Photo by Ad Snelderwaard
Foraging, in my opinion, should be a common practice. Unfortunately, we're not there yet. 'Organic' is today's fashion and I'm all for organic but why stop there?
To reach the point where you're comfortable foraging on your own, a lot of research and careful observation is a must. Find a local forager, take classes, see this page for my list of recommended sources. What we eat is our own responsibility and that goes double for edible wild plants especially if you're new to it. But once you have the proper knowledge, foraging will enrich your life in many ways.
I am a typical foodie, I will try all new and interesting foods. Love gourmet, love foreign food, love anything out of the ordinary. And being of Dutch origin -I moved to the United States about 5 years ago-, I also like free stuff, so foraging for interesting food is the perfect combination for me.
It's interesting to see how in one country, a plant is used as a vegetable while in another it's called a weed and treated as such. It's mind boggling, really. In the Netherlands, I remember finding Purslane at a local grocery store and making a wonderful potato salad with it and eating stinging nettle soup at a vegetarian restaurant. And having lived in Japan for a short time, I know that the Japanese use Burdock as a common vegetable, and why not? It's very tasty and nutritious.
How I started:
In Japan, I discovered acupuncture and medicinal herbs and when I moved to Pennsylvania, I started Michael Tierra's Planetary herb course, with the intention to become an herbalist. However, lesson three of the herb course came with an assignment which put a serious dent in my ambitious plan to finish my herb course in three years. The assignment was to identify and use all edible wild plants in my area. Since we have a 140 acre yard, I guess I took it a little bit further learning from other foragers, walks, stalking plants, endless reading and experimenting.
I've become a connoisseur of our local (Pennsylvania) edible wild plants and I've started an edible wild plant study club. I hope to inspire and that some day, edible wild plants will commonly be valued as great nutritional resources.
I've written about foraging in the Williamsport sungazette (read my columns here) and I am a professional artist (click here to visit my art website).
Bibi Snelderwaard Brion
To reach the point where you're comfortable foraging on your own, a lot of research and careful observation is a must. Find a local forager, take classes, see this page for my list of recommended sources. What we eat is our own responsibility and that goes double for edible wild plants especially if you're new to it. But once you have the proper knowledge, foraging will enrich your life in many ways.
I am a typical foodie, I will try all new and interesting foods. Love gourmet, love foreign food, love anything out of the ordinary. And being of Dutch origin -I moved to the United States about 5 years ago-, I also like free stuff, so foraging for interesting food is the perfect combination for me.
It's interesting to see how in one country, a plant is used as a vegetable while in another it's called a weed and treated as such. It's mind boggling, really. In the Netherlands, I remember finding Purslane at a local grocery store and making a wonderful potato salad with it and eating stinging nettle soup at a vegetarian restaurant. And having lived in Japan for a short time, I know that the Japanese use Burdock as a common vegetable, and why not? It's very tasty and nutritious.
How I started:
In Japan, I discovered acupuncture and medicinal herbs and when I moved to Pennsylvania, I started Michael Tierra's Planetary herb course, with the intention to become an herbalist. However, lesson three of the herb course came with an assignment which put a serious dent in my ambitious plan to finish my herb course in three years. The assignment was to identify and use all edible wild plants in my area. Since we have a 140 acre yard, I guess I took it a little bit further learning from other foragers, walks, stalking plants, endless reading and experimenting.
I've become a connoisseur of our local (Pennsylvania) edible wild plants and I've started an edible wild plant study club. I hope to inspire and that some day, edible wild plants will commonly be valued as great nutritional resources.
I've written about foraging in the Williamsport sungazette (read my columns here) and I am a professional artist (click here to visit my art website).
Bibi Snelderwaard Brion