The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them

The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them

Katie Letcher Lyle

Language: English

Pages: 224

ISBN: 1592282881

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


Edible wild plants, mushrooms, fruits, and nuts grow wild along roadsides, in country fields, and in urban parks. All manner of leafy greens, mushrooms, and herbs that command hefty prices at the market are bountiful outdoors and absolutely free for the taking. But to enjoy them you must know, when to harvest, how to recognize, and how to prepare and eat them. The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts provides everything you need to know about these wild treasures. Included is information on the most commonly found of these wild comestibles, going beyond a field guide's description to provide folklore and mouth-watering recipes for each entry, such as wild asparagus pizza, fiddlehead soup, blackberry mousse, and elderberry pie.

This fully illustrated guide is the perfect companion for hikers, campers, and anyone who enjoys eating the good food of the earth. With The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts in hand, you'll never walk through a field again without casting your eyes about with dinner in mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bites and stings. Although it may not work for nettles (I haven’t had occa- sion to try it), it is miraculous on scalds. Crush a 1,000-milligram ascorbic acid pill with a hammer in a plastic bag, stir it into 1⁄2 cup water until it’s dissolved, and apply the liquid directly to burns. It stops pain instantly, and there is no blistering or scarring. WATErCrESS Watercress ( Nasturtium officinale) is one of our most deli- cious and popular wild greens. The name of the genus comes from nasus,

butter give this dish its unusual taste. Red onions or yellow may also be substituted if you haven’t got any wild onions. Green Things 41 CmpltGDEdiblePlantS_4pp.indd 41 2/25/10 11:14 AM [ 3 ] FuNGI: MuSHrooMS it is not those far-fetched fruits which the speculator imports that concern us chiefly, but rather those which you have fetched yourself in the hold of a basket, from some far hil or swamp, journeying al the long afternoon, the first of the season, consigned to your friends at

interchangeable, there are seman- tic differences between blueberries and huckleberries. Blueberries are usually associated with New England and the Midwest, while huckleberries are considered southern. Blueberries provided the dye for the navy blue garments of New England whalers. Huckle- berry Finn, one of America’s most-loved literary characters, is wild and southern. Remember, too, how Robert McClosky’s Sal gathered blueberries in Maine, while Br’er Rabbit, from the south- ern brier

ignore so much free food. I’ve personally seen unpicked ripe blackberries in New York City’s Central Park, lamb’s-quarters growing profusely in a vacant lot in Queens, and mulberries staining the sidewalks of a downtown Baltimore neighborhood where I lived. Just today I ate radish greens from the store as I was contemplating my revisions of this book. They were delicious, but we don’t usually eat them. I steamed them, salted them, and sprinkled them with vinegar. Euell Gibbons, the

Habitat, anD season As an edible plant, the dandelion is good only in early spring before the cheerful, bright yellow flowers bloom. The leaves, deeply lobed and bright green, are a forager’s delight, and have a pleasant, slightly bitter taste. (After the plant has flowered, the leaves become tough and unpleasantly bitter.) In Europe dande- lion leaves are popular in spring salads. Dandelion leaves may also be used as a potherb (that is, cooked). History anD Lore Apothecaries of the

Download sample

Download