Spring Foraging
“Foraging continues to be a pastime
thanks to our inherent curiosity,
but its roots are in a
certain learned humility.”
Spring brings sun, birds, and breezes. All of these things, if we take the time to watch, listen, and feel, alert us to the subtle signs of the arrival of a new season. But sun, birds, and breezes belong to every season. A winter sun, a summer breeze, and a bird’s springtime song each embody a time of year, but do not, in their essence, belong to one window of time.
Wild things have windows. In between the beginning-of-spring buds and the formation of May flowers there is a fleeting moment for each thing that is truly, uniquely, exclusively spring. Seasons are best experienced whole and foraging helps us to do just that.
Along with the light and sounds of the season we find what makes each moment unique and fleeting. Overhead, Linden trees show their subtle hidden flowers and underfoot, we find wild watercress and stinging nettles that are best plucked before they flower. Dandelions and sorrel for spring sauces abound. Lilacs and elderflower are also around, ready to be transformed into syrups or folded into cakes and scones.
Foraging continues to be a pastime thanks to our inherent curiosity, but its roots are in a certain learned humility. It requires patience and acceptance of the fact that, like pretty much everything new that we do, we’ll start off thinking we’ll never understand it and end up wondering how it ever stumped us.
Foraging is humble...
Culinary traditions based on peasant cooking, such as Italian cucina povera depend on ingredients that can be foraged in the wild. Unassuming leaves, weeds, sprouts, and flowers are the basis for unpretentious cooking that is easily delicious. An attentive nature walk (or even urban stroll) is transformed into grocery shopping when it’s referred to as foraging.
To be successful we must first accept that what we’re looking for isn’t looking for us. Wild varieties survive through their ability to blend and hide, so it is up to you to train your eye. If you can forage with a friend who has found what you’re looking for before, that’s best. Otherwise look at pictures and read descriptions before going about gleaning.
Try not to be frustrated by the challenge at first, remember to remain humble and wide-eyed. After a while, things will start to pop out at you. Mushrooms have an ingenious way of camouflaging into a forest floor, but they also often grow in social circles so your hard work is quickly paid off. Nettles put up a fight, but when you learn to pinch off their tops just right, you can go on picking them all day with only the slightest stings. Wild strawberries are so bright that once you’ve spotted a bunch you’ll see the next one a mile away. These are tedious work, because the tiny weightless berries amount to barely a palmful after many minutes of picking. Choose carefully what you’ll do with this treasure- I have a friend who tosses mini handfuls directly into his mouth, devouring fifteen minutes of havesting in a matter of seconds. Others enjoy them mini mouthful by mini mouthful. The most patient people wait to place them on top of a freshly baked cake. Everyone has their own way to celebrate.
Foraging is nourishing...
Dark bitter greens, bright flowers and fruit found in the wild are naturally organic and full of vitamins. Herbs such as chives and mint- which can easily be found in the wild- are packed with vitamins A and C as well as iron and calcium. Wild garlic, also known as “ramps”, is another springtime find, and has tonic and antiseptic properties, much like cultivated members of its garlic family.
Things you don’t eat but would rather steep and sip instead- like raspberry leaves, dandelion roots, and Linden leaves- are at their best in herbal teas that have calming and soothing properties. To mix things up, treat your bath tub like a tea cup and brew up a decadent herbal bath.
Foraging gets you outside and teaches you about what lives around you. It is as nourishing for your soul as it is for your body. It inspires you to eat seasonally and cook with fresh ingredients. Foraging takes eating locally to a whole new level, as many wild varieties can be found in nearby fields, forests, or parks.
Foraging is free(ing)...
Foraging doesn’t cost a thing. And since you’re not spending money on your fresh, seasonal finds, there’s nothing to stop you from experimenting with new techniques and tactics when having fun with your wild harvest in the kitchen.
Want to have a go at braising nettles? Or making a pesto out of a freshly picked bundle of herbs and aromatics? There’s truly nothing stopping you from pairing and preparing your loot however you want. Another added bonus: most things you forage are so under-appreciated and uncommon in your local grocery store that you’ll have no choice but to be creative and make up your own recipes.
One thing that I have noticed about foraged foods is that the most compelling way to prepare them is often simply and on their own. These sprouts, flowers, vegetables and fruits are so tied to a place and time that there is something magical about eating them practically unadorned. Perhaps slightly sautéed or dressed in a great olive oil, but not much else. Not at first, at least.
Foraging means focusing, it means zooming in on one thing that only exists in that season, and savoring it. Give into that window of wildness, and experience the season as a whole.
Originally published in Comestible Issue 1
Illustration by Jessie Kanelos Weiner
