I had never heard of a "professional forager" before I watched a TED lecture given by Tama Matsuoka Wong.
What exactly is a professional forager you ask? Well, apparently there's a whole subset of society that searches for wild plants to harvest as food. Sounds like a bunch of tofu eating hippies living in a commune somewhere out in the bush running around half naked foraging like wild animals. Well Tama, as she is called, is no hippie, she is a wife, mother of three and former lawyer who graduated from Harvard Law School who worked for 25 years as a financial services lawyer in Tokyo, Hong Kong and New York until she returned to New Jersey to rediscover her love of the natural world.
Tama won the New Jersey Forest Stewardship Award for her stewardship on her property in western New Jersey. And along with the New Jersey Audubon Society, she wrote a booklet called Meadows on the Menu describing how to turn residential lawns or fallow fields into meadows, for ornamental and edible purposes. Her idea is interesting in that it could partially solve three problems: the damaging environmental consequences of herbicides used for weed control, the spread of invasive plants, and the modern industrial farming system that is polluting soil, air and water on our planet.
In Tama's recent book, Foraged Flavor: Finding Fabulous Ingredients in your Backyard or Farmers Market she describes the "deliciousness of weeds." As Tama puts it, "We have to undo our habits, be a little more messy and untidy in our gardens and understand that wild weeds are nutrient dense and flavour dense." She even boldly proposes that the problem of invasive Japanese knotweed can be solved by simply cutting off their new shoots as they emerge and eating them like asparagus.
With Tama's paradigm shifting thoughts in mind I have put together a few edible weeds and invasive plants for the dinner table. But first a word of caution. Many plants are highly poisonous and deadly to ingest and therefore be warned: no person should ever eat any wild plant or weed without first accurately identifying that the plant is in fact edible and not poisonous.
Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum): This lovely but vigorous plant native to Asia has invaded our shores and is now so widespread that eradication is almost impossible. However the tender new shoots of knotweed are eaten in Japan as "itadori." The taste is reported to be similar to asparagus and it goes well with butter and lemon. Honey bees use knotweed nectar, mixed with goldenrod nectar, to produce a honey with a strong, distinctive flavour. The health benefits of knotweed include high levels of vitamin C and the anti-cancer nutrient resveratrol which is a neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory nutrient also found in the skin of grapes and red wine. Eat only the new shoots by steaming them, adding them to soups or in baked desserts.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): Europeans have eaten dandelions for some time, but North Americans are slow to accept this tasty weed for dinner. Dandelions contain potassium, vitamin A and C and a serving of the leaves contains the same amount of calcium as a half cup of milk. Reported to be a good liver and blood cleanser, all parts of the plant are edible raw or cooked but some parts can be a little bitter unless they are at least steamed. Young leaves and flowers are used raw in salads. Leaves and flowers can be sautéed or cooked in soups and stews. According to Tama, dandelion goes well with beef and clear noodles. If you want decaffeinated coffee, grind up the root to make a morning cup of Joe. And don't forget to make that delicious and intoxicating dandelion wine. Dandelions are easy to find growing in the front lawn so harvesting should be easy.
Clover (Trifolium species): This lovely little gem is an important food source for beneficial insects and bees. New clover leaves and flowers can be eaten raw or dried but they are most tasty when lightly sautéed or steamed. The creeping stems and the roots should be cooked and can be eaten in soups or with meat. The seed heads can be ground into flour. Clover can cause bloating and should not be eaten in excessive amounts, especially older plant parts that accumulate alkaloids.
There are so many other tasty weeds like purslane, pineapple weed and burdock to be eaten. Always harvest your weeds and wild edibles from areas that are not polluted by cars or other industrial pollution sources, not sprayed by pesticides and free of animal feces. So hang up the herbicides and enjoy some happy and safe foraging for weeds in the backyard.
Todd Major is a journeyman horticulturist, garden designer and builder, teacher, skills trainer and organic advocate. For advice contact him at [email protected].
