The Family That Forages Together... won't go hungry
(Page 2 of 7)
Not many folks realize that wild strawberry leaves are one
of the richest natural sources of vitamin C. The leaves can
be eaten raw, in a salad, or as a garnish for camp stew.
Since their taste and texture may not be totally pleasing
to everyone's palate, a mild-tasting extract can be made by
placing the leaves in a blender with a little water. This
mixture can then be used to dilute frozen juice
concentrates. It can also be boiled and served with a
little honey as a nutritious tea.
RELATED CONTENT
BLACKBERRIES
The blackberry and related dewberry grow in abundance
throughout nearly all the United States. Blackberries are
probably the most valued and used wild fruit in the
country. A hedge of them, mixed with wild grape vines,
grows at the rear of our lot. More blackberries surround
the nearby strawberry patches, grow wild in the vineyard,
along fence rows and in the edge of the closest woods. When
the strawberry crop is gone, our children eagerly await
blackberry picking time.
In the past two summers, we've made use of this wild crop
in pies, cobblers, jams, jellies, juices and wines. We've
added blackberries to other foods and canned them. For some
reason, we've never tired of this abundant crop and we
never seem to have enough of the highly nutritious fruit.
Blackberries contain a good amount of protein, calcium,
phosphorus, iron and vitamins A and C. Their overall
nutritional value is higher than orchard fruits.
As a child, I looked forward to blackberry picking each
summer. In the late afternoon of a picking day, I carried
my harvest to the nearby highway and set up a little stand.
Within an hour, all my berries would be sold. Sometimes
sales were so fast that I had to disappoint my regular
customers.
VIOLETS
On our first family forage for wild foods, we were
introduced to eating blue violets. At first, the thought of
eating flowers seemed rather strange, but after a few tries
it became quite natural.
Both the flowers and the leaves of the common blue violet
are edible. A half-cup of violet greens provides more than
the daily adult requirement of vitamins A and C. Although
the taste of the greens is rather bland, they're not at all
bad and the experience of eating wild violets was an
enjoyable one for our two children. My wife and I, however,
experienced some momentary anxiety when we thought that
Betsy had eaten some of the poison ivy growing alongside a
cluster of violets (although we know some people who claim
that eating poison ivy produces an immunity - and I've seen
it done - we do not recommend this practice). Fortunately,
our little daughter had learned to identify the wild foods
we've eaten and, apparently, has not experimented on her
own.
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