Tree/Wild Plant/Foraging Appreciation Station

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Tree/Wild Plant/Foraging Appreciation Station

crazyvanman: Dec 31, 2010

I am glad this thread exists and hope that as we move into spring there's plenty of stuff to share.

Just some UK resources:
For websites:
https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/ (also has a cool podcast, with short episodes about various topics)
https://www.wildfooduk.com/
https://www.first-nature.com/

Food for Free by Richard Mabey is a classic little book on foraging in the UK.
I'll also echo Botany in a Day as a great book (albeit with a terrible title!) that is really useful in the UK because the fauna is similar enough.

One of the earliest green signs we have here is Alexanders (Smyrnium Olusaratum). It was once more of a coastal plant but has spread inland a lot and is now pretty common. Near mine it's particularly abundant because a site just down the road was used as an allotment site in WWII. Alexanders was grown as a substitute for celery and has subsequently spread. You can also use the leaves as a herb or eat the flower heads a bit like broccoli.

Some of the local wild garlic is also starting to show itself. Even picked some from snowy conditions the other day!

# ¿ Feb 2, 2021 15:05

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 09:48

crazyvanman: Dec 31, 2010

Arven posted:

Ooh I forgot I bookmarked this thread.

My wife and I bought 30 acres of woods last year that is 1/3 pine, 1/3 oak, 1/3 maple. There are some walnuts somewhere here too, I keep finding shells on trails but haven't located the trees yet. Anyway, last fall there as an absurd amount of huge acorns everywhere so one afternoon I entertained my toddler for a couple hours by having him collect a couple gallons of them. I decided to keep them and do something with them. It took a couple hours of of shelling them (and throwing out the third that had worms in them), after which I soaked them for two days. I then baked them (there were two trays like this)-

-and ground them up in a food processor and baked again them until they were dark brown.

The jar is almost empty because I've been drinking it for the last 3 months. Back when I was a kid I read somewhere that people used to process acorns like coffee beans and drink it the same way, so I decided to do that. I ended up making about two pints. I was amazed to find it's actually pretty good. I boil a tablespoon of grounds for 15 minutes, strain it into a mug, then add cream and sugar like I would coffee. It tastes almost like weak cup of coffee while at the same time it has also has a rich nutty flavor. I've been drinking it on days when I feel like a second cup of coffee but not the caffeine.

I'm gonna do it again this fall, but am going to look into an easier way to shell the acorns. I'm also going to see if I can get pine nuts from the pine cones lying around, as they are absurdly expensive at the grocery store.

There's a lot you can do with acorns! People in occupied countries during WWII often made acorn coffee, including in Germany where it was a version of 'muckefuck'.

You could also try making acorn flour? Or indeed using them like a nut or vegetable. If you want to know more about traditional uses check out pages 131-132 of this book: http://www.hscdsb.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/plantfoods_indigenous.pdf (it's a weird link, I know, but it's a free version of a book about indigenous people's uses for plants)
There's also this podcast episode: https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/ep25-edible-acorns the guest discusses harvesting acorns as a commercial crop and how to use them.

Don't know if it grows where you are, but you can also make a coffee substitute out of goosegrass/cleavers/Galium aparine seeds. I've never drunk real coffee so don't feel the need for substitutes, but it could be a fun experiment, and wouldn't require any de-shelling process. I tend to just use the rest of the plant because it's abundant and rich in Vitamin C. Also fun to throw at people because it sticks.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2021 00:59

crazyvanman: Dec 31, 2010

Arven posted:

Well I'm in the mountains of Pennsylvania so it looks like it's no-go on the goosegrass.

I actually started out intending to make acorn flour, but my wife rightfully pointed out that I would never user it so I went with the coffee instead.

That is the voice of reason right there. Many times have I eagerly gone to collect goosegrass seeds to make a coffee substitute before my partner has reminded me that I don't actually like coffee, so I'd only be doing it because I can.

One large foraging harvest I can justify, though, was a big haul of very untasty apples that were really past their best back in November. Not up to eating but have made a large batch of about 6 litres of apple cider vinegar.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2021 15:37

crazyvanman: Dec 31, 2010

Seconding pesto. For an even more nutritious/slightly less garlicky, you can also add cleavers/goosegrass (Galium aparine) to it.

# ¿ Apr 27, 2021 07:07

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Tree/Wild Plant/Foraging Appreciation Station