the size of your acorn chunks, the speed of the water current, the mesh of your fabric, etc..  It will take at least a full day;  more than likely several.  After the tannins are washed out then dry your tiny chunks and grind them into flour.  The flour is extremely nutritious and makes a pretty good bread.  From the dawn of time until fairly recently it was a major food source for humans.  Acorns are still consumed in many parts of the world today.
    If you had to survive on your own now would be the best time for people at my latitude.  This is harvest time when many of the wild fruits and vegetables are ripe. It would be difficult to starve to death in the wild this time of year in the Northeast U.S..

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Masiakasaurus on Aug 16th, 2015 at 2:09pm
This thread has inspired me to share some wild food with my friends and coworkers. :) Here's a tip for all y'all, you can substitute acorn flour for all or some of the cornmeal in your favorite cornbread recipe with no other changes. I'm going to try making this French chestnut bread by substituting leeched whole acorns for the chestnuts and acorn flour for the cornmeal once I have a good crop of acorns. Maison Kayser’s Chestnut Bread Hopefully it turns out well.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by perpetualstudent on Aug 17th, 2015 at 9:15am
Huh. That's interesting.

I've heard historical accounts of pigs eating/being fed acorns. Are they able digest unprocessed acorns?

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Masiakasaurus on Aug 17th, 2015 at 9:36am

perpetualstudent wrote on Aug 17th, 2015 at 9:15am:
Huh. That's interesting.

I've heard historical accounts of pigs eating/being fed acorns. Are they able digest unprocessed acorns?


As far as I know, yes. Horses, cows, and other ruminants definitely can, so the ability to eat acorns isn't a rare thing in the animal kingdom.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by perpetualstudent on Aug 17th, 2015 at 2:05pm
You're probably right. The reason I ask is that I read a fascinating book on food during WWII, and one of the odd facts I picked up was that cows can't digest unprocessed soy. We discovered how to process it so the protein was available to the cows in part due to the demand of WWII.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Masiakasaurus on Aug 17th, 2015 at 2:32pm
I asked an "agvocate" friend of mine (writer for Cooperative Farmer News Magazine and part owner of a cattle farm) about feeding acorns to pigs. Acorns give the meat a gamier tasted are the preferred feed -almost exclusively- for swine that will become Black Forest ham. Some are raised on acorns, others are raised on other feed and switched to nothing but acorns for a couple months prior to slaughter. Most pigs, however; are indifferent to the taste of acorns. They tend to spit out the caps and usually ignore acorns when other food sources are present.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Mark-Harrop on Sep 9th, 2015 at 7:17am
In Jordan there are still oak/acorn groves that the Romans planted up near Jerash. Not sure what variety they are, but they were huge, biggest acorns I've even seen by far. The trees looked like overgrown bonsai with fat trunks and branches kept low to make harvest easy. Oddly, no one there seemed to eat them.
Didn't see any Querquetulanae though….
;D
I also seem to recall using lye to remove tannins...

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on Sep 10th, 2015 at 10:16pm
That's interesting.  I know a professor who is researching how the Native Americans processed corn that was going to be ground into flour.

The NA's would soak the hard corn kernels in lye water until the skins became loose and then would tumble them in a special basket that had holes in it that would let the smaller pieces of skin fall out but keep the rest of the kernel.  They would then wash the kernel and then grind them for flour.

The reason this is important is because the NA's didn't suffer any of the various problems with mineral deficiencies  in their diet that later Europeans who ate the same foods did, minus how the corn was prepared.  Europeans just ground the whole kernel into grits, meal or flour depending on which setting the mill was set up for. 

His theory is that the lye soak makes the minerals in the corn more digestable  and also removes a lot of the sugars that attacked and destroyed the Europeans' teeth.

Don't suppose you heard how the Romans prepared their acorns?

