Foraging Report 06/19/2011

While the growing season is still late, the edibles are finally coming in. We had gathered tightly closed milkweed clusters to cook with all week, adding them to a quiche, soup, making "capers" from the buds, and vegetable stir-fry. The flowers are opening now, and the smell is lovely. Blanche Derby has mentioned she eats the flowers raw from the plants, and we have heard of people frying the flowers in tempura batter. Our Monarch caterpillar has gorged himself on fresh milkweed leaves all week, and made his chrysalis. We hope to see the butterfly emerge in 10 days or so.

Along the seashore we gathered petals from the roses (Rosa Rugosa) to make into a highly fragranced sugar syrup to add to drinks. The color is a pretty dark pink, and the flavor is as strong as the fragrance. Robert also picked some of the green rosehips to try a pickle. We have some pretty pink rose petal wine bubbling away in a gallon jug, we hope to drink it next spring.

Cattails (Typha latifolia) are sending up their flower spikes, and they are easy to gather in abundance from a marshy area. Gillian loves to eat the flower spikes boiled and topped with butter. I pinch off the pulp from the male part of the flower and use it in recipes like griddle cakes and chowder. The flavor is similar to corn.

We were finally able to find some wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana) in quantity, and made 2 small jars of jam. The flavor and fragrance of wild strawberries is so much stronger than what you can buy at the grocery store, but it takes a very long time to pick a lot. Some of the tiny berries are the size of peas. Robert also gathered some elderberry flowers (Sambucus nigra) to make syrup and crepes. The bushes are heavy with flowers, and it is easy to spot the large, white clusters from across a field.

Wildman

We ended our week with a walk with "Wildman" Steve Brill out in Cornwall, CT. The walk was along a spur in the Appalchian Trail, and was very steep. He talked about partridge berries, burdock, garlic mustard, spice bush, low bush blueberries, black birch, and others. We were familiar with most of the plants he talked about, but learned sweet cicely (genus Osmorhiza) and common parsnip (Pastinica sativa). Robert brought home a large Reishi mushroom to dry for tea. Video coming soon!

Cattail Recipe - Cattail Flower Griddle Cake

So may parts of cattails (Typha latifolia) are edible. The early shoots are edible as a vegetable in early spring. Pull apart the leaves when they are about 2' tall to get to the tender heart, and eat it like bamboo shoots, chopped raw in salads, and pickled lightly. The flavor is very similar to cucumber. Cattail flowers are a good source of bright yellow pollen in late spring in southeastern Connecticut. We gather and sift the pollen and use it as a nutritious supplement in baking throughout the year.

Gillian and the sheathed flower spikes

This is an easy recipe using the pulp from the cattail  flower spike in mid-spring. When we gather them, the flower spike is still sheathed in a single leaf. We cut the flower spike and bring it home to peel, but be aware that there are usually lots of tiny black beetles hiding inside the leaf, so peel them outside. I then pinch the darker green male portion of the flower along the stem, and the pulp flakes off easily. I cannot get much off the female flower, so I don't bother. I can still boil up the female flower and let Gillian chew on it like cattail-on-the-cob. For this particular batch we had some glasswort (Salicornia) from the seashore on hand, and I added it for a salty crunch. We served these like appetizers, with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Removing the male yellow-green pulp from the spike

This recipe is available in our book, available Spring 2016.

http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/book/?GCOI=60239108626260&

Cattail flower stalk; male portion
on top, female portion on the bottom

Cattail Video with Blanche Derby

Foraging Cattails

Common cattail (Typha latifolia) and narrow leaf cattail (Typha augustifolia) are easy to identify and easy to eat wild edibles, and produce some of our favorite edibles--pollen, the early "hearts", and the flower spike pulp. Cattails grow in open marshy areas, along slow moving rivers, in some tidal marshes, and shallow ponds. They prefer full sun and mucky ground. The sword-like leaves grow from the base of the rhizome beneath the mud, to about 4-8' tall. A very early shoot is edible, gathered by cutting it from the rhizome. The heart of the leaves is edible in early spring before the flower stalks grow. The flower stalk is produced from the center of each leaf cluster, and it contains both the male and female flower parts. The immature flower stalk can be collected to cook and eat like corn-on-the-cob. As it's protective leaf unfurls, the upper male flower produces the pollen that will fertilize the lower female part which will develop into the brown, hot dog-on-a-stick seed head most people are familiar with. The dried hot dog makes great tinder for fires. Late in the autumn through winter and in very early spring, the rhizome can be gathered and processed as a source of starch.

The excessive rain this spring has prevented us from gathering the hearts. Either it is raining too much all day, or all the extra rain yesterday flooded the swamp and we can't reach the cattails because of the high water. All we own are knee-high rubber boots, perhaps a purchase of chest-high waders is in our future. The hearts are gathered by grabbing the outer leaves of each leaf cluster, and pulling them away from the center. Then we firmly grasp the center leaves and give it a pull, and it releases easily from the rhizome. The lower 4-6 inches of the leaves are white and very tender with a taste similar to cucumber. They are easily added to salads and pickled, but Gillian like them best raw. We'll have to wait until next year to get more.

Gillian holding unpeeled flower stalks

Already the flower stalks are up, and we have been able to cut some and bring them home. The protective leaf is peeled, and we boil up the male and female flower parts like corn. The female part is usually lighter green, and does not produce much food, but the darker male part produces an abundant pulp. We also remove this pulp raw and use it in recipes like chowder and griddle cakes. The taste is similar to corn.

