Do you forage for food in the wild? In your local environment? In your backyard? I'm interested if any paleo/primal people actually do this. What do you gather?

We used to forage blackberries when I was a kid but I only used to eat a few. If fresh meat grew on bushes I would have been well into it

I forage wild mushrooms, eat wildberries, and occasionally collect wild edible plants. I'm not the most extreme one in my group of friends,tho. I'm lucky to live in an area where there are still many natural places.

I just listened to a podcast (The Underground wellness radio show with Sean Croxton) and the guest was Linda Runyon of www.ofthefield.com she lived off the land, off wild foods for 13 years.

This might be a good way of getting some info- she did speak of a items available, mostly plants, in the USA.

Happy hunting.

Berries and fish. Maybe I should learn what else around here is edible. Veggies are expensive.

Well, we often eat wild dandelion out of the yard year round.

At the moment we have a lot of mushrooms coming up from (I think) mushroom compost but I'm too scared to eat them just in case I'm wrong!

What do dandelion leaves taste like? We will have those soon. Do you eat them like lettuce, or cook them?

In the Southeast (USA), there are so many opportunities to forage! Wild blueberries are one of my favorite seasonal treats, but you have to compete with the deer. Also, wild onions, blackberries, muscodines, wild carrots and grass stems. (DO NOT forage for wild carrots unless you can unequivocally identify them. The chances for mis-identification and unintentional poisoning are very high). I have just recently come to the Atlantic coast habitat, where I have discovered a delicious new fruit- the jelly palm fruit. As far as animals go, around the SE it is very easy to forage for mussels and crawdads. Happy foraging!

horse

I almost forgot poke! One of the easiest, side-of-the-road greens one can find! Good raw, steamed or boiled. Put some in with your dandelion greens! For a colorful salad in the tender spring, garnish with wisteria flowers and wild onion.

horse

I've heard of poke before, but haven't tried finding it. Also, I'd like to try dandelion greens, but never was sure whether that meant the stem or the leaves

What part of TN are you in, horse?

I knew that if I lived long enough Polk Salad Annie would make sense to me and now it does. (Wikipedia says it can be spelled either way).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOzaVpgeHJg

Sadly, there's no wild foraging in my concrete and glass habitat.

I like to graze on the fresh tips on the briar vines.

Poke grows prolifically around here. Because of finicky preparation, I don't bother with it.

Hi All,

~Mice- I haven't updated my profile- I'm now in Chucktown (Charleston, SC- we travel for my husband's work). We were in Memphis at the time. Although, as an Alabama girl, I've always held Tennessee northmost in my heart

~Katoman- I probably should have made a note that the leaves should be blanched before preparation (even in a 'greens boil'). Foraging is no good to anyone if you can't digest the nutrients! Also- I'm a 'tip-grazer' as well, mostly vines and fiddleheads. I'm always looking for more sources, so don't be shy! We are lucky to be living in a part of the earth that is not only prolific, but also has such a long season.

~Whofan- you would be surprised what you can graze upon! Keep your eye out for ornamental cabbage/kale (I lived on this during college). There may be cherry or other 'ornamental' fruit trees that are planted for their looks, but regularly give fruit (you'll need preparation like blanching)

And, of course, a large portion of pig (salt pork, ham hock or neck and jowls) makes these types of items delicious!

horse

we forage for mushrooms in autumn and winter, wild herbs of course, rocket and fruit. You wouldn't believe the amount of crab apples, prunes and cherries you can find in the wild. When on the coast I always go for seafood, can be eaten as is

We forage for wild raspberries, strawberries & saskatoon berries in the prairies, foothills & mountains. If we plan it right, working our way uphill, we can find some sort of edible ripe berry 3 months of the year. There are also patches of "wild" carrots, chives, etc., likely remnants of plots of early settlers in areas that are now crown land.