Outdoor Edibles » Berries/Fruits/Nuts

Chestnut

Wild Edible — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:56:33 +0000

Chestnut trees grow in temperate and tropical regions throughout the world, and is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family. The American Chestnut tree could grow to ten feet in diameter and 100 feet tall and could live to be 600 years old. It provided food, shelter, beauty and income for many people in the Appalachians.

Its bark is smooth when young, of a vinous maroon or red-brown color for the American Chestnut, gray for the European Chestnut. With age American species’ becomes gray and darker, thick and deeply furrowed; the furrows run longitudinally, and tend to twist around the trunk as the tree ages – it sometimes reminds of a large cable with twisted strands. Castanea sativa male catkins (pale buff) and female catkins (green, spiny, partly hidden by leaves).

The leaves are simple, ovate or lanceolate, 4 – 12 inches long and 1.5 – 4 inches broad, with sharply pointed, widely-spaced teeth, with shallow rounded sinuates between.

The flowers follow the leaves, appearing in late Spring or early Summer or onto July. They are arranged in long catkins of two kinds, with both kinds being borne on every tree. Some catkins are made of only male flowers, which mature first. Each flower has eight stamens, or 10 to 12 for Castanea mollissima. The ripe pollen carries a heavy sweet odour that some people find too sweet or unpleasant. Other catkins have these pollen-bearing flowers but also carry near the twig from which these spring, small clusters of female or fruit-producing flowers. Two or three flowers together form a four-lobed prickly calybium which ultimately grows completely together to make the brown hull, or husk, covering the fruits.

Chestnuts can be found on the ground around trees

The fruit is contained in a spiny (very sharp) cupule 2 to 3 inches in diameter, also called “bur” or “burr”. The burrs are often paired or clustered on the branch and contain one to seven nuts according to the different species, varieties and cultivars. At around the time when the fruits reach maturity, the burrs turn yellow-brown and split open in 2 or 4 sections. They can remain on the tree longer than they hold the fruit, but more often achieve complete opening and release the fruits only after having fallen on the ground and is partly due to soil humidity.

The chestnut fruit has a pointy end with at the tip a small tuft called ‘flame’ in Italian, and a hilum – an oblong spot at the other end of the fruit. In many varieties the fruit is flattened on one or two sides. It has two skins. The first one, is a hard outer shiny brown hull or husk, called the pericarpus; the industry calls it ‘the peel’. Underneath the pericarpus is another thinner skin, also called “pellicle” or “episperm”. The pellicle closely adheres to the seed itself, following the grooves usually present at the surface of the fruit. These grooves are of variable sizes and depth according to the species and varieties. They can make the peeling in many cases difficult without the appropriate technique.

Cut an X into the top of each chestnut (the end with the little tuft of spikes on), and drop into a shallow panful of simmering water. WEARING RUBBER GLOVES, a minute or two later take two or three out with a slotted spoon. The shell peels down from the top, and if the skin doesn’t come with it, it will soon follow with a rub from your gloved fingertip. Don’t peel the shell right down to the bottom until you’ve done all four sides (you don’t want it to cool) and then rub any remaining skin off. Any skin caught in the folds can be tweaked out by a helper (non glove-wearing), or with a knife, or rubbed off gently with a toothbrush. If the nut cools down too much and the skin readheres, pop it back into the boiling water for 30 seconds.

The nuts go floury if they’re cooked for too long, so about six nuts at a time in the boiling water is about right so you can do two or three batches of peeling. It is still labour intensive, but you get beautifully clean nuts (matron), waste much less, and spare your fingers.

Ripe nuts are usually picked in autumn, although unripe nuts picked while green may also be used for food. Perhaps the easiest way to prepare them is to roast the ripe nuts in embers. Cooked this way, they are quite tasty, and you can eat large quantities. Another way is to boil the kernels after removing the outer shell. After being boiled until fairly soft, you can mash the nuts like potatoes.

Blueberry

Wild Edible — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:51:34 +0000

Blueberries

Most people who live in Canada or the United States are very familiar with wild Blueberries. They often grow in open, sunny areas, and variations are found in many north temperate climates around the world. Among other common names, Blueberries are also known at Huckleberries, Bilberries, and Deerberries.

The Blueberry is a shrub which can vary from one to several feet in height. They have elliptical, alternate, simple leaves, and in the spring, their flowers are typically white, bell-shaped, and are said to be edible as well. The berries are typically harvested in summer or early fall, and go from green to dark blue, black, or red as they ripen.

Blueberry Bush

Leaf of the Blueberry Bush

Beechnut

Wild Edible — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:20:04 +0000

Beechnut Pod

The Beech tree grows in temperate regions throughout the world, and generally prefers forests. It is commonly found in the eastern United States, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. In addition, Beech relatives are found in Chile, New Guinea, and New Zealand.

Beech trees are large, symmetrical forest trees that have smooth, light-gray bark and dark green foliage. The most distinguishing features are the bark, the female flowers borne in pairs and the male catkins in the spring and early summer, and the clusters of prickly seedpods in the fall. The leaves of beech trees are elliptical, entirely or sparsely toothed, around 4 inches long and 2 inches wide.

Beachnut Leaves

The fruit of the beech, also called “Beechnuts” and “mast”, are found in the small burrs that drop from tree in autumn. They are small and triangular, are edible though sometimes bitter, have a sweet taste and are highly nutritious. Because of the high oil content, the Beechnut is an extremely useful survival food.

Another use for the Beechnut is as a coffee substitute. Roast them so that the kernel becomes golden brown and quite hard. Then pulverize the kernel and, after boiling or steeping in hot water, you will have a reasonable coffee substitute.

Blackberries

Wild Edible — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:58:34 +0000

Wild Blackberry

Blackberries are a widespread, and well-known group of several hundred species, found native throughout the temperate northern hemisphere and South America. Vigorous and growing rapidly in woods, scrub, hillsides and hedgerows, blackberry shrubs tolerate poor soils, readily colonizing wasteland, ditches and vacant lots.

Wild Blackberry Flower

It has tall, thorny, arching cane up to 9 feet tall, with palmate-compound, pear-shaped, finely toothed leaves.
In the spring, the flowers are white or pink, 5 petaled, and radially symmetrical with many bushy stamens. The fruit is available in late summer and early fall in the Northwest, can be easily recognized by practically everybody, and can be eaten raw.

Wild Edible Blackberry Bush

Persimmon

Wild Edible — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:39:07 +0000

Persimmon Fruit

Persimmons are a fruit that grows from trees that vary greatly in appearance, and grow wild in some states. They can be used to make jam, jelly, vinegar, beer, tea, a coffee substance and breadstuff. They should be gathered after the first frost when they are completely ripe and very soft. Persimmons can be eaten raw, seeds can be roasted and used for coffee, and dried fruits can be ground into meal to make bread.

Persimmon Leaf

The fruit also can make a delicious syrup. To make the syrup, mix the persimmons with wheat bran, baked in pones. Put the mix in a container and pour water into it and let stand for 12 hours. Lastly, strain then boil to a thicker consistency.

Persimmon Flower

Persimmon in Fall

Persimmon Tree