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by walter on Sep 12th, 2015 at 6:18pm
There are several other plants that the American indians processed with lye, which is what made them edible or nutritious. The corn flour used to make tortillas is still treated in a solution of lime water  ;)

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on Oct 8th, 2015 at 6:32am
Right now Jerusalem Artichokes are in bloom. They resemble tall, skinny sunflowers that grow in clusters. Around the roots are tubers that are perfectly edible. Just peel them and prepare them like a potato. they have a nutty flavor to them.
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Title: Re: Wild food
Post by walter on Oct 9th, 2015 at 9:07am
Jerusalem artichokes don't grow wild here cause its too dry, so we grow our own. They also make a great privacy fence :)

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by walter on May 28th, 2017 at 9:16pm
But elk do!

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Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on May 28th, 2017 at 10:57pm
For the past several years I have been trying to get ground nut or Indian Potatoes established around my ponds. The are called Ah'hah by Eastern Muscogee, Ah'hee by Western Muscogee and hopnis by Cherokees

Apios Americana is a legume that forms tubers on its roots.  It has a small pea pod, which is also edible.  However, it is only about 3 inches (75mm) long and only about 3/16ths in diameter (4mm) and the actual peas are about the size of a BB or only about 2mm.  Which means you have to pick a lot for a meal. 

The tubers range in size from about golf ball sized to about tennis ball sized.  They will be a line of round tuber on a root, it will look like a string of pearls.  They can be prepared any way you cook potatoes or beans.  They can also be diced, dried and ground into flour.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by walter on May 29th, 2017 at 12:09am
Not well known to u.s. students, it was A. apios that the pilgrims relied on (as well as corn) for the first few years. They were also the main course for the early settlers of Concord Mass.
It is still plentiful in central Tennessee.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on May 29th, 2017 at 9:09am
Ive always wanted to try the inner bark of pine trees. Ive read the Adirondack used to eat it extensively. Considering how common pines are it would make a good survival food.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on May 29th, 2017 at 5:36pm
As long as you have the right kind of pine tree.

You do know that a favorite past time of eastern NA's was purging themselves.  They had ceremonies where they would drink gallons of a special drink until they started spewing at both ends.  Considering the amount of non digestable fiber in their diet, this was actually pretty wise.

And acorn eaters actually ate laxatives with every meal.

If you want to live of what the Indians ate, you have to eat all of it.  There are some really good reasons to eat everything, not just what you like.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on May 29th, 2017 at 8:02pm
"They had ceremonies where they would drink gallons of a special drink until they started spewing at both ends. "

Around here we call it Wild Turkey. 

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by walter on May 29th, 2017 at 9:45pm
LOL  ;)

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Drakolith on May 29th, 2017 at 11:05pm
If you are looking for food you can get in the wild in order to survive, why not consider trying this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1440598525/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1496113375&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=survival+food+guide&dpPl=1&dpID=51pna2qyZxL&ref=plSrch ; I don't have it though, but it looks usefull.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Curious Aardvark on May 30th, 2017 at 6:29am
looks interesting.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on May 30th, 2017 at 10:43am
There's also some apps you can get along those lines. This thread inspired me to check out a website called foraging texas. While doing that I found out that yaupon holly, which I always just thought of as a good arrow wood is also the only native Texas plant that produces caffiene. Apparently the leaves are slightly sweet as well so they can be brewed into a tasty tea. Very cool.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by vetryan15 on May 30th, 2017 at 11:11am
Steve Brills based out of NYC is awesome.  He leads foraging tours in central park. He actually got arrested for eating a dandelion in front of undercover park rangers in the 90s. He has apps, books and a website. 

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on May 30th, 2017 at 12:49pm
Yaupon Holly is the only caffeine bearing plant in North America that is safe to make a drink from that I am aware of. 

Yaupon Holly can be prepared two ways.  Easiest is to drop some fresh green leaves in boiling water and let them steep to taste.  That will give you about the same amount of caffeine as coffee.  If you parch the leaves, you get a lot more, something like six times as much.

It tastes like a very dry green tea and a really strong, dry,  green tea with a slightly bitter after taste if you parch them, especially if you parch them too much.  We always added a pint of honey to about 5 gallons of tea if we were going to serve it to someone.

