Foraging or The Earth Provides pt. 2

Stinging Nettles ( Urtica dioica ) WikiCommons

One of the first plants, next to dandelions, I learned to recognize was stinging nettles ( Urtica dioica ). When I was a young boy of about 6 or 7 years old I would go with my father through the timber and across the pastures looking for morel mushrooms. On one of these early excursion I went charging through a batch of lush green foliage arms outstretched brushing through the soft, friendly appearing plants. I never got through the patch before I was screeching in agony and sobbing in pain. My father explaining that the most intense part would be over in about 15 to 20 minutes did little to sooth my anguish. He explained that those silky looking soft plants where stinging nettles and should be avoided. I have never failed to recognize them since.


When I was 12 and had acquired a book from the library on edible plants, I was shocked and amazed to see stinging nettles listed as not only an edible, but one of the more tasty and nutritious ones. They grow in most areas of the world and are as at home on an overgrown city lot, or roadside, as they are in creek bottoms and timber edges. The young leaves are the best for forage, for this reason many suggest collecting in the spring, but there are usually plenty of new leaves on the upper reaches of the plant throughout the growing season.

"Nettles' micronutrient profile blasts other greens out of the soil. They are high in calcium, iron, vitamins and "contain more chlorophyll than almost any other plant in existence," according to the editors of Organic Gardening and Farming in "Unusual Vegetables" (Rodale Press, 1978). No wonder Elliott recommends them to students and clients "if they're feeling anemic and tired. It's a very vitalizing type of herb," she says."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/04/16/FD270263.DTL

The above referenced quote comes from an informative article with several recipes. The article also illustrates the fact nettles are becoming an item available in several of the bay area restaurants. They are beginning to be sold in green markets.


They can be eaten raw by "tacoing" the leaf from the bottom and smashing the top of the leaf together then folding all the edges in and smashing again to ensure all stinging hairs have been destroyed. Boiling or steaming the plants, for about ten minutes, also removes it's stinging abilities. Another technique, I've heard, that is used is to hold the plant next to a hot open fire until it wilts.


Here is a video featuring Frank Cook on a plant walk discussing stinging nettles.





In part 3 of Foraging or The Earth Provides we will take a brief look at a few more common edibles Then part 4 will contain a list of resources for the reader to further pursue the topic.

Foraging or The Earth Provides pt. 1

Illustration by simmons3d on Flicker.

The corporate induced reality of fast food franchises, super super marts, internationally distributed processed food products, and convenience driven consumerism has divorced humankind of the intimate embrace from our source of sustenance. Ask one person where our food comes from and they may answer "the Grocery store". Ask another with a broader view and they may say "the farm". Ask the farmer and they may say "from the garden, the fields, the tilled and seeded earth, unless it is a corporate farm then they will likely say "Monsanto". In reality it is in the natural places, the places untouched by the saw or plow, that the most enriching and diverse sources of sustenance can be found.


One does not have to find a pristine old growth forest, or an undisturbed ecosystem, to find food, despite their being optimum. The abandoned city lot, the river bank, the city park, or the overgrown fence row can provide an amazing amount of natural, nutritional, food sources. In fact there are many urban wild edibles. I'm sure that, everyday, hungry people walk unaware past untapped sources of naturally occurring nutrition in their quest for nourishment.

A plate of Wehani rice, with sauteed dandelion greens.

Let's begin with an edible plant that can be found in the majority of cities in the U. S.. Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are considered the bane of many lawn owners. It is possible to make money from home owners in exchange for removing the dandelions.


Every part of the dandelion is edible. The roots can be boiled and stir fried like other vegetables. It can also be roasted and used as a coffee substitute.


The leaves can be boiled in salt water like spinach. Eaten raw on sandwiches or in salads for a green with stronger taste.


The flowers can be stir fried as a vegetable. They have long been used to make dandelion wine.


Here is a video with the recently deceased Frank Cook, a man very connected to nature and an immense repository of plant knowledge, of Plantsandhealers.com discussing the dandelion.



We will continue this topic in later posts.