A Return To Foraging

Disclaimer: I've decided to return to this blog to document my experiences with local foraging. While it's something I've done for nearly twenty years, I find myself wanting a digital footprint where it's easy to type up my thoughts and put in the photo I've taken. None of what is written is meant to be guidance for foraging. These are my own experiments and experiences. While I have opinions on good sources and preparation types, and I'll add some education, ultimately these posts are meant for myself.

Sweetgrass, spruce tips, and linden leaf.

1. Sweetgrass, Hierochloe odorata (information)

Shiny, sweet smelling, and aggressive. The smell of sweetgrass is unmistakable once you've had the opportunity to sniff it. It cannot be fermented due to the presence of coumarin which gives it that slight vanilla-like taste. This is present in other sweet foragables like clovers. These coumarin containing plants will convert to dicoumarol, a stronger blood thinner, if given a chance to ferment. Sweetgrass tea, made from dried or semi-fresh sweetgrass, is common in many indigenous cultures. A very comprehensive account of sweetgrass, including its history, can be found here. 

My experiment this time was to make a simple sweetgrass tea. The sweetgrass was dried over a couple days, boiled and left to steep in hot water, cold infused overnight, and then used with an attempt to make a simple syrup; however, it didn't full succeed. This was due, in part, to enjoying the beverage before it was fully reduced to a syrup. Without a doubt, one of the most refreshing drinks I've ever had the pleasure of drinking. Next attempt will be to actually get it down to a syrup, likely with many more strands of grass infused. Sweetgrass syrup in a simple seltzer sounds fantastic. Thankfully, I now have five patches of sweetgrass growing in the yard. A few different native communities also sell sweetgrass tea which is another possible route to get more syrup as I wait for my patches to spread.

2. Various spruce and fir tips

The neighbor has numerous spruce and fir trees as a natural fence and allowed me to forage them. There's a mix of blue spruce, red spruce, Norway spruce, and balsam fir. A current favorite for all things edible for trees is Justin Davies. Ice cream is currently beyond me, but pickling is easy. I made two batches: one of spruce and one of fir. Rather than make my own brine, I simply reused with heating and some extra vinegar a spicy brine from pickles. So far, very interesting and delicious. The texture is unique, and it isn't too spicy given it is a reuse, but easy to do for spring foraging.

3. American Basswood (American Linden), Tilia americana (information) 

I've foraged from American Linden a few times including the seeds, but that's a note for later. Naturally, as one of my favorites for many reasons, I planted one in my yard. After having to take down a broken branch, I decided to do some minor foraging by making a pickled slaw of the leaves. Like with many things foraging, the community have opinions and many dislike the leaves because they are tougher and taste like basic leaf. My belief is they have potential. Not everything foraged needs to taste special. Treat this like a collard green or pickle it to thin it out. I'll wait until my tree gets bigger before I do more with it, but for now, an basic vinegar slaw sets out fine.

Wild yeast starter and milkweed flower cordial.

4. Wild Yeast Starter

I am a huge fan of Pascal Baudar as he seems to actual understand the basics of foraging and science. I'm dabbling with fermenting and brewing, although nothing too crazy as I don't really drink alcohol. That said, a light mead or a wildcraft soda absolutely are eventual goals. The easiest way to get there is to have a wild yeast starter which is very similar to a sourdough starter but without the flour. Pascal names numerous sources of good yeast in his brewing book, but spruce tips and flowers are well-known for yeast. The latter, especially, due to the sugar content in flowers. I hope to keep it alive and well and clear of mold, but if not, I'll just find some more wild yeast to play with and experiment with it. Maybe I'll try to make a wild yeast sourdough?

5. Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca (information)

This one is interesting due to its popularity and some basic misinformation I've discovered. As mentioned above, yes, flowers are a great source of yeast so do expect this to ferment, especially if you add more sugar. When it was just sugar and water, there was no color change, but once you add an acid? A lovely pink happens. Confirmed by letting it sit in just a sugar water for two days where no color change happened. It was almost immediate once I added a splash of citric acid and white vinegar. That alone makes me curious if it's like butterfly pea flowers and if it's just ignored by the foraging community or not talked about often. Anyways, the flavor is described as candy watermelon and floral which I'd agree, but it's also a little bit... off? I'll try some more, but I'm not too impressed so far except for the color. I may dry some flowers and see what happens as a tea.

A "seaweed salad" made with Plantago.

6. Blackseed Plantain, Plantago rugelii (information)

Plantain, or plantago as I usually call it, is a well-known edible herb... and weed. You'll find as much about its benefits as you will about how to get rid of it. Another shoutout to Pascal, but for plantain specifically, he clarifies that edible doesn't always mean palatable. If you want to eat it, you need to find a good way to prepare it. In The New Wildcrafted Cuisine, he has a recipe to boil and blanch plantago just long enough, or short enough I suppose, to make the texture similar to algae or seaweed. Mix it up with a basic sauce such as soy sauce, sesame oil, and some spices? Yeah, I'll eat this again. There's plenty of plantago around for easy access, too. I see one or two looking to seed soon, so I may experiment with the seeds as well.

