The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: Finding, Identifying, and Cooking

by Katie Letcher Lyle

Overview

Edible wild plants, mushrooms, fruits, and nuts grow along roadsides, amid country fields, and in urban parks. All manner of leafy greens, mushrooms, and herbs that command hefty prices at the market are bountiful outdoors and free for the taking. But to enjoy them, one must know when to harvest and how to recognize, prepare, and eat them.

The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts provides everything one needs to know about the most commonly found wild foods—going beyond a field guide's basic description to provide folklore and mouth-watering recipes for each entry, such as wild asparagus pizza, fiddlehead soup, blackberry mousse, and elderberry pie. This fully illustrated guide is the perfect companion for hikers, campers, and anyone who enjoys eating the good food of the earth. With it in hand, nature lovers will never take another hike without casting their eyes about with dinner in mind.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493018642
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/15/2016
Series:	Guide to Series
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	117,318
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Katie Letcher Lyle is an award-winning cook and the author of nearly twenty books, including The Wild Berry Book. Her articles on wild food have appeared in Americana, Country Journal, and Blue Ridge Country. She was food columnist for seven years for the Roanoke Times.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction x

1 Gearing Up 1

2 Green Things 6

Asparagus 6

Chicory 9

Dandelions 11

Fiddleheads 14

Garlic Mustard 16

Lamb's-Quarters 18

Land Cress 20

Milkweed 22

Mustard 24

Poke 25

Purslane 28

Sorrel 29

Stinging Nettles 31

Watercress 33

Wild Onions and Garlic 37

Chickweed 41

Milk Thistle 42

Cleavers 43

Lemon Balm 44

Jewelweed 45

Kudzu 47

3 Fungi: Mushrooms 50

Morels 52

Puff balls 56

Chanterelles 57

Lion's Mane 59

Beefsteak Mushrooms 60

Sulfur Shelf 61

Oyster Mushrooms 62

Boletus 64

Coprinus 66

Field Mushrooms 68

Shiitake 71

Chaga 73

4 Fruits 75

Apples 77

Crab Apples 80

Blackberries, Raspberries, and Their Kin 83

Wineberries 95

Blueberries and Huckleberries 98

Autumn Olive 102

Cherries 103

Cornel Cherries 106

Cranberries 108

Elderberries 110

Figs 112

Grapes 115

Mulberries 120

Pears 123

Plums 125

Quinces 126

Rhubarb 129

Strawberries 130

Persimmons 134

Pawpaws 135

5 Flowers and Herbs 136

Rose Hips 137

Violets 139

Mint 141

Catnip 144

Bayberry 146

Nasturtiums 148

Marigolds 150

Hibiscus 152

Daylilies 153

Chrysanthemums 154

6 Nuts 156

Black Walnuts and Butternuts 158

Hickory Nuts and Pecans 161

Beechnuts 162

Coconuts 164

7 Miscellaneous Foraging 166

Corn 166

Jerusalem Artichokes 172

Wild Rice 174

Horseradish 177

Sassafras 179

Ginseng 181

Maple Syrup 186

Avocados 190

Passion Fruit 192

Prickly Pear 193

Watermelon Rind 194

Aloe Vera 196

8 Annual Foragers' Calendar 198

9 The Last Word 201

Appendix: Basic Recipes 203

Bibliography 212

Index 215

About the Author 224

Editorial Reviews

Wherever foraging takes you, this is a handy [guide] to include in a daypack.”

—farmersmarketonline.com

“A great book for the wild-foods gourmand.. .. Lyle discusses the history, the lore, and the preparation of a variety of edibles.”

—Grand Rapids Press

“This fully illustrated guide is the perfect companion for hikers, campers, and anyone
who enjoys eating the good food of the earth.”—Women in the Outdoors

From the Publisher