The berries are sweet but they don't add a sweet taste to the drink.

The Black Drink, which has yaupon as a base but with stuff added was the drink that the Native Americans used to purge themselves.

As far as foraging for plants, you really need to go out with someone who knows what plants are which.  There are a lot  of plants that mimic poisonous plants to avoid being eaten.  Some of them, you really can't tell from just pictures.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Curious Aardvark on May 30th, 2017 at 3:17pm

Morphy wrote on May 29th, 2017 at 9:09am:
Ive always wanted to try the inner bark of pine trees. Ive read the Adirondack used to eat it extensively. Considering how common pines are it would make a good survival food.



watched  a program recently where a guy tried that.
Didn't give them any real sustenance and was exactly like eating wood.

They had aweek in deepest finland in the winter. The idea was to live weel off the land.
They barely got out alive. And if the english cook hadn't had the kiwi survivalist - he would have died.

In 7 days they managed 3 actual meals and chewed and spat out some wood.
One meal of berries and reindeer moss. One of about 3 tiny fish and on the last day they caught a small pike.

This while burning through several thousand calories a days. Oh yeah and the cook fell in a stream, without the other guy he'd have suffered frostbite at beast and fatal hypothermia at worst.

But because they had a decent meal of fish on the last day they reckoned it was a success.

I reckoned if they'd been there another week, they'd both have died. 

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on May 30th, 2017 at 7:11pm
@Bill 6 times as much as coffee? That sounds dangerous.

@CA- If I remember correctly the inner bark has something like 500 calories per pound.  Doesnt sound worth it. I wouldnt mind trying it though.

One plant I really enjoy is stinging nettles. Really tasty.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on May 31st, 2017 at 6:18am
I had nettles when I was in Ireland. I like them. They like to put them in cheese. It had a taste similar to pepper jack cheese. Dulse, the seaweed has a slightly nutty flavor.
Question--how do you prepare the nettles so that the sting (uric acid) is gone?

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on May 31st, 2017 at 9:29am
Cooking them renders them safe. I used to eat the leaves right off the plants back in Cali. There are different subspecies so some may not be safe to eat raw. Ive only seen two. The ones near me were relatively safe to handle but the ones in the mountains would give a nasty sting that would ache for hours.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Curious Aardvark on May 31st, 2017 at 12:25pm
yeah the cornish make a cheese called Yarg (really) that is wrapped in nettle leaves. Seriously good too !
https://www.lynherdairies.co.uk/cornish-yarg/

Given how much I've been stung by them over the years, you'll not see me gathering them any time soon :-)

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on Jun 3rd, 2017 at 9:24pm
Wait until after the first frost and then pick them like crazy.  They make really great cordage then, just wilted but with green leaves, or just starting to turn yellow.  Take them and store them out of the sun but in bundles.  And don't let them get too dry.  And keep them as straight as possible.

Pick the leaves off.  Then roll them lengthwise in your hands to get the pith out.  You should be left with a bunch of long strands almost the length of the plant.  Use that to make cordage just like you make a Flemish twist bowstring..


Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Curious Aardvark on Jun 4th, 2017 at 12:13pm
Nope not happening.
I have been stung by nettles at all times of the year, when they've been around.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jun 8th, 2017 at 9:15am
   Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was young kids played outside ALL of the time. We lived in the woods so we learned about wild edibles.
    If you live in a deciduous forest and know what you're doing, at least in the Spring and Summer it's almost impossible to starve. 
    Acorns have already been discussed in detail so I'll skip them.  Wild fruits all have their own season.  First to get ripe are Mulberries.  They are very plentiful but their season is only a few weeks.  Next there are many varieties of Blueberries and even more of Huckleberries.  Also there are poison berries that grow right next to and resemble Blueberries and Huckleberries. I ate some as a toddler and spent the day barfing my guts up so it's a really good idea to know what the poison berries look like.  Then there are Raspberries and Blackberries.  Late in the Summer there are Choke Cherries.  If you're lucky you can also find Persimmons and Ground Strawberries. 
    Many different lawn type plants or weeds are edible.  You can eat both the leaves and flowers of the Dandelion.  Also the close cousins of Dandelions, what we called Plantain Weeds, are edible. The same with Lemon Grass (That small clover like plant with tiny yellow flowers that tastes like lemonade. It might have a different name in other areas.) White Clover is sweet and good but Red Clover tastes like crap.  Wild Garlic is always abundant.  You can eat the whole plant with that.  Your breath will stink to high heaven though. Sometimes you can find Wild Carrots. For a little extra nutrition you can chew then spit out the ripe seed tops of many varieties of grass. Also you can chew the stalks.
   Wild mushrooms scare the hell out of me.  I don't know what I'm doing with them so I leave them alone.
    The inside bark of Pine Trees was mentioned.  Blue Spruce is the best to eat.  Also the flowers and inside bark of the Sassafras Tree are edible and you can make tea from its roots.
   Down by the water depending on the season the entire Cattail plant is edible and you can eat Water Lily root bulbs.
    Of course hunting, trapping, fishing, etc. are other options that much can be written about.  I'm sure I'm forgetting as much as I'm writing.  The bottom line is that in a survival situation at least in the warmer weather there is plenty to eat in a deciduous forest. Come Winter things get MUCH harder but there is still some wild food to be had.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jun 16th, 2017 at 12:25pm
   Other than acorns I failed to mention nuts.  There are plenty of wild nuts to be had... Chestnuts, Walnuts, Filberts, etc... Just wait until they're falling from the trees and roast them.  One thing I discovered though.  Wild nuts aren't like the ones you buy.  There is much more compartment compared to edible meat so you will be doing a lot of picking.  In that they're very high calorie they are worth the effort.
    And of course if things get really rough you can always eat bugs. Roasted Grasshoppers and Locusts are probably the least gross.  Earthworms are high in protein. Ugh! Those big white grubs you find in logs are primo. Termites are quite edible also.  Yuck. Better than starving though.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by kicktheotter on Jun 17th, 2017 at 6:34am
I'm wanting to (read "trying to convince my girlfriend to let me") set up a cockroach farm, specifically, dubia cockroaches to eat :D High in protein, easy and cheap to breed and far better for the environment than intensive farming methods. Can be eaten roasted, toasted, fried, as flour, pretty much anyway really. I might also grow mealworms as they are even easier.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Curious Aardvark on Jun 17th, 2017 at 11:11am
Never tried cockroach - but I often munch some of the meal worms we buy for the birds.
Real wholesome nutty flavour.

On the cockroach side - sounds like you'd be better off eating the cockroachs food:
Quote:
The Dubia cockroach is a frugivore that prefers fruits and grains[citation needed], shunning such high protein sources as meat or waste droppings from other animals[citation needed]. They particularly like semisweet vegetable matter. Appropriate feed for raising Dubia roaches includes: carrots, all manner of tropical fruits (mangos and papayas), apples, avocados, banana, cherries, pears, oranges, strawberries, fresh corn, tomatoes (some individuals show no interest in tomatoes while others eat readily), and lettuce (not iceberg or romaine)—many other leafy greens will be accepted[citation needed]. All grain-based dry cat/dog food, fish food, crested gecko meal and bearded dragon food can also be used to supplement their diet[citation needed]. They will also eat wheat bran and germ-based food products like assorted breads, non-sweetened breakfast cereals (such as Cheerios or Special K), and even softened pasta, although such diets must be augmented with edible vegetation and fruit of some sort to provide sufficient water[citation needed].

:-)

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by kicktheotter on Jun 17th, 2017 at 11:37am
Wel I'm thinking they will become the new biowaste bin :D All the carrot skins, broccoli ends, apple cores, mouldy grapes straight to the cockroaches and then the cockroaches go to me so nothing wasted :D

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Curious Aardvark on Jun 17th, 2017 at 2:51pm
so how are you planning on preparing them ?
Also be aware the juveniles can climb smooth vertical surfaces !

