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#158438 - 12/15/08 03:18 AM Re: Foraging for Food in the Dead of Winter [Re: Desperado]
MDinana Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 03/08/07
Posts: 2208
Loc: Beer&Cheese country
Originally Posted By: Desperado
Since it is the dead of winter in Detroit, remember to wear your paracord knit cap to keep your feet warm.

Methinks it's time for Sir Blast to publish a book. I too have left the wild edibles sorely neglected.

Is there any "One Book" that is recommended reading?

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

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

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#158452 - 12/15/08 04:18 AM Re: Foraging for Food in the Dead of Winter [Re: MDinana]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Quote:
So, by the inner bark, you mean all the stuff inside the outer layer?


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.

Quote:
I probably should go outside and play with the cattails that grow everywhere around here.

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



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#158453 - 12/15/08 04:22 AM Re: Foraging for Food in the Dead of Winter [Re: MDinana]
Canadian Offline
Stranger

Registered: 06/23/08
Posts: 13
Loc: Manitoba, Canada
Quote:
- I love pine nuts (from the store). Are these found on the pine cone? If so, how does one "open" the cone and get them?

- Pine needle tea? What, just boil some water and toss in some needles (I assume green)? Any set ratio (ie, 20 needles per ounce)?


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.


Edited by Canadian (12/15/08 04:28 AM)

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#158458 - 12/15/08 05:05 AM Re: Foraging for Food in the Dead of Winter [Re: Canadian]
Jakam
Unregistered


"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.

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#158527 - 12/16/08 01:16 AM Re: Foraging for Food in the Dead of Winter [Re: ]
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
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

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#158536 - 12/16/08 02:54 AM Re: Foraging for Food in the Dead of Winter [Re: Susan]
MDinana Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 03/08/07
Posts: 2208
Loc: Beer&Cheese country
Originally Posted By: Susan
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!

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#158539 - 12/16/08 03:27 AM Re: Foraging for Food in the Dead of Winter [Re: MDinana]
Jakam
Unregistered


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.

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#158552 - 12/16/08 04:57 AM Re: Foraging for Food in the Dead of Winter [Re: ]
dougwalkabout Offline
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3219
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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.

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#158595 - 12/16/08 04:55 PM Re: Foraging for Food in the Dead of Winter [Re: dougwalkabout]
thatguyjeff Offline
Newbie

Registered: 04/22/08
Posts: 41
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.

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#158597 - 12/16/08 05:11 PM Re: Foraging for Food in the Dead of Winter [Re: thatguyjeff]
benjammin Offline
Rapscallion
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/06/04
Posts: 4020
Loc: Anchorage AK
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.
_________________________
The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

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