Foraging: where to begin?
The foraging season has begun! Although you can find wild foods all year round, the beginning of spring is the time when plants start a new life cycle and the period of abundance begins. All kinds of interesting and tasty plants can now be found, such as bear garlic, dandelion and stinging nettle. While picking wild edible plants, you discover new flavours and you learn about nature surrounding you.
How do you get started?
There are a few simple rules: only pick plants that you are sure are edible, only pick where it is permitted and do not disturb nature, i.e. only pick what you need, leave enough to nature and do not trample other plants.
1.LEARN ABOUT PLANTS
Plant guides or videos of experienced foragers can teach you a lot about how to recognize a certain plant.
The look, the smell and the location can tell you a lot about a plant. Above all, go outside, observe and try to identify plants. Practice makes perfect, as they say!
2. WHERE TO PICK
Wild edible plants grow really everywhere. Start looking in your garden. Most weeds in the vegetable garden are also edible!
Also know that you are not always allowed to pick wild edible plants in public places. In nature reserves, for example, it is prohibited. So always check the local rules in advance and stick to them.
Only pick in clean places, not on the side of the road or in places where there is a lot of rubbish. Always pick above knee height, because there are dogs, cats and foxes that sometimes do their business there.
3. HOW TO PICK
Always pick with respect for your surroundings. Do not trample on other plants or break any branches. Depending on the plant and the season, you harvest the leaf, the flower, the root or the seed. Leaves and flowers can be picked by hand or with a knife, the root should be dug out and the seed is usually easy to gather.
4. HOW TO USE
Always wash the plants you pick. There are various possibilities to prepare wild foods. Some plants are better eaten raw, others are tastier if you stew them, blanch them or use them in a soup. Try out some things yourself or follow a recipe.
5. A FEW EXAMPLES
Dandelion
Ground Elder
Stinging Nettle