If the flowers are allowed to mature, the male parts produce large amounts of pollen. We gather the pollen by using a gallon jug with a hole cut into the side. Robert bends the pollen-laden flower stalk into the hole, and shakes it around. The plastic jug holds most of the pollen inside, although some always escapes and Robert comes home covered in yellow dust. Then we sift the pollen once in a metal sieve to remove debris, then again through a tea strainer to remove bugs and flower bits. The pollen is then spread out on a sheetpan and left to dry, and we store it in the freezer in a glass jar. We add the pollen as a nutritional and flavor boost to pancakes, biscuits, and in yogurt and oatmeal all year.

Cattail Pollen pancakes with wild strawberry compote

We have not tried gathering the rhizomes to make a starch, but may try it later this fall. We read about digging the rhizomes from the mud and peeling them to expose the center core. Then the cores are pulled apart and washed with water to separate the starch from the tough fibers. The water is allowed to sit, as the starch will settle to the bottom and can be dried for use like flour. Samuel Thayer gives a great description in his book "The Forager's Harvest" of how to process flour from cattail rhizomes. We also recorded Blanche Derby talking about cattails in a video.

Foraging Report 06/12/2011

Northern bay laurel

In typical New England fashion, the weather has been crazy hot one day, chilly and rainy the next. The growing season is already about 2 weeks behind due to the extended winter. This week we went to the seashore in search of blooming roses (Rosa rugosa) for the fragrant petals to use in a syrup and wine. Both the white and pink roses were blooming, and Robert gathered about 2 packed gallons. We also grabbed a few branches from the northern bay laurel (Myrica pensylvanica) to replenish our supplies. We add the leaves to soups and beans just like commercial bay leaves. They bay laurel is so plentiful in our area, it is easy to keep a fresh bunch of leaves around.

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) flowerbuds are plentiful right now. We gather one bud cluster from each plant in densely populated open fields. The flowerbuds are still tight, and resemble broccoli. The buds are good in recipes like a crustless quiche, or puréed soup. The flavor is similar to green beans. We are also attempting to make some brined and pickled "capers" from the unopened buds. We accidentally took home a teeny tiny Monarch caterpillar, and I noticed it when I was washing the buds for a recipe. I put it in a bug box,and have been feeding it fresh milkweed leaves and flower buds every day, and he it tripled in size in 3 days. Gillian loves to peek in on the caterpillar every morning and evening to see how much it has grown. We hope to keep it alive through butterfly stage and release it.

We are having a bit of trouble finding a suitable cattail (genus Typha) foraging area. We hope to gather some of the hearts for snacking and maybe pickling, we hope to gather some pollen, and we hope to gather the immature flower stalks to cook like corn on the cob. The narrow-leaf cattail (Typha augustafolia) is abundant in Preston, but the yield for pollen and flower stalks is so much lower compared to the common cattail (Typha latifolia). Most roadside ditches are unsuitable due to pollution, and many swamps are off limits because they are private property, or too deep to access on foot. Our gathering methods do not kill the plants, as the cattails spread through their rhizomes under the water or wet ground. We will keep our eyed opened!

Ramps pesto twists

We were happy to attend a potluck and tour at our organic and biodynamic CSA farm this past weekend. Woodbridge Farm is located in Salem, CT. We have picked up our first 2 weeks of food shares, and the greens are fantastic. The potluck was open to all CSA participants, but many might have been scared of the overcast and cool weather. Our small group gathered in the barn for potluck lunch, we brought some ramps pesto bread twists. The group then took a tour of the farm, and there were so many wild edibles! Organic farms are an ideal place to gather wild food since there is no spraying for weeds (herbicides) or for bugs (pesticides). The farmers know many of the "weeds" already, and we were able to talk about a few more and their edible properties. The kids enjoyed some red clovers (Trifolium pratense), honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and monkey tails--the tendrils of wild grapes (genus Vitis).

Milkweed Recipe - Cream of Milkweed Flowerbud Soup

Our common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is making flower buds in abundance this week. Milkweed usually grows in open fields, and along recently disturbed areas. The young buds look like broccoli, but the taste is more like buttery green beans. As the buds age, the flower stems elongate, and the flower bud cluster become floppy before the flower opens. For this recipe, we pick the younger, tighter buds. Each milkweed stalk will usually have 2-5 clusters at the top, and maybe 3-6 more clusters along the stalks where the stalk meets the leaf stems. To forage responsibly, we pick just one cluster per plant in an area with a large population. The clusters will ooze white "milk" when picked, and sometimes there will be beetles, ants, or Monarch butterfly caterpillars in the tight clusters. Give the clusters a quick shake and wash to clean them before cooking. I like to use a roux and an added potato to thicken my cream soups, instead of heavy cream. The result is still velvety smooth, and rich tasting.

Cream of Milkweed Flowerbud Soup             makes 4-6 servings

1 T oil
2 T butter
1/2 small onion, diced
3 T flour
2 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 medium russet potato, diced
3 c. milkweed flowerbuds
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar
1 c. boiled milkweed flowerbuds for garnish

1. Heat the oil and butter together and sautée the onion until translucent.
2. Add the flour and whisk to cook the roux for 30 seconds over medium-high heat.
3. Slowly pour in the vegetable broth, milk, and diced potato, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring the thickened soup to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and cook 8 minutes, stirring often.
4. Add 3 c. washed milkweed flowerbuds and cook 8 minutes longer, stirring often.
5. Purée the soup in a blender, or with a hand blender until smooth. Stir in the shredded cheddar, stir until the cheddar is melted. Serve garnished with the boiled milkweed flowerbuds.

Milkweed flowerbuds

Foraging Milkweed Video