locavore Archives - The Ingredient Guru, Mira Dessy

Merriweather | photo: miradessy

My husband and I were fortunate enough to be able to take a Wild Edibles Foraging Tour with Merriweather today. He's always interesting and engaging, offering an amazing depth and breadth of information about edible, non-edible, and medicinal plants.

The ground was very wet and muddy at the Spring Creek Greenway Nature Center due to all of the rain we've had lately. And trust me, all of that rain is a good thing after the drought we've had for the last two years. However the muddy terrain didn't hold back our eagerness to follow Merriweather over log and trail in pursuit of the knowledge he had to share.

There are rules to wildcrafting or edible foraging:

1. Respect the law – in Texas it is a crime, carrying fines of up to $500, to rustle. That includes plants. So if you're going to harvest you need to ask permission first.

2. Respect the land – just like I learned in Girl Scouts all those years ago, leave it cleaner than you found it and if you packed it in, pack it out.

3. Respect the plant – make clean cuts so the plant can stay healthy and do not over-harvest.

4. Respect yourself – know, definitively, what you are picking and planning to eat. Don't assume because you could be risking your health.

It was a fascinating class and I think everyone was struck by the vast number of edible plants in our environment that we are not aware of. There was a mind-boggling amount of information. Although there are other books out there, I'm waiting for Merriweather to write one of his own because I'm sure it will be good. He has a unique point of view when it comes to sharing this information.

luna moth | photo: miradessy

There were lots of neat things to see during the class, not just plants. One was this beautiful luna moth which patiently clung to the branch, allowing us to turn it over so everyone could photograph “the pretty side.”

In spite of the chilly weather, overcast conditions, and muddy terrain everyone appeared to enjoy the expedition tremendously.

I regularly teach a class on seasonal eating. What the benefits are and why we should look to consume more seasonal (and local) produce. Obviously part of the benefit is that seasonal foods are picked when they are fully ripe, especially if they are local, rather than being picked under-ripe and either stored or transported before being force ripened. This means that the nutritive value of the food is fully developed as well as it's flavor. Anyone who has ever eaten a truly fresh tomato knows what I am talking about.

Benefits of seasonal eating

Better for the environment: Eating seasonal, locally produced fruits and vegetables also helps to reduce the environmental impact of your food. If you think about it, why eat tomatoes from 2,000 miles away when you can get better tasting ones closer to home without burning massive amounts of fossil fuels?
More flavor: as mentioned above, food that is picked when it is ripe, rather than when it is convenient to harvest, is going to taste better. The texture (which contributes to the taste and the enjoyment) is also better because the produce is not artificially chilled and then force ripened, all of which changes the produce.
Support your local farmer: most often when you're buying local, in-season produce you're buying it direct from the grower. This helps to cut out the middle man. Farmer's markets and CSA's are a great way to meet those who are actually growing your food and to be able to talk with them about how they are growing your food.
Less pesticides and toxins: most local, small farmers don't use massive amounts of pesticides, insecticides, and other chemicals. This is where getting to know your local farmer is a big benefit. They'll tell you what they're not doing and explain why. Most often it's because they're growing your food in a way that nourishes the soil and that is more beneficial for the plants. Sure it may not look as consistent or "pretty" as what you see at the grocery store but it smells and tastes far better and has more nutrients.

Defining the seasons

At my last class I got a question that I've gotten a couple of times before and I wanted to address it because I think it's an issue that tends to get a little confusing for folks sometimes. It's about the seasonality of food. I live in Texas. We have a very different growing season here compared to most of the rest of the country. We essentially have the equivalent of two spring-like seasons, one very hot season sandwiched in between them, followed by a cold, often rainy season. Learning to grow food here has proven to be a bit of a challenge. It's nowhere near as easy or intuitive as what I'm used to having grown up in the Northeast. Luckily I have several local CSAs and Farmer's Markets that help supplement our supply of seasonal foods with their expert skills.

One question that comes up a lot is about what constitutes a season. The answer? Well, it depends on where you are living. I think the first, most important place to start is to understand the concept of seasonal eating and decide if this is something that you want to follow. We try to do so in our house for most things because we then get the ripest, best tasting produce by waiting for the season. It also means that we more fully appreciate our food by having to wait for it. I'm going to be honest and put in a disclaimer here to say that there are certain foods that we do not eat seasonally because we use them too much (such as onions, garlic, carrots, and celery) but in general we eat berries in the spring and summer, squashes in the winter and so on.

Resources

In addition to learning to appreciate the seasonality of your food, you need to learn what exactly your seasons are. If you're not sure of what's really in season in your area here are some websites that can help:

If you're looking to find a farmer's market and get fresh, seasonal, local product a great resource for the United States is Local Harvest.

Of course, once you've gotten all this fabulous seasonal produce you'll need to know what to do with it. Here are a few cookbooks to help with that.