9 years ago
9
An argument for why we should be eating weeds (the edible kind)
What is the first food that comes to mind when you hear "foraged"? My guess is that a mushroom came to mind. While it's true that most mushrooms are grown in the wild, there's an abundance of other wild plant foods that are much easier to find and identify. Just because these wild plants are out there, does that mean we should eat them? My colleagues and I of Berkeley Open Source Food (BOSF) are arguing yes.
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I've tasted wild lettuce and dandys,both too bitter for me.
That's what hundreds of years of farming will do, it will work out the kinks in the food we considered edible and make it much easier to enjoy. Wild "weeds" will be bitter to a degree and might need special prep to make them taste better which kind of sucks when comparing to the stuff we get at a farm. The only thing I can forage and completely enjoy (even more than farmed stuff) are mushrooms, there are many very tasty mushrooms that you can find in the right conditions.
This is true. Humans need to start farming weeds instead of trying to kill them. Years ago,we went with a group on a mushroom hunt,went back with our finds and cooked them. They were nice. I've never done it since.
Here in Alaska I've tried the following wild plants:
chickweed, nettles, dandelion, fireweed shoots, and of course blueberries, raspberries, high-bush cranberries, and rose hips.
Obviously, the berries are great, but the fireweed shoots and dandelion greens are pretty good in a stir fry.
Yeah, I can see how a stir fry or any form of cooking will make the wild weeds a bit easier to digest. The way I see it is like frying up an onion as opposed to eating it raw, its a huge change in flavour!
exactly... while it's edible in a salad, if you heat it up it will taste better. Sometimes I just put a little bit of water in the frying pan, steam the veggies, then add a bit of soy sauce as my 'stir fry'
Yep, thats an awesome solution.Stir frying / steaming stuff is much better than for example boiling because you don't loose the vitamins that are left in the water.
I'm a fan of purslane, sorrel, and lamb's quarters myself. Not all weeds are bitter. Sorrel has a lovely lemon flavor and is good in salads. It helps to know when to pick something as many edible plants tend to become more bitter and tough with age. I find wild edibles fascinating. Why do we eat what we eat? What makes something a weed? Arugula is considered a weed in many places, but you can order it at fancy restaurants. I've even heard of purslane being sold at fancy places and it grows all over, even in sidewalk cracks, where I live. Oh, I also love wine berries, yum!
I'm a HUGE fan of sorrel, and really enjoy a couple of european recipes for Sorrel Soup (absolutely delicious).
edit/ for anyone curious http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorrel_soup