Cuisine Canada Scene

As you enjoy your long weekend hikes through the woods, and are tempted by the marvelous wild delicacies, please remember the following:

-When foraging plants, remember the general etiquette: know your plants, and know about their life cycle.  Never take more than the plant can quickly regenerate within a year.  Some of my personal recommendations include not taking more than one or two fiddles per well established fern. I never taking more than 1/4 of the mushrooms I find (even if it breaks my heart), and I leave some fruits (1/10) on the wild raspberries, strawberries, and other fruit-bearing plants I find.

-Know your plants also takes a different perspective.  If you aren’t 100% certain that you have identified your plant correctly, then don’t eat it. There are plenty of toxic plants out there that could cause serious damage.  Learn from an experienced forager who is willing to share his or her craft.

-Don’t forage on private property or in protected parkland. That’s just common sense.

-If it’s generally considered a weed, then eat your heart out. Garlic mustard, dandelions, burdock, chrysanthemum greens, lambs quarters, purslane, amaranth, take as much as you want.  Someone might even thank you.

-Remember that some foraged plants are considered threatened, endangered or vulnerable species. Canadian laws in different jurisdictions may protect against harvesting certain species, including American ginseng, goldenseal, spotted wintergreen, prickly pear cactus, red mulberry, wild ginger, and wild leeks.  Before you harvest, make sure you check your regional conservation authority for local regulations for foraging plants.

Have fun, and enjoy the harvest!

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Posted by Amy Proulx, who harvested those wild leeks legally, sustainably, and with permission.

Photo: Amy Proulx