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by kicktheotter on Jun 17th, 2017 at 4:05pm
Well I'll be experimenting to see what tastes best. Baby powder around the edge of the tub will keep them in. Makes it real slippy for them.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Curious Aardvark on Jun 19th, 2017 at 3:58pm
I was actually thinking about the whole killing, skinning (?) general preparation process.
The chitin is pretty thick and we can't digest it. So some sort of shelling/skinning is presumably necessary.

Wouldn't you be better of with the giant madagaskan hissing cockroach ?
A much higher meat to skin ratio.

Plus when they escape, they'd be much easier to catch :whistle:

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by kicktheotter on Jun 19th, 2017 at 4:32pm
The killing is easy. Leave them in the freezer for a few days. Well I'm thinking, if I do use them for flour, then blending them will deal with all of the preparation issues :D But yeah I'll be doing lots of experiments to see what works and the best way to make use of them. That is once we move into a place that isn't rented or into a place that would let us have pets :D

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on Jun 19th, 2017 at 6:06pm
Before you move in make sure you let them know you want to have a cockroach farm. Should help your chances.    :o

You guys are the real deal. If it came down to eating roaches or starving I would start digging my grave.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by kicktheotter on Jun 20th, 2017 at 8:21am
Insects are going to be the future. Mark my words. Cultures all around the world already eat insects and with the sheer amount of space and resources that meat and vegetable protein needs, insects are very quickly going to be not only a viable option but a necessity.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Teg on Jun 20th, 2017 at 1:05pm
Actually, where I live three species of insects were just allowed by the government as food. According to rumours they shall already be on the shelves of supermarkets. I haven't found them though. At least not the nicely packed, dead ones  ;D

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on Jun 21st, 2017 at 6:17am
Mayapple is good. The entire plant is poisonous.When the fruit is ripe (it looks like a small lemon) around September it's perfectly edible. It has a taste like strawberry, kiwi and custard  mixed.  You have to fight the animals for it, though.
podophyllum-peltatum_015.jpg (78 KB | 25 )

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Curious Aardvark on Jun 21st, 2017 at 6:59am
I'm having a little trouble with this bit:
Quote:
The entire plant is poisonous.When the fruit is ripe (it looks like a small lemon) around September it's perfectly edible. It has a taste like strawberry, kiwi and custard  mixed.  You have to fight the animals for it, though.


So why are you all fighting over it if it's poison ? :noidea:

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on Jun 22nd, 2017 at 6:18am
It's not poisonous when ripe.  The plant is, but not the fruit. Also, just because it's poisonous to us, does not mean it's that way to animals. Squirrels can eat acorns off the tree when we can't. Also, poison ivy only affect us, not animals. This is why you shouldn't assume if animals can eat something then we can.
  Deer, rabbit, and other herbivores love the mayapple and it's fruit.


Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on Jun 24th, 2017 at 6:26am
Plantain is high in iron, Vitamins A,K and C. It grows in lawns and fields everywhere. It can be prepared like spinach. I really would cook it as the older leaves are tough.
plantain-healingearthfarmDOTblogspotDOTcom.jpg (224 KB | 32 )

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jun 24th, 2017 at 9:09am
Here's another edible plant...  sometimes.  What we call the Inkberry and the South calls Poke Salad is also edible, as long as you choose only the immature plant.  Once it tops about 18" it becomes toxic. It is VERY plentiful around here. Also the berries can be crushed to make a very good natural purple dye.
Inkberries.JPG (50 KB | 27 )

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on Jun 24th, 2017 at 5:17pm
It's Poke Salat or Sallet, which is a cooked mass of greens.  If they aren't cooked, they are a salad.

To start with, every part of the plant is poisonous but the roods and berries are highly toxic.  And they cannot be made safe to eat.  Nor can any part of the plant be eaten raw.  And the older the plant is, the more toxic it is.

