LOL
Just thinking about ordering some paracord actually. Good one.

I too, was hoping for a book out there (Peterson noted!)

Yes, the thin layer between the outer bark and the true wood body of the tree. An excellent write-up can be found here .

As for a good books, the ones I mention here are all good, though the Peterson Guide to Edible Wild Plants should be everyone's first pick. For winter survival this one is also very good for indentifying trees in the winter (though it doesn't say which ones are edible).

However to become an expert you need to build up a good library of plant books. Not just books specifically about edible plants but all sorts of plant ID books. Home Depot has a huge book on common yard weeds that I love. I've found cross-referencing many books to be the only way to identify every edible plant in an area.

As for pine nuts, while all pine seeds are edible only a few pine trees produce nuts/seeds worth the effort to harvest. Here in North America only pinyons, sugar pines and gray pines have big enough seeds inside the pine cones. All of these grow mainly in the southwest. I don't know of any which grow in places with true winter.


I definitely recommend experimenting with cattails before you are stuck in an emergency situation. They are often hyped as a "supermarket in the woods" but in reality they are more of the "soup kitchen of the woods". You can get nutrition from them but it's not very pleasant. It takes a lot of effort and the results are usually bitter and nasty tasting.

-Blast

The seeds are contained within the pine cone and can be a bit of effort to get at, but if your shelter is up and fire going with a supply of wood for the night.. it will give you something to do for awhile. LOL

No set ratio really, but a hand full of young lighter-green needles tend to make a better tea. Just boil water, add needles, wait about 20 minutes and enjoy.

"Eat the Weeds", if still in print, is good. Kinda funny, too.

And I have always been a fan of Bradford Angier, met him once, before he passed away, showed me his collection of compasses and knives and sat and talked about his life. He also autographed every book of his I owned, plus gave me a couple out of print copies. "Feasting Free on Wild Edibles" is his compilation of 2 prior books.

Here's the recipe for Pine Needle Tea http://www.ehow.com/how_2102192_pine-needle-tea.html

But don't feed the pine needle tea to a pregnant woman, as it can cause spontaneous abortion.

Sue

Good to know though, thank you!

Sue, I recall from survival school that this was considered a native american myth- cattle would throw their calves after eating pine needles- do you have a source?

All I can find are sites proclaiming the benefits, but only 2 (both native american) mention the abortion angle.

My recollection is that everything from live pines is rather toxic -- whether it be the needles or smoke from burning the wood.

I was always told that spruce needle tea was the worthy objective, especially from the newest growth, because it contains Vitamin C. But IIRC you should steep the needles instead of boiling, since excessive heat breaks down the desirable elements.

In areas where "dead of winter" equals frozen ground and feet (potentially) of snow - best bet is wild game.

With snow on the ground, finding runs to place snares is really easy. Storage of unused meat is a snap (just let it freeze). Tracking is much easier, etc.

Fishing could be problematic if you don't have an efficient method for cutting through sveral inches of ice, though some rivers might not be frozen.

Aside from trees and a few bits of bark and whatnot, there's nothing other than wild game I would think.

Being able to acquire food in a survival situation is more a luxury than a necessity. Water would be a bigger concern, especially in a frigid environment. You may get hungry, but you won't starve. However, you can dehydrate faster in the cold than most people would think.

Staying warm, then hydrated, then perhaps fed ought to be the proper order of things. Somewhere in there we probably ought to include getting rescued or getting ourselves out if that is doable.