Wild spinach about 7 feet tall and fully mature. Well-fed wild spinach is well-branched and produces a huge quantity of seeds when mature. The leaves are still edible at this stage but are reduced in quality, taking on a somewhat off-flavor. According to research on other mature plants, the leaves on these older plants retain most of their nutrients and phytochemicals as long as they are still green. (Left: The author stands in for perspective, 2006.)
Imagine what you could do with eighteen delicious new greens in your dining arsenal including purslane, chickweed, curly dock, wild spinach, sorrel, and wild mustard.
John Kallas makes it fun and easy to learn about foods you've unknowingly passed by all your life. Through gorgeous photographs, playful, but authoritative text, and ground-breaking design he gives you the knowledge and confidence to finally begin eating and enjoying edible wild plants.
Edible Wild Plants divides plants into four flavor categories -- foundation, tart, pungent, and bitter. Categorizing by flavor helps readers use these greens in pleasing and predictable ways. According to the author, combining elements from these different categories makes the best salads.
This field guide is essential for anyone wanting to incorporate more natural and whole foods into their diet. First ever nutrient tables that directly compare wild foods to domesticated greens are included. Whether looking to enhance a diet or identify which plants can be eaten for survival, the extensive information on wild foods will help readers determine the appropriate stage of growth and how to properly prepare these highly nutritious greens.
John Kallas is one of the foremost authorities on North American edible wild plants and other foragables. He's learned about wild foods through formal academic training and over 35 years of hands-on field research. John has a doctorate in nutrition, a master's in education, and degrees in biology and zoology.
He's a trained botanist, nature photgrapher, writer, researched, and teacher. In 1993 he founded the Institute for the Study of Edible Wild Plants and Other Foragables along with its educational branch, Wild Food Adventures.
John's company is based in Portland, Oregon, where he offers regional workshops, and multi-day intensives on wild foods.
For more information, see www.wildfoodadventures.com
Table of Contents:
7 Acknowledgments
9 About the Author
12 Disclaimer? Yeah, Right!
14 Preface
17 Welcome to My World
23 Part I: Understanding Wild Foods
25 1 Identifying and Enjoying Wild Foods
35 2 What Is Edible?
43 3 When Plant Parts Morph into Food
53 4 Foraging Tools
65