Foraging for wild foods around our area is another unique way to step outside.  The spring is full of small plants and fungi that provide nutrients to your body when consumed.  Many of these plants and mushrooms have medicinal properties to help you through the spring-changing season.   

Baby knotweed sprouts are easy ones to forage; knotweed is found here along our waterways.  Although it is known for how invasive it is, it does have some consumer benefits. Knotweed is good cooked like asparagus when very small, three to six inches in length, or diced small and made into a chutney-type paste.  It has a sweet flavor.

Knotweed also has very positive health benefits.  With the amount of knotweed around here, I wish people did more medicinal harvest and processing of the plant.  Fiddleheads are small, premature ostrich ferns that taste amazing.  Fiddleheads can be easily cooked in olive oil and salt, and provide an excellent source of antioxidants and a good source of fiber.  They are found in specific places near water, and must be identified correctly, as some ferns have carcinogenic properties and should not be consumed. 

Morel mushrooms are a bit rare in our immediate Upper Delaware region, but just a short drive to the southeast, there seem to be more of these incredible gifts from nature.  Morel mushrooms are very high quality mushrooms that are added to gourmet meals by chefs and food connoisseurs alike.  If you find morels in this area, mark that spot and go back year after year to harvest this nutty flavored nugget of joy from the forest’s mycelium.   

We can’t forget the wild ramp. I missed Ramp Fest this year, but I do love ramps, also known as wild leeks. They are a small green-leaf plant with one to three broad leaves that curve outward.  They’ll have pink or white stems and a strong smell of onions or garlic.  Ramps are rich in vitamin A and are good for immunity. They’re easy to cook as a side or added to stir fry.  Anything that looks or smells like an onion has a special place in my palate.

One of my favorites is the black trumpet mushroom or “horn of plenty.”  It typically is found in the mid-to-late summer, especially if conditions are unseasonably cool and wet then.  I can’t wait to find these; they’re maybe my favorite tasting wild mushroom.  Small, black and easy to miss, but a delight when found.  They also have no lookalike toxic friends, so they are easy for beginner foragers to identify.  They are rich in B vitamins, copper and fiber.  

Chicken of the woods and hen of the woods mushrooms often get mistaken for one another or are grouped together.  Chicken of the woods is bright orange and white, often bulbous like a tumor on the side of a living or dead hardwood tree.  It has a meaty texture with a light lemony flavor, quite good with a marinara sauce or used in stir-fries.   

Hen of the woods is more reddish orange with a light underside, and it forms large, layered mushrooms at the base of hardwood trees, primarily oaks.  It has an earthy flavor with a hint of spice.  It is a bit more of an acquired taste, but with a little sesame sauce, it creates a nice flavor combination.  

I can go on and on about all the many different types of plants and fungi that can be foraged around our area.  But it is best to purchase a field guide to edible plants and a field guide for mushrooms, and take long walks in the woods with the books. Be sure to positively identify each plant before consuming.  

Different times of the year will yield new options for foraging in our local forests.  Keep an eye out when you’re out hiking or walking your property.  Sometimes these gems of nature can be right in plain sight.