Topic: Incredible Edibles...foraging maybe

[Jeannine]

 In another thread there has been reference to a number of odd edibles, it is super info but getting lost among the thread  regarding pepper leaves.

It led me to think they may be be a great deal of info out there for all odd edibles, veggie or otherwise so have started this .

I mentioned on the other one about Fiddleheads, they are the uncurled fronds of various ferns which are very expensive to buy but can be taken from the wild in Spring.

Someone mentioned a  root or tuber they dug up as a child and I am wondering if it was pignuts. They had a fine lacy white flower and leaves a bit like dill. We used to get them as children, you had ti dig as the plant broke easily. The roots were about as big as small apricots or maybe walnut size and tasted like nuts.

Anyway..I would love to hear your  foraging stories or tales of  funny things one would perhaps not expect to be eaten..

I remember my Mum shouting STOP as we drove along as a kid  and climbing fences to get among the cows to pick mushrooms. I also remember eating fried slices of puffballs.

XX Jeannine

[goodlife]

Ah..now we are talking..one of my favourite subjects...not everyday edibles.

Like I mentioned on that chilli leaf post..as kid I used to lick this wild fern roots..I've just looked upon info about it and I'm glad to know now that we didn't do anything silly but 'used' something that is traditionally used as herbal remedy for old cough mixtures..pheww.. ::) That fern with liquorice flavour roots is Polypodium vulgare.
When I was kid, I used to nibble all sort of greenery that was growing around me..well, I still do,though now it is more cultivated sort. Wild sheep and wood sorrel was 'fun'...sucking toadflax flower for odd bit of sweetish nectar...picking wild bilberries, raspberries and strawberries. I learned early on what mushrooms were edible and good to bring home for mum.. ;D
I learned what flowers to pick for nice 'tea'..and even now I do have odd brew made of heather flowers or in spring when I come across spruce with new bright green growth on tip of branches..those make nice, tonic 'pick me up' tea.

[goodlife]

OH...has anybody ever had chance trying cow's first milk..before the calf has chance to get any..WELL..it sounds cruel to steal it, but pinching couple of litres won't hurt.
It is so LOOOOOOVELY..where my family roots are from, Easten-Finland, it is delicacy. The first milk, mixed in with little sugar and poured on oven dish and cooked in oven until set..doesn't take long and as it is so rich, it will set as it into texture like egg custard and it is eaten with berries or jam. The fist milk is particularly nice but the milk is rich enough for setting  within first milking week or so.

And rosehip puree....YUM..we had huge rose beds on park field next to school..and during breaks we used to nibble the rose hips..'use' the seeds during the class  ;) ;D..and pick another jumper full end of the day to take home for mum to make rosehip 'soup'...oh, and not to forget those lovely apples that grew on the way to home..I'm admitting being scrumper even then.. ;D

[goodlife]

And...has anybody grown red clover? We've got huge field nearby where there is red clover growing all over the place..but I don't dare pick any for to use it as 'tea'.
Its sad, but if you do pick..there is always somebody that is against it...or you can't be sure if there is something dogdy in the soil/area that I would not like to consume.. :-\
I'm thinking of growing some in one of my huge tubs...but I know that some clovers can be tricky to get going..so if anybody has purposely sown and grown any, I'm interested to know how you did get on.

[artichoke]

Hah, yes to the colostrum in the first milking! Instant egg custard.

[goodlife]

Colostrum...so that's what is called then.. ;D Thanks..that is new word added into my vocabulary...you learn something new everyday.. ;) ;D

[Digeroo]

Colostrum is packed with all sorts of goodies.  Reset your immune system.

[goodlife]

I don't know if anybody else has habbit of munching their way through plants while gardening..but other day I did tried bit of dandelion...just for change..and then I tried dandelions with slightly different edge pattern on leaves, to see if they taste different (no they don't  ::))...and then I tried dandelions with other plants, making combinations to she if I can make dandelions taste any better...(no you can't  ::))
And then I changed my tasting to allium 'greens'.. ;D

[ed dibbles]

When clearing some ground back in february I unearthed some dandelions with tender blanched shoots. (they had been turned under a couple of months before).

They looked so appetizing I tried some and they were really delicious. Sweet, crunchy with a little bitterness, similar but in many ways nicer than a witloof chicory and so much easier to produce! :)