Hiatus (Busy)

Feast for the Northern Raccoon.

Work has kept me extremely busy the past number of weeks and it might still for the weeks to come. I'm hoping for this hiatus to only last two weeks, but it will be a waiting game (based on work). If it goes as planned, I may have posts again beginning of July!

Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus

Contrary to its name, the Black-tailed Jackrabbit is not a rabbit, but a hare, a separate species, and one that can be found throughout a large portion of the western and central portions of the United States and Mexico. Unlike a true rabbit, hares are larger with longer ears, less social tendencies, are born fully developed, and as they often live on open plains, rely more on their speed. The Black-tailed Jackrabbit is no exception, able to reach 48-56 kph (30-35 mph) over zigzag course and able to spring 6 m (20 ft) at a bound.

Black-tailed Jackrabbit found in scrubland habitat.

Their agility can often be seen during breeding season as males and females will leap and chase after each other with the male hoping to catch, and therefore mate, with the female. They will have 3 or 4 litters per year with up to six young who are on their own after their mother stops nursing 3 days later. Black-tailed Jackrabbits are most likely found in desert scrubland, prairies, farmlands, and dunes, and will consume all types of plant matter, especially as the majority of their water comes from what they consume.

Chihuahuan Raven

Chihuahuan Raven, Corvus cryptoleucus

The Chihuahuan Raven is the size of a crow, but with the shape of a raven, and, as with many birds, vocalization is easiest for distinction. They can be found year round throughout most of Texas, parts of Arizona and New Mexico, and south into Mexico with preference for dry grasslands, arid regions, scrub, and yucca flats. Unlike its Common Raven cousin, the Chihuahuan Raven is more sociable and can often be seen in flocks of up to several hundred during winter. The base of the feathers of the Chihuahuan Raven is also white, unique in North America, but not uncommon in other crows and ravens around the world, and is difficult to see without aid from the wind. Their nest of twigs, often those of thorny mesquite trees, may be reused in subsequent years. The female will lay an average of five eggs and both parents bring food to the hatchlings. Chihuahuan Ravens are omnivorous and will consume anything from insects and grains to carrion and frogs. They can sometimes be found near garbage or landfill, or else sitting on a pole.

Hiatus (Week)

Rio Grande chirping frog, Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides

It's another long, busy week so there will be no new posts this week, but they will resume again next week!

Cloudless Sulfur

Cloudless Sulfur, Phoebis sennae

The Cloudless Sulfur is a common butterfly that can be found throughout the southern half of the United States down as far south as Argentina, but can be found in the West Indies and may reach as far north as southern Ontario. While a permanent resident in the tropical regions, Cloudless Sulfurs do migrate during autumn and spring, going south and north respectively. Unlike Monarchs, Cloudless Sulfurs fly at lower altitudes while migrating. This makes migration easier to observe, especially in autumn when numbers are generally higher, but also make them more vulnerable and likely to be killed crossing roadways. The adults prefer to feed on tubular flowers such as bougainvilla, cardinal flower, hibiscus, lantana, and morning glory, but the host plant for the caterpillars are the Cassia species in the pea family. Cloudless Sulfurs breed in disturbed open areas and many can sometimes be seen drinking from mud puddles.

Spiny Orbweaver

Spiny Orbweaver, Gasteracantha cancriformis

Orbweavers, as mentioned before, are found throughout the world and vary in size and appearance, but they are all associated with the classic orb web and, more often than not, it is the female that is larger and more colorful than the male. One such distinct species found throughout most of North America, including some of the islands, is the Spiny Orbweaver, also known as the crab spider, jewel box spider, and smiley face spider. While the colors may include white, orange, yellow, black, or red, the females, about 5-9 mm (0.2-0.35 in) in length and 10-13 mm (0.4-0.5 in) width, all have six pointed abdominal projections referred to as spines. The males, while also with some color variation, are only about 2-3 mm (0.8-0.12 in) in length and lack spines, but may have posterior small humps.

Female spiny orbweaver in the shade of a grapefruit tree.

The spiny orbweaver can be found in woodland edges, nurseries, and gardens, but are also commonly found in citrus groves. The lifespan for this species is short with males dying approximately six days after successful sperm induction to females, and the females die soon after depositing her egg sac of 100 to 260 eggs. When they hatch, the spiderlings will remain in the carefully constructed egg case for 2 to 5 weeks of age. When they leave, they are considered mature. New webs are constructed each night for structural security, always with tufted silk that some studies suggest could be warning flags for birds so they do not fly into the web and destroy it. As with other orbweavers, the spiny orbweaver waits for pray to land in her web in which she will paralyze it and eat it, if smaller than her, but if it is larger, she will wrap it in silk before carrying it to the center to consume. Although their colorful appearance and spines may have an anti-predator function, spiny orbweavers are harmless to humans and are often considered a beneficial species.