What is wild food?
Well, I’d call it free food with loads of nutrients! Wild foods are very hardy, so they’re full of vibrant nutritional power. Doesn’t that sound great? They grow no matter what the conditions – some are available year-round – and they are packed full of minerals and vitamins.
Plus they’re fun to harvest. You can get your family involved. There’s something magical about being able to just pick weeds and eat them.
And there’s no need for planting, weeding, fertilizing and all of that other stuff that comes with a traditional vegetable garden.
It’s economical as well – you probably have some free salad growing right outside your door.
And it’s definitely easier to find tasty wild food than you might think. You don’t have to be a botanist or wild food expert to get the benefits of some free greens!
I thought I’d point out just a few of the most basic plants that are fairly easy to identify.
I’ve also included a link to a comprehensive resource at the end of this article if you decide you want to explore wild foods further.
Dandelions (pictured above)
These are just about everywhere, at least in Europe and in a large part of the US. The leaves and flowers can be eaten raw in salads.
Top tip: Go for the youngest (smallest) leaves which aren’t as bitter, and mix with other leaves.
Some people cook the flowers like fritters. If you want to try it, a good recipe (although cooked) is here.
Nettles
I didn’t know what nettles were before coming to the UK, but boy I know them now! They grow all over the place and are responsible for that sharp sting you get if you’re trying to pick weeds in your garden (not that that would be me, I gave up on gardening a long time ago. Now I just eat the ‘weeds’!)
If you’d like to know a bit about the history of nettles and their usage, you can read more here.
Nettles can be blended into smoothies or tossed in a food processor for dips, as the blades will break up the stingers. You can juice them as well, although it’s best to juice them together with vegetables or fruit.
You may want to use gloves when picking nettles – just toss them in a large bowl and wash them before using.
You can pick the individual leaves without gloves if you know how – get a ‘wild foodie’ friend to show you. Don’t try it without knowing what you’re doing though – I wouldn’t want you getting stung!
Plantain
Plantain is very common in the southwest of the US, but in the UK as well.
As with dandelions, you want the tender young leaves which aren’t as bitter. They can be eaten in salads and they are delicious!
Note: I’m talking about the green ‘weed’ here, which has nothing to do with the delicious banana-type plantains (which can be eaten raw as well). I’m not sure why it has the same name, because they sure don’t look (or taste) the same!
Ground elder
I’ve included this one because it’s all over my garden! And once it comes to visit, it generally doesn’t leave. So…you might as well eat it!
Apparently if you live in Europe you can thank the Romans for ground elder. Rumor has it that they grew it as a vegetable and brought it to the UK, where it promptly put down roots and decided to stay.
You can pick the young leaves and toss them right into your salad. Some people steam it and use as you would spinach.
Ground elder grows all year round, giving you free, healthy greens even in the middle of winter!
Want to know more about wild foods?
You can read more about a whole host of common wild foods on ediblewildfood.com which provides much more in-depth coverage than I can do here.
I can answer questions though – just pop them in the comments!
