More on the topic of wild foods…
Over the years, I have gone through many sources of information for wild edibles. Initially, most were academic oriented and more concerned about recording vanished lifestyles than providing practical information for current readers.
The past few years have seen more information on what is available for harvesting and eating in the modern world. There is one fault I see in both information sources.
There is a big difference between a food that is edible and one that is actually palatable. I have come to the conclusion that ‘edible’ in this context simply means ‘not poisonous’. Some of the foods listed are used only as a survival food such as eating inner tree bark. While it prevented the Japanese from starvation after World War II, it was seen as a desperation food and not a staple of a hunter-gatherer culture.
Other foods are quite delicious and are easily accessible to folks who are only mildly interested in wild food. Blackberries, pine nuts, acorns and onions are some examples.
So the next time you are browsing through a book on the traditional foods of the area, keep in mind if these are foods that were the staple of the pre-agricultural peoples or a survival food.