Foraging - How to forage / foraging discussion

[Cane Skretteburg]

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Garlic Mustard:

In North America, garlic mustard is highly invasive. Something about how the plants’ roots secrete stuff into the soil that dissuades other plants from growing there. It prefers to grow on the forest floor, and generally where I find some of it I find quite a lot of it. When harvesting for the greens, just make sure they’re tender. As garlic mustard matures it not only becomes substantially more fibrous, but also much more bitter. However since it grows on the forest floor and gets relatively little sunlight, I’ve had luck harvesting the spring plants well into May. Don’t harvest the plants that have bolted because they always taste gross.

 

[Rendang]

Jelly Ear fungus!

Raw Wood Ears are commonly eaten in China, where they're prepared as a raw salad with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil & seeds.

The earthiness complements well with the sharpness of the vinegar and fatty sauce, and their light texture makes it a refreshing side for any dry noodle dish.

 

[a hapless toad]

In North America, garlic mustard is highly invasive. Something about how the plants’ roots secrete stuff into the soil that dissuades other plants from growing there. It prefers to grow on the forest floor, and generally where I find some of it I find quite a lot of it. When harvesting for the greens, just make sure they’re tender. As garlic mustard matures it not only becomes substantially more fibrous, but also much more bitter. However since it grows on the forest floor and gets relatively little sunlight, I’ve had luck harvesting the spring plants well into May. Don’t harvest the plants that have bolted because they always taste gross.

It's also toxic to some species of butterfly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic_mustard_as_an_invasive_species

If you find it in North America? Eat it if it's a tasty stage but also terminate with extreme prejudice, especially if it's bolted.

 

[Dr. Ricearoni]

I'm new to foraging and I heard you can find wild garlic growing in your yard. I had a look and sure enough I've found what looks like wild garlic. It smells a bit oniony but I have a weak sense of smell so I figured I'd ask if anyone more experienced can confirm that this is wild garlic and if it's edible

 

[Freshly Baked Socks]

If a plant looks like an onion and smells like an onion you can eat it. If a plant looks like a garlic and smells like a garlic you can eat it. If you do not smell a garlic or an onion odor but you have the right look beware you might have a similar-looking toxic plant.

source

 

[Cane Skretteburg]

I'm new to foraging and I heard you can find wild garlic growing in your yard. I had a look and sure enough I've found what looks like wild garlic. It smells a bit oniony but I have a weak sense of smell so I figured I'd ask if anyone more experienced can confirm that this is wild garlic and if it's edibleView attachment 7138995

Eat as much as you can, but leave some to go to seed so you don’t exhaust it all.

 

[Dr. Ricearoni]

Eat as much as you can, but leave some to go to seed so you don’t exhaust it all.

The guides I've found says they're invasive and to destroy them with impunity because they will be back next year. I might plant a few in my garden though if they taste good.

 

[Freshly Baked Socks]

If wild garlic gets into cow forage/silage, it can produce oniony milk, so it's been deemed a problem by industry.

But I keep a couple buckets of allium canadense growing because I am a sucker for topsetting onions. They're sort of ornamental as well as edible.

 

[Dr. Ricearoni]

I'm new to foraging and I heard you can find wild garlic growing in your yard. I had a look and sure enough I've found what looks like wild garlic. It smells a bit oniony but I have a weak sense of smell so I figured I'd ask if anyone more experienced can confirm that this is wild garlic and if it's edibleView attachment 7138995

I've been thinking about this recently, I've been at work all day so I haven't been able to take a closer look but I'm worried this isn't wild garlic at all, every picture I've seen has a single stalk but whatever I pulled up has several stalks per bulb. I'm thinking it could be star of Bethlehem which is poisonous. Since I don't have a strong sense of smell the only way I can really tell for sure is by waiting for what I didn't uproot to flower.

Edit: Did more research and you can tell by the stalk shape. Field garlic has a tube shaped stalk. Star of Bethlehem has v shaped stalks with light green/white strips down the center. Now that I'm home let's take a closer look at that stalk...

Yep, that's star of Bethlehem alright! Mega poisonous, and there's no antidote. Luckily my extreme paranoia saved my life. I still consider this a win for the thread because we all now know how to identify a deadly garlic lookalike.