WILD FOODS

KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE TOOLS NEEDED TO PREPARE TASTY DISHES

BY CHRISTOPHER NYERGES

Preparing wild foods throughout the year requires the same attention to detail as preparing store-bought vegetables and other foods. Yes, the plants are from the wild, but that doesn’t mean the dishes you prepare need to be crude, rough and harshly flavored. Just as with any other food you serve and eat, you want it to look good, smell good and taste good, right? Even the most nutritious food isn’t going to be eaten if people don’t enjoy what they are eating.

So, like the cook in a modern kitchen, the bushcraft chef still needs a certain selection of tools to render the food from wild edibles into tasty dishes.

First, though, let’s examine the wild foods we’re talking about. I eat wild foods regularly at home in the city and even more when I’m out on the trail for the day or a week. I eat what is in season, and sometimes, I store foods for later use, usually by drying them.

GREENS

Edible green leaves are widely available throughout the year and throughout the country. Some are more tender and are good in salads; others must be processed in some way and often cooked. These are made into soups, stews and stir-fries and added to omelets.

SEEDS/NUTS

Various seeds, such as acorns, walnuts and other nuts, grass seeds, wild buckwheat, lamb’s quarter seed and more, are typically available at the end of the summer and into the fall. These are most often used in stews, bread and pancake batter and, in the case of pine nuts and walnuts, they are sometimes added to dessert items.