It’s spring time, eat some wild edible plants

Still ice on the lake here .And snow is forecasted this week. Grateful for the early spring though.

Hey, Wild Edibles! I love your threads in general, but this one has the potential to be especially awesome. Five stars plus pin request :)

Have you ever tried nettles? If not, I probably know what you're thinking: "You mean those stinging nettles which make your skin burn??"

And actually, yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about. In fact you do have to take care to wear gloves/long shirts when collecting/preparing nettles for consumption, but if you boil them in boiling water it chemically changes the stinging stuff so they can't hurt you, and the aroma and taste of boiled nettles is remarkably like buttered lobster! I kid you not! And I believe they are relatively nutritious, too. (Vitamin C, antioxidants, phytochemicals.)

Boiled nettles look like cooked spinach and tastes like lobster!!

(Warning: do NOT eat raw nettles; I'm not sure how bad it would be for you, but probably pretty damn bad. DO NOT eat un-boiled nettles, I'm serious GLP.)

My only other contribution is dandelion greens, which is an Italian specialty. Not the head of the weed, which is bitter, but the leaves themselves. They make for a pleasant addition to a summer salad. Again, take note, make sure there haven't been any pesticides/weed-killing chemicals applied to any dandelions you are thinking of using, obviously!

Thanks again for this thread. I can't wait to see what kinds of recipes/videos you and other people will contribute!



Last Edited by Wharf Rat on 04/11/2021 01:09 PM

my granny used to make poke salad. it is deadly raw,
but has to be cooked right.



live on the edge, like when picking wild mushrooms.

[link to youtu.be (secure)]

I cooked some a couple years back, it was good.

We don’t have a lot of stinging nettle around here.
We have lots of bull nettles.
I found what you are talking about while hiking in a state park. I said , hey that looks like stinging nettle....and then ouch !!!!!
I reached down and touched it. I didn’t cook any yet though.

We will be happy if we never see snow again !

This is what we have. You can eat the roots and the seeds.

[link to youtu.be (secure)]

The Morrells will be popping up soon to go with my salmon.

There are huge patches of stinging nettle around here and they make the best tea!

Billions of them, but I've got to be careful not to get in trouble harvesting them.

It's a springtime goal of mine to learn...

I love this thread!


Here's a short video (2 mins), and he pan-frys them instead of boiling, but I think they key is just to cook them to at least 212* (boiling) or higher. After that, I swear to goodness, they taste like lobster!



Last Edited by Wharf Rat on 04/11/2021 01:54 PM

Bought some fishing lures and line yesterday.Good luck and happy morrel hunting.

yep ... I see the red heads of my rhubarb peaking up ... garlic will up up along with the onions soon too ... and in another few weeks, I'll be eating fresh asparagus and strawberries

perhaps these aren't "wild" but I don't plant them or the thistle, and cactus that are eatable too ... along with the mustard and dandelions that make the best wine ever.

OMG !!! I want to go fishing really bad. Maybe Tuesday,,,, ya

i million sunflower sprouts coming up... I will freeze some for summer greenies... tiny they are good raw out of the ground...

and I also freeze dandelion flowers ... and I like young open ones fresh picked. I munch them when doing yard work..

Yes, I see tons of wild sunflower coming up right now.

I picked my nursing cat some violets, she eats them like candy.

If I find some again I’m going to put on some gloves and try cookin it.

Dried stinging nettles can be used as tea, in soups, or even as an herbal addition to cheese (think a firm cheese, i'm not sure if it would work in the soft goat cheese). They are high in iron. In cheese, a little dried nettle gives you a buzz in your mouth similar to that of poprocks (or buzz buttons, but not many know those).
Watch for lamb's quarters and garlic mustard in the north. I'm not familiar with what grows in the south. Both are everywhere, invasive, and tasty raw in salad (so are young dandelion leaves and the yellow petals). Lambs quarters cooked is much like baby spinach. Great in omelettes! Violets are pretty in salads, and you can make them into jelly.

https://imgur.com/WPXuhEC

https://imgur.com/5bkUvb8

heh. for some reason a lot of my posts have been not showing up on various threads.
I tried to reply about the sting. Most of the sting comes from little hairs on the underside of the leaves so best to only touch the stems and far down from the leaves.
There is another plant called jewel weed or touchmenot that often grows nearby and you can crush the leaves of that plant and rub on a sting and it will stop it immediately.

https://imgur.com/a/ScWLTW1

Nice!
What's the botanical name?

Jewel weed is Impatiens capensis
Stinging Nettle is urtica dioica (sometimes urtica urens)
Lamb's quarters is Chenopodium album
Garlic mustard is Alliaria petiolata
Violet is viola or viola odorata

Wild Garlic . for greens and bulbs

We have lambs quarter here. It is about 3 inches tall now.

Bittercress - highly nuticious...





Last Edited by Truth02 on 04/11/2021 04:26 PM

Know what's edible in your area and it takes away a lot of anxiety about going without food.

I would at least survive in most area's during the warm months, storing away for the winter, as animals and humans have had to do for thousands of years.

Cleavers

Up North US... it is just coming up in April. Can put in salads



Last Edited by Truth02 on 04/11/2021 04:18 PM

dandelion. Look up all the benefits (find the stuff without dog pee and pesticide and gobble it down!)

Make sure to harvest from clean areas that have not been exposed to toxins... roadsides, fertilizers, weed killers, etc.

Thread: The Health Benefits Of Dandelions