To prepare, and as some people get sick from handling, you may want to wear gloves.  Pick a grocery bag full.  That will make about two servings.  Maybe.  You are going to really cook them down.

Put in a pot and bring to a roiling boil for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how mature the plant was.  The older the plant, the longer you boil.  Dump the water and rinse with cold water.  Dump the cold water.  Add more water and bring to a roiling boil for the same amount of time.  Dump the water and rinse with cold again.  Dump the rinse.  Bring to a roiling boil again for the same amount of time.  Dump the water and rinse with cold.  Dump the cold.  Now, cook it like collards or spinach, add salt or other spices and fatback or bacon.

My favorite way is after the three boils and rinses is to take the greens and fry them in bacon grease.  Dump them and let the grease drain and add the crumbled up bacon.  And salt and pepper to taste.  And eat.

Poke Salat is in the nightshade family, as is the Irish Potato and the tomato.  It's safe if you prepare it correctly and not very if you don't.  Usually, if you eat some raw leaves, you will get stomach cramps and the runs like you wouldn't believe.  You'll be puking and pooping at the same time.  The berries usually kill any children that eat them.  The roots will kill adults.

The Poke Salat Festival was in May in Arab, Alabama, which is just outside Montgomery.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by walter on Jun 24th, 2017 at 6:10pm
In addition to the plant kingdom, fish and crayfish will round out your diet. All you need are a couple traps that are easy enough to make if you can net or have any manufactured netting.
If you don't know much about crayfish, look them up. Think you will be surprised at how nutritious and plentiful they are. A renewable resource that only has to be boiled once :)

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on Jun 24th, 2017 at 9:30pm
We had Pokeberry right near my house in Springville , CA. And no I was never hard up enough to bother. Three boils just to eat a plant that may not make you puke your guts up. I will pass. I will give you credit Bill. I never had the courage to try it. Right down the hill was my glorious stash of stinging nettles which were delicious (and safe) raw or cooked. Down the river from that were my cattails and a nice fishing hole for small mouth bass. In the field by my house, Blewits. Life was good.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on Jun 25th, 2017 at 6:19am
Speaking of cattails, they are almost completely edible. If you peel the stalks down to the core, it can be eaten. It tastes just like cucumber. The roots are  full of carbohydrates, and can be cooked like potatos.
   

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on Jun 25th, 2017 at 11:53am
That should be "roots" not "roods".

Better be careful with plantain, it is a pretty good laxative for a lot of people.

It does have very good antiseptic qualities, crush or chew it into a paste and put it on a wound to prevent or fight infection.

Stuff like poke Salat, you have to wonder who was desperate enough for food to figure out a way to prepare it.

This is no longer a wild food but the leaves of the sweet potato are edible when cooked and taste like spinach.  Younger, tender leaves taste better but all of them can be eaten when cooked.  Boil them after washing with just a little sea salt and eat with rice.  And shrimp or crayfish.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Teg on Jun 26th, 2017 at 5:04pm
There is quite a bit of wildlife floating around of that I have never heard of before and would also have never thought about eating it... I might give cattail a go.

I used to go after walnuts and hazelnuts. When I came across them I also enjoyed the seed of the common beech. However, the birds and squirrels were usually faster than me. And while googling its english name I just learned that it is slightly poisonous.

I also enjoyed all the different kind of berries: elderberry, forest strawberries, raspberry, blackberry, european blueberry, barberry, common sea buckthorn.

For greens I recommend the common daisy, especially the buds and petals.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jun 28th, 2017 at 7:15pm
Thanks for enlightening us, Bill. I stand corrected. I grew up believing that the Inkberry bush or Poke Salat was always completely poisonous. Only a few years ago did I learn that it could be edible. My old prejudices rule here... I have never felt any desire to eat this plant. Things would have to be pretty bad before I resorted to it, but still this is good info for just such an emergency.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jun 28th, 2017 at 7:21pm
This is one of the many plants I've always eaten but don't know the name of. We only ever ate the seed tops, which have a peppery, sweet taste. In an emergency it could be used as a pepper substitute. It is VERY common around here.  Does anyone know the name of this plant?
Edit: I'm using my phone now. I'll shrink this picture when I'm back on my computer later.
20170628_191635.jpg (6785 KB | 22 )

