Thoughts on Foraging

[CraigC]

Foraging locally usually requires a swamp tromp. Although you'll run across hardwood hammocks and pine lands interspersed with the cypress. I avoid the Pahayokee (river of grass) part as much as possible. Sawgrass isn't any fun. Come to think of it, it really was more survival than foraging and not something you would really do voluntarily.

Plant wise, there are cat-tail tubers, custard apples, elderberry flowers, wild papaya and if you are really ambitious and have a very sharp machete, there are hearts of palm to be had. You might run across some coconut palms, banana and abandoned orange trees, both sweet and sour.

Back when I used to teach Hunter Safety classes, one of the other instructors was a reserve Wildlife Officer. Some of the other instructors said that she could be dropped in the swamp naked with only a hunting knife, flint and steel and she would come back fully clothed and 10# heavier.

 

[erehweslefox]

Swamp tromp sounds like a lot of fun! I don't get out in the Swamp enough. My wife and I lived in Oklahoma for three years, spent a good amount of time Desert hiking in Texas, and did some prairie work in Nebraska and Kansas, and of course I love both my native Pennsylvania woods and the Ozarks, but just haven't done much swampwork yet. We are planning on a fall trip to Congaree, hoping to do a long weekend four day paddle down there, so that will get us out in the mud a bit.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I have copious amounts of purslane in my yard, you are all welcome to come and graze.

 

[larry_stewart]

I remember the first time I even heard of purslane was on the food network, Might have even been Bobby Flay. Anytime I hear about a new fruit or vegetable I get excited. When I turned around to look at the tv and saw that it was a weed that Ive been hacking out of my lawn or garden for decades, I couldn't believe it. They were making it out to be some exotic - like vegetable.

That being said, its kinda cool to have something that accessible without having to pay an arm or leg for it and from a gardening going of view, don't even have to care for it. It just does its own thing.

 

[powerplantop]

Purslane is called verdolagas in Spanish, I have seen it at Hispanic markets.

 

[Andy M.]

Purslane is called verdolagas in Spanish, I have seen it at Hispanic markets.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[blissful]

I have some tiny leaved weeds growing in mats between pavers that surround the garden and I'm not sure if it is purslane. It is like a succulent, matches pictures of purslane in some of the links posted, but the stem is not red, it is green. Can that also be purslane? I tasted a leaf, it is a little salty.

 

[Dawgluver]

I have some tiny leaved weeds growing in mats between pavers that surround the garden and I'm not sure if it is purslane. It is like a succulent, matches pictures of purslane in some of the links posted, but the stem is not red, it is green. Can that also be purslane? I tasted a leaf, it is a little salty.

Purslane can also have green stems. They do grow in mats. Check out Google Images just to make sure. I get another mat-like weed that's not purslane here, but it's not succulent.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I grew up having to weed purslane from between the sandstone sidewalk pavers and from the garden. I guess my Mom didn't know it was edible - it never showed up on our table, but it would have.

We've never really foraged in my family. I do remember the smell of spring onion in the air as I would drive along one of the Cleveland Metropark connecting parkways on my way home from work. In spite of stopping and looking, I never did see "spring onions", only these tall blades that looked a little like thin daffodil leaves. Needless to say, I'm no where near them now that I know that they were ramps! Then again, ramps weren't exactly a trendy ingredient back then. We also tried what we thought were fiddleheads in our backyard shortly after we moved to MA and found out they were edible. Um, not the ones in our yard. Apparently they aren't the right fern. Wouldn't matter if they were poisonous or not, they were so very bitter we tossed them out after one bite each.

 

[GotGarlic]

Purslane isn't new. It was grown in the kitchen gardens in Colonial Williamsburg.

 

[Dawgluver]

It grows just fine in every crack in my brick sidewalk, along with every raised bed.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Purslane isn't new. It was grown in the kitchen gardens in Colonial Williamsburg.

