On Sunday, I joined a foraging tour workshop organized by Disa, kitchen master
of Kalmar nation. It was about learning practically what plants and which part
of them are edible among those growing near our place and how we can cook them
at the same time. Under the blue sky and
the shining sun, we, a group of 5 people, sought food for the lunch.
These are the lists of plants we actually harvested. If you want to see pictures of them, visit an album on our facebook page or google them!
Björk/Birch
These are the lists of plants we actually harvested. If you want to see pictures of them, visit an album on our facebook page or google them!
Björk/Birch
The leaves of the birch are edible
before midsummer, and tastier the younger they are. They can be eaten in salad.
Both the seeds and leaves of the elm
tree are edible. I recommend the elm seeds with their nutty flavor and pleasant
texture for salads.
The leaves are edible when they are very
young, but quickly become quite bitter. The flower petals however are very
tasty. They can be eaten as they are in salad, added to jam
(http://tidenpategelbacken.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/maskrosmarmelad/) or try
deep frying the whole flower. The best part is that they grow everywhere.
This plant grows commonly in the shadow
of hedges. It has a taste reminiscent of garlic and mustard and the leaves and
flowers can be used in salads or as a spice in dressings.
Even though it stings when you touch it,
nettle is one of the most appreciated wild edibles in Sweden. Young leaves are
commonly eaten in soup, but they are good to cook and use as kale or spinach.
Only the top leaves should be used for food, but when the nettle has flowered
in midsummer the whole plant can be picked and dried, then powdered and used as
a nourishing tea. They grow almost everywhere, often in ditches next to the
road.
Vitplister looks very similar to the
stinging nettle, though it does not sting and has big white flowers. It is also
milder in taste than the nettle and can be eaten raw or added to the same
dishes as the nettle.
Vårlök/Wild chives
A wild version of chives can be found
here and there, in ditches, and usually comes up a few weeks before other
grass. It can be distinguished by its slightly bluish color and its thick stem.
Use however you want. It's milder in taste than garden chives and goes well in
salads but probably also in cooked dishes.
Kirskål is a very common weed in
gardens. Hearsay says that monks used to grow it in their gardens as cabbage,
but nowadays few people appreciate its gastronomic qualities. It has a peppery
smell and taste and he leaves can be used as kale or spinach in cooked dishes,
and very young leaves can be eaten raw. Aim for the smallest, shiny leaves
since the older leaves don't taste very well. Don't pick this if you're not sure
it's the right plant since it's related to some poisonous plants!
Våtarv is a ground covering plant which
grows commonly in flower beds. It's very tasty raw and also cooked.
This plant is the best! It pops up everywhere the soil
has been turned, for example in new flowerbeds. When left alone they grow quite
big and can be found in great amounts if you're lucky. The taste is very mild
and is excellent to use instead of spinach.
And we cooked these dishes:
Bishop's weed and nettle soup
2/3 nettles or vitplister or a mix of
both
1/3 bishop's weed
some water
salt
wild chives
Wash the plants well and put them in a
cooking pot. Cover with hot water and let them cook for a few minutes until
they are soft. Mix the soup with a handheld mixer until it's smooth and add
salt and wild chives for taste.
Salad
We made a big salad with elm seeds,
löktrav, birch leaves, dandelion petals, etc. No further instructions needed.
Just mix the salad of your preference.
Pesto
Carefully trim nettles, vitplister and bishop's weed, removing all
stems and only keeping the leaves. Put them in a colander or a bowl and pour
hot water over them. Press out the water and transfer them to a blender. Adding
sunflower seeds (or walnuts or other seeds), garlic and olive oil, process the
pesto until desired consistency. Add salt and pepper as you like.
To sum up, it was a wonderful
workshop full of new discoveries and refreshing joys
in the splendid weather. What plants
around you could be eaten? How can we cook
them? This knowledge used to be with
us as basic food literacy in old days. However, we are almost losing this
common sense. Also, it seems stupid that
in some countries or areas, we are not allowed to pick up growing food around
us just because they are ‘public’ properties. Why don’t we take back those
abilities and rights we human beings are supposed to have!
