Foraging from Nature
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Hey y'all,
This sub is dedicated to exploring the wild world and foraging for food, medicine or for building purposes. Foraging provides us with a deeper understanding and connection to nature, while fostering a respect for where our food can come from. I will kick it off with a treat from my region this time of year, paw paw fruits from paw paw trees. A rare fruit that cannot be found in grochery stores due to its short shelf life, they taste like a cross between a banana and a mango. Their smell is a sweet, pleasant yet mild aroma. The skin and seeds are toxic to humans but the custard-like fruit is delicious and nutritious. There are dozens of paw paw trees on our property but most are saplings. The fruit bearing trees are found by taking a ten minute walk to the Potomac River. I found this haul today, more than I could carry.
I also forage for fungi, particularly oyster mushrooms that grow wild on our land. I posted photos to WAYWT a few days back but figured they also had a place here.
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I also love foraging for fungi, but I’m fairly new to it so usually just take photos - don’t want to harvest what I’m not certain I’ll eat. Chaga is one thing I do keep an eye out for; we dry it and it makes a lovely tea…. Who knew to look up???
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Cool thread! We have loads of paw paws around here too! Can’t wait till they really start coming in so we can make a paw paw custard pie. Haven’t seen any edible mushrooms on the lot yet but we always go exploring for morels in the spring. They’re all over this area.
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@Sir_Cuffs-a-Lot wow I am intrigued and curious what is chaga? I have heard of the name and I think I may have seen it on a tree before. What can you tell about it? How's the tea?
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@WhiskeySandwich I have tried morels from the hippies that brought them to restaurants I worked at in WV and MD but never found one on my own. They around southern MD you say?
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@Oaktavia Yeah bro, I think they're all over the mid-Atlantic, but their location can be sporadic. It's definitely more like hunting, it's tricky, and I've only known them to appear around April like when the first greens come up on the forest floor. I've heard all kinds of tips like searching around dead/dying softwood trees and on south-facing slopes because they get more sun.
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@WhiskeySandwich I have heard lots of tips and I will continue to look. I have found lion's mane and cauliflower mushrooms but they were too old to eat. The one mushroom I have been super successful with is chicken of the woods. My wife and I still have some in our freezer from last summer.
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@Oaktavia Awesome, I really need to do more research on what's local, and make some more paths through our woods so we can search more easily. We have tons of plans to utilize our property more for stuff like this and garden and get some livestock, but the problem is finding the time to do it!
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@Oaktavia I only discovered it last year, so I’m sure the interwebs can tell you more than I can. It’s a parasitic fungus that I’ve found on some of the birch and ironwood trees around my cabin. Supposedly it is a great immune booster, and many claim it has other medicinal properties (lowers blood pressure, cures cancer). I don’t know much about that….
I just think it’s pretty rad that I can “hunt” for this badass looking parasite while on hikes with the pupper, harvest it, and enjoy it as warm beverage (that might, or might not, be doing all these awesome things for me). I find it mellow and earthy tasting, while others sometimes describe it as bitter. I’m used to black coffee, if anything I find it a little sweet.
I try my best to leave a decent chunk attached to the tree - it will continue to grow, from what I understand. And I always thank the tree, because trees kick ass and all.
Jarred -
Sweet harvest this morning! Only took what I planned on eating - fried chicken of the woods sammidges tonight, butter-fried coral tooth as a burger side tomorrow…..
Remember boys and girls, never munch on a hunch!
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@Sir_Cuffs-a-Lot said in Foraging from Nature:
Remember boys and girls, never munch on a hunch!
Those toothy mushrooms are stellar...my wife makes COTW breaded and fried like chicken nugs. All the saowces.
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tasty as!
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@Sir_Cuffs-a-Lot that looks glorious!!!
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@twin said in Foraging from Nature:
@Oaktavia We pick paw paw every fall. Lots of the small trees in the woods around here.
That's awesome man. I just foraged about a dozen from the biggest tree in our back yard.
Good to hear from you dude. I miss your fade progress photos.
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@Oaktavia Loving this thread man! Already learning a lot. We have a few go to mushrooms here in Missouri. I grew up “mushroom hunting” with my grandpa in the spring for Morels. Love them fried. Can find chanterelles in my yard a lot under our oak trees. I need to expand my palette!
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Been frying these up in butter with shallots and smoked garlic…
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@Sir_Cuffs-a-Lot Nice dude...is that particular fungus in any way related to lion's mane? I have found two of them growing on the same tree one year apart on my property but both times found them past due. The one fungus you posted is pretty cool looking, almost looks like coral.