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wild calories | (Read 162 times) |
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kelda
Posts: 263
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August 20, 2008, 12:56:06 PM |
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Also: Cattails (Typha latifolia) have tons of carbs, the rhizome can be ground up and made into a flour. Or in a backwoods setting, just cooked and eaten.
Burdock (Arcitum minus) also packs a good punch. The edible root (or even the seeds) have protein and carbs.
Just in case you can't find j. chokes out in the woods 
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1339
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August 20, 2008, 06:10:06 PM |
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FWIW: sunchokes make great pig feed that the pigs can harvest themselves.
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Jason Knight
Posts: 2
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August 20, 2008, 08:42:15 PM |
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Another great wild edible for calories is dock (Rumex crispus). The seeds can be collected from late summer to late fall and are also a great source of protein and iron. I love adding them to oatmeal, pancakes, or just sprinkling them on some apple sauce.
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1339
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August 21, 2008, 06:19:33 AM |
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I know that we are trying to dodge greens, but I think netttles in the spring are extra filling. Most greens are not all that filling.
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kelda
Posts: 263
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August 22, 2008, 10:12:25 AM |
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So I just gathered some dock seeds yesterday, tons of them are ripe right now. But palatable? uhhh, they're kind of papery and with a bitter aftertaste. Jason, do you toast them first? or winnow away the papery-coat?
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kelda
Posts: 263
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August 24, 2008, 05:07:43 PM |
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Amendment: I tried the dock seeds on my morning oatmeal. The moisture in the oatmeal made the papery skins a non-issue. I couldn't really taste them: just extra crunchy bits.
It was nice to know I was getting extra nutrients from the seeds, but it was pretty neutral eating experience.
It was though Very easy to harvest this time of year. What would be impressive is if I could make a whole morning porridge out of the dock seeds. But the bitterness.....
That's the next experiment
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kelda
Posts: 263
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August 26, 2008, 11:47:51 PM |
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Nevermind Leah!
I just read a bit more about dock in Agroforestry News. It says that because of the papery-ness, and that the bitter means that they're high in tannins, it's actually not so good to eat a lot of it. They said it was more of a famine food. What! After all the experimenting!
I still might try it, soaked. I've heard that many tannins in acorns can be soaked away with multiple water changes. But seeing the article definitely put a damper on my enthusiasm.
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permaculture.dave
Posts: 113
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September 17, 2008, 04:27:38 PM |
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If you want to wildcraft for calories I think you are on the right track looking at nuts. I'm not sure where you are, but I'd be looking at acorns, walnuts, butternuts, hazels, chestnuts, and chinquapins depending on your location. Bear in mind that acorns were a primary calorie source for many native people in North America. They require some processing and some are better than others, but I've had really tasty acorn flower wildcrafted in California.
If you want to go a step further into the realm of horticulture you can even find selections of these wild nut trees with bigger, better, or easier to process nuts. Check out Oikos Tree Crops (http://oikostreecrops.com), Badgersett Research Farm (http://www.badgersett.com/), Burnt Ridge Nursery (http://burntridgenursery.com/), Nolin River Nursery (http://www.nolinnursery.com/), and Red Fern Farm (http://www.redfernfarm.com/).
You also mentioned tubers. I suspect that if you harvested them responsibly and helped to ensure future harvests you could get quite a volume of calories from Camas, Wapato, and Spatterdock.
Finally, if you want to harvest something wild for calories I'd suggest considering deer. Most parts of the US have pretty dense populations due to predator extermination. Deer are about the most concentrated source of wild calories and protein I can imagine.
Cheers!
Dave
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SueinWA
Posts: 303
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October 08, 2008, 05:38:08 PM |
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If you wanted to try camas, you'd best harvest while they're still blooming. The blue-flowered ones (Camassia quamash) are edible, the white-flowered ones (Zigadenus species) are deadly.
Sue
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