I'm sure it was, and used as a food, too, even earlier than Williamsburg. Either my Mom didn't know it was edible, or she ignored that fact because she didn't want to serve her family "weeds". I know I got a bit of an argument every time I tried putting nasturtium blossoms in our salads!

I'm not sure it grows wild up here in MA. We've been here almost 16 years and I can't remember ever having seen it. Probably still growing the the sidewalk cracks of my childhood home in OH, though.

 

[GotGarlic]

Funny how our perception of what's good to eat changes over time.

 

[larry_stewart]

Funny how our perception of what's good to eat changes over time.

and I think its funny how the food network tried to plug it as an exotic ingredient. I guess its exotic for someone somewhere.

Has anyone ever seen it sold in a store (purslane, that is) ??

 

[Aunt Bea]

and I think its funny how the food network tried to plug it as an exotic ingredient. I guess its exotic for someone somewhere.

Has anyone ever seen it sold in a store (purslane, that is) ??

Here ya go!

A little different than the common purslane we find in the driveway, a cousin maybe.

Micro Purslane Verdolaga

 

[larry_stewart]

Here ya go!

A little different than the common purslane we find in the driveway, a cousin maybe.

Micro Purslane Verdolaga

Cool.
I like how they have the ' micro' to keep it trendy

 

[Andy M.]

Cool.
I like how they have the ' micro' to keep it trendy

That packaged purslane is different from what I've seen. Perhaps it is micro purslane. "Regular" purslane has a thicker, shinier leaf.

 

[GotGarlic]

Micro just means young, and plants often do look different at different stages of development. There are quite a few varieties, although I doubt very many are cultivated commercially.

Portulaca oleracea (common purslane, also known as verdolaga, pigweed, little hogweed, red root, pursley, and moss rose) is an annual succulent in the family Portulacaceae, which may reach 40 centimetres (16 in) in height.

Approximately forty cultivars are currently grown.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea

 

[outRIAAge]

I heard it through the grapevine...

Does anybody use grape leaves? They're easy to find in jars, and are decent (if a little hard to separate without ripping them, and fairly lacking in taste), like these:

I know for a fact that wild grapevines grow in upstate NY, which varies between 90F+ in summer and -20F- in winter (with very little in-between: I hate upstate NY weather), so I suspect they grow anywhere.

Here's what they look like in Spring, when it's best to pick them:

The ones you want are full-sized, but are still bright green, unblemished new leaves. From the above selection, I would perhaps pick only three, but a typical grapevine will yield all you need and more. You can use the darker, older leaves, but they get rather stiff and bitter (much like my ex-wife). Don't use leaves that have even a little insect damage, because when attacked they quite deliberately turn themselves bitter

To prepare, cut out most of the stalk from the leaf, in a V-shape going about halfway up the leaf. You can blanch them, steam them, but quickest and easiest is to wash them, leave them slightly wet, lay them in one layer on a spanking-clean turntable and zap until done. Start with 20 seconds, but adjust to your own microwave. You want them pliable, but still with a little resistance.

What you get is something glorious, a distant, more elegant and tasteful cousin to the jarred stuff. In the West, they're used almost exclusively for dolmatas:

There ain't nothing wrong with stuffed grape leaves, but with fresh leaves, you can go much further, like this halibut roasted in grape leaves:

If you ever bake anything with a salt crust, it might be appropriate to first wrap it in grape leaves. Also, here's a classy-looking preparation from Epicurious that uses a grape-leaf spread:

But that was just five minutes of searching. Give them a taste, and let your imagination run wild. Right now I'm imagining a grape leaf, kalamata olive, feta, apple, and tangerine salad...

 

[blissful]

OutR--I pick them on the fence lines in June. A few years ago, my son and I picked a lot of them, washed them outside, cut out the stem, stacked them, folded them to fit in a jar, then canned them in a brine of salt/water. I love the taste of them. Mostly we used them for dolmades. (sp?)

Good post with the pictures and all, thanks!