Locavore to the Max: How to Forage for Low-Impact, Recession-Proof Food

By Matthew Stein, Chelsea Green Publishing. Posted April 7, 2009.

Bulrush. Like cattails, bulrushes provide a source of year-round food. Found in wet, marshy areas and shallow waters of lakes or ponds. Identified by long, nonbranching stems, with a spiky cluster of flowers. Young roots and shoots can be used as a vegetable. Older roots can be pounded to remove fibers and then ground into flour.

Burdock. Burdock grows throughout the United States on roadsides and in fields and disturbed areas. The large broad leaves look a bit like rhubarb leaves (and rhubarb leaves are poisonous), so be careful. The leaves are bitter tasting, but the first-year plant's long taproot tastes like a delicious cross between potato and artichoke heart. The root may be harvested until the second year flowering, when it becomes inedible. Peel roots, slice to break fibers, and then boil or sauté. Burdock root has excellent nutritional and healing properties for the skin and kidneys, and for overall health. Young flower stalks may be peeled and eaten raw or boiled. Burdock flowers with purple to pink crests grow into sharp, hooked, little burr balls that are either annoying or great toys, depending on your point of view.

Cattail. Another staple of indigenous peoples, cattails are still used for food throughout the world. Find cattails in shallow waters of swampy areas. You can dig up roots in early spring to find delicious sprouts that can be eaten raw. Young summer stalks, up to 2 or 3 feet tall, may be peeled for their tasty core (known as "Cossack asparagus"), which is eaten raw, steamed, or boiled. Young buds can be picked before pollen ripens and boiled like mini corn on the cob. Roots can be harvested in the fall through spring. Dig, dry, and peel, and then pound into flour. Pounded roots may be soaked and then decanted to render starchy material. Poisonous look-alikes are the stalks and roots of wild irises, so be sure to identify stalks by the presence of old cattails. Pollens can be harvested as a flour or flour extender.

Chicory. Like its close relative the dandelion, chicory is a staple green in many countries and has a long taproot. When young, the leaves look like dandelion leaves with the addition of irregular hairs on most of the leaves. When it matures, the resemblance to the dandelion disappears as it grows a tall hairy flower stalk with numerous sky-blue fringed flowers. Widespread, chicory is found in fields and other disturbed areas. Harvest leaves and shoots early in spring. Older leaves may require boiling and water changes if bitter. The taproot is rather bitter, but makes a good caffeine-free coffee substitute when roasted at 250°F for 2 to 4 hours until brown, and then ground.

Curled dock, yellow dock, and sour dock. In early spring, this plant is easily recognized by its rosette of long, narrow leaves—up to 2 feet long—with curly edges. It grows throughout the country in fields, disturbed soil, and near water. Early spring leaves are delicious steamed and may be acceptable raw, but should be washed first. For later harvests, boil the leaves with multiple water changes to reduce bitterness. In summer, the flower stalk may be peeled and steamed as a vegetable. With much difficulty, the seeds may be threshed and ground into flour. Dock was a staple green during the Depression. The taproot is too bitter for eating, but is a useful medicinal herb for skin and liver conditions.

Dandelion. The common dandelion is quite a versatile and delicious plant. It is found throughout the country in open fields and disturbed areas. The young leaves are excellent as salad greens, and are more nutritious than any you can buy in the grocery store. Peel young roots and eat raw or slice thin and boil. If leaves or roots are bitter, boiling in a couple water changes improves the taste. Dip the blossoms in fritter batter and fry in oil, like tempura veggies.

Fiddleheads (bracken and ostrich ferns). Collect young ferns in midspring, before the round "fiddlehead" has started to unfurl (up to about 8 inches tall). Wash to remove fur or unpleasant scales. I found the not-so-furry ostrich ferns much sweeter and not bitter like the furry bracken ferns. Perhaps it was just due to local effects or the age of the fiddleheads? Steam or boil bracken fiddleheads to remove mild toxicity. Large quantities of mature bracken have been known to poison cattle. Fiddleheads are an expensive delicacy in upscale restaurants. Please leave a few fiddleheads in every cluster, as they will not return if you harvest the whole lot.

See more stories tagged with: food, foraging, locavore

Matthew Stein is the author of When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency, from Chelsea Green.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from Environment! Sign up now »