The Everything Guide to Foraging: Identifying, Harvesting, and Cooking Nature’s Wild Fruits and Vegetables PDF
Preview The Everything Guide to Foraging: Identifying, Harvesting, and Cooking Nature’s Wild Fruits and Vegetables
THE EVERYTHING GUIDE TO FORAGING FORAGING Dear Reader, Foraging is a skill that has become almost forgotten. Fears of the outdoors and being poisoned prevent too many people from experiencing the joy of picking and tasting the flavors given to us by nature. Yet, it is a skill that our ancestors knew and used on a daily basis. When I see people hold any one of our native nuts in their hands and not have a clue what it is, or when I hear how others have never eaten a wild blackberry because they didn’t want to get poisoned, I realize how disconnected our society has become and how important it is to share the knowledge of foraging. Then I read survival stories in the newspapers. One in particular was about a young girl who had been lost for five days and had survived by eating raspberries. Or I see on the news the long lines of people waiting for handouts after a natural disaster when there is food all around them. And I realize how important it is that we keep this knowledge alive. Knowledge that isn’t used is lost. It’s one thing to know how to identify a particular plant and know it’s edible, but you also need to know how to process and prepare it. This book on foraging can be your guide, leading you out into the field and from there to the kitchen, and finally to the table. It provides you with everything you need to know to get you started on your journey of becoming a forager. Be wild! Welcome to the EVERYTHING Series! These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, prepare for an exam, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten. ® You can choose to read an Everything book from cover to cover or just pick out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e- questions, e-facts, e-alerts, and e-ssentials. We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too. ® We now have more than 400 Everything books in print, spanning such wide-ranging categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking, music instruction, foreign language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When you’re done reading them all, you can finally say you know ® Everything ! PUBLISHER Karen Cooper director of acquisitions and innovation Paula Munier managing editor, everything series Lisa Laing copy chief Casey Ebert assistant production editor Jacob Erickson acquisitions editor Ross Weisman development editor Brett Palana- ® Shanahan editorial assistant Ross Weisman everything series cover designer Erin Alexander layout designers Colleen Cunningham, Elisabeth Lariviere, Ashley Vierra, Denise Wallace Visit the entire ® Everything series at www.everything.com THE EVERYTHING GUIDE TO FORAGING Identifying, harvesting, and cooking nature’s wild fruits and vegetables Vickie Shufer Dedicated to the wild plants, that they may be recognized and appreciated for the gifts they offer. Copyright © 2011 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews. ® ® ® An Everything Series Book. Everything and everything.com are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc. Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc. 57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A. www.adamsmedia.com ISBN 10: 1-4405-1276-0 ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-1276-6 eISBN 10: 1-4405-2511-0 eISBN 13: 978-1-44052511-7 Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shufer, Vickie. The everything guide to foraging / Vickie Shufer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4405-1276-6 (alk. paper) 1. Cooking (Wild foods) 2. Wild plants, Edible—Identification. I. Title. TX823.S455 2011 641.6—dc22 2011006239 This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. —From a Declaration of Principlesjointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters. Illustrations by Eric Andrews. Photo credits on page 291. This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases. For information, please call 1-800-289-0963. Contents Acknowledgments Top 10 Reasons to Forage Introduction 01 The Way of the Forager Sustainable Foraging Getting Acquainted with Plants Foraging Grounds Private Property What Do You Take to the Field? Foraging Tips Safety Precautions 02 Connecting with Plants Becoming Aware Plants and People Relationships Foraging with Children Follow the Cycles Plant Features Plant Journal 03 Becoming Plant Wise Rare and Endangered Species Plant Names Food as Medicine Allergies Pesticide Use Wild Food Myths 04 Poisonous Plants History of Usage Categories of Poisonous Plant Effects Ways to Avoid Plant Poisoning Emergency Action Poisonous Plants to Know Poisonous Mushrooms 05 Plant Families Wild Greens Edible Flowers, Roots, and Vegetables Spring and Summer Fruits Fall Fruits Winter Fruits Seasonings Tea Families Nuts Seeds Water Plants 06 Where the Wild Things Grow Your Big Backyard Sun Lovers Woodlands Mountain Forests Wetlands Seaside Foraging Deserts 07 Invasive Aliens Autumn and Russian Olive Garlic Mustard, the Gourmet Green Japanese Honeysuckle Japanese Knotweed Kudzu—The Weed That Ate the South Multiflora Rose Phragmites, Reed Gone Wild Garden Weeds 08 Spring Emergents Backyard Greens Roots and Shoots Edible Buds and Flowers Spring Teas and Beverages Early Berries 09 Summer’s Harvest Summer Sweets Summer Wildflowers Luscious Legumes Summer Greens Summer Teas 10 Fall Foraging Hips, Haws, and Mini Apples Berries and Berry-like Fruits
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