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on Jun 29th, 2017 at 6:26am
Capsella, or poor man's pepper. Good for when you forget pepper when camping.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on Jun 29th, 2017 at 11:45am
Thats a new one for me. There are mushrooms that taste like pepper and garlic but Ive never seen that particular plant. Is anyone else sort of fascinated by the idea of trying "new" fruits and vegatables that have tastes completely unlike any fruits/veggies that we are used to in the western world? There are a few tv shows Ive seen that will talk about various fruits that are almost unknown here and I would love to try them. The names escape me at the moment though.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on Jun 30th, 2017 at 1:17pm
If you are not allergic to peanuts, try the ground nut, Apios Americanos (sp?), also called Indian potatoes.  They taste sort of like peanuts but with a texture more like a slightly under cooked turnip. 

They have a rough surface, scrub them with a brush to get all the dirt off.

Sometimes called hopnis.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jun 30th, 2017 at 7:24pm
Morphy;
When I was stationed in Korea there was a fruit there they called the Korean Pear. I believe it's more commonly known as the Asian pear. It's a very big fruit about the size of a grapefruit. It's crunchy, juicy, and has a taste something like a cross between an apple and a pear. Wonderful! I hated leaving them behind. Korea's climate is similar to ours here in New Jersey so I'm pretty sure they could be grown here. I should have smuggled some seeds out.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrus_pyrifolia#/media/File%3ANashi_pear.jpg

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jun 30th, 2017 at 7:35pm
Kudzu is an extremely prolific invasive plant that is edible. It can be found in most of the eastern half of the United States, particularly in the South where it is spreading at a rate of 150,000 acres per year. It is a  real nuisance but can be used as food.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu_in_the_United_States

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on Jul 2nd, 2017 at 2:01pm
RM, sounds delicious.

Here's another one I would like to try. It's at 20:20 in the video


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bym7w1_j4t4

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jul 4th, 2017 at 6:28pm
It looks interestjng. I love trying foods that are new to me. If there is something in the market that I haven't tried yet I buy it.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jul 17th, 2017 at 6:29pm
I am slipping. I failed to mention one of the most available wild fruits at least around here in the Northeast... wild grapes. We call them Chicken Grapes. They're about the size of a pea, are tasty, and can be found in abundance from August through November.  I keep saying I'm going to make Chicken Grape wine... maybe this year. I make killer wine.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by walter on Jul 17th, 2017 at 8:36pm
RM,  we called wild grapes fox grapes. Don't know why and never knew them by any other name. My mother sent us out every year to harvest them and when we finally brought in enough, she would cook them down and make enough jelly for the year.

Havent thought of that in many years. Thanks for the
Post!


Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on Jul 18th, 2017 at 6:22am
The little curly tendrils on the grape vines are edible. They have a lemony flavor. you need a lot of them.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Onager Lovac on Jul 18th, 2017 at 12:32pm
Where i live you can find a rare tree that produces a fruit that we call "Mountain strawberry" it has a great taste but you shouldn't eat more than two or you could get poisoned.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Wongso on Jul 18th, 2017 at 11:36pm
Here in South America there are alot of coconuts
You can eat the fruit itself and the white,fleshy inner bark which surprisingly is sweet. There are also avocados blooming right now and mangoes. Lots of em :)

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jul 21st, 2017 at 6:34pm
I never knew that sb. Good info. Thanks.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on Jul 27th, 2017 at 10:32pm
Duckweed.  The world's smallest blooming lilypad.  The plants are about 1mm across.  Right now, one of my ponds has a layer about 1/2 inch (12mm) thick, it can be thicker when the wind blows and piles them up.

Normally, my pond doesn't have much but my neighbor fertilizer his hay field this spring and we have gotten around 30 inches (3/4 m) of rain so far this year.  Just rake it up, pick the leaves and bugs out and boil.  It can be eaten by itself or added to soups or stews to thicken them up.  It tastes very similar to spinach and they go really good with crayfish.

There is a caveate, they grow best in water that is very high in nitrates and phosphates, such as run off from cow pastures or fertilized fields.  So really boil the water when you cook them.  Bring the water to a rolling boil for at least five minutes.  And if you plan to add them to a stew boil them separately first before adding to the soup or stew.  And if possible, wash them in clean water before cooking.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jul 30th, 2017 at 11:28am
I didn't know that. Good info. Thanks, Bill. Do you eat the whole plant or just the leaves?
Duckweed.JPG (31 KB | 22 )

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Jul 30th, 2017 at 11:33am
Right now the aforementioned Chokecherries are turning ripe.  They are smaller than their commercial counterparts... about twice the size of a pea.  They are a little more bitter also but still quite tasty and edible.  They are extremely abundant here in the Northeast.
Chokecherries.JPG (48 KB | 22 )

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on Jul 30th, 2017 at 3:45pm
Those look good. When I was in Cali. we had wild grapvines everywhere but never saw them produce any grapes. Possibly due to the decade long drought. Ever made chokecherry wine?

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Rat Man on Aug 1st, 2017 at 5:42pm
Around here we probably have more wild grape vines that don't produce than do. Someone told me it has to do with the sex of the plant but I've never verified that.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on Aug 2nd, 2017 at 5:15pm
We have lots of grapes around me, too.  Biggest problem is the birds like to eat them too. 

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on Aug 3rd, 2017 at 6:17am
Crab apples. They don't taste good off the tree, but they can be made into an applesauce that can be sweetened to your taste.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on Aug 5th, 2017 at 11:36am
As far as the duckweed, you eat the whole plant, bloom, pad and roots. 

As the duckweed population explodes in water with high nitrogen and phosphates counts, like from cow manure  ( ::)), make sure you strain the plants out, wash with clean water and then bring the plants to a roiling boil for at least five minutes.

Or yooouuuu'llll be sorrrrriee... and probably 20 pounds lighter.   ;D

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by slingbadger on Aug 6th, 2017 at 6:32am

Bill Skinner wrote on Aug 5th, 2017 at 11:36am:
As far as the duckweed, you eat the whole plant, bloom, pad and roots. 

As the duckweed population explodes in water with high nitrogen and phosphates counts, like from cow manure  ( ::)), make sure you strain the plants out, wash with clean water and then bring the plants to a roiling boil for at least five minutes.

Or yooouuuu'llll be sorrrrriee... and probably 20 pounds lighter.   ;D

Sounds like a new weight loss method.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on Aug 6th, 2017 at 10:09am
So is it the high nitrogen and phosphates that cause the issues or the fact that its been in cow manure water?

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Bill Skinner on Aug 6th, 2017 at 12:39pm
My ponds have duckweed.  Usually, it's just a few sprinkles here and there.  However, if they get fertilized, they explode and will cover the entire surface of the pond, sometimes up to an inch (25mm) thick.  They are free drifting, sometimes the wind will pile them up thicker.  That's when they are easiest to harvest, you can get a lot without much work.  And it will take a lot when you boil them that hot for a meal.

My neighbor fertilized his hayfield this spring, he used commercial fertilizer.  Then we got 30+ inches (about 1m)of rain in about three months and we got some of the run off in one of my ponds. 

When his hay field was a pasture, we got a massive out break every wet year or every time following a hurricane.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by walter on Aug 6th, 2017 at 8:00pm
Morphy, the chemicals are not good, but what Bill is referring to is bad bacteria from the cow poopy. :(

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on Aug 6th, 2017 at 8:44pm
Ok, I assumed as much. Ive never been a huge fan of cow manure. Just not my thing. I'm not prejudice, but I have my limits.

Title: Re: Wild food
Post by Morphy on Aug 6th, 2017 at 8:52pm
#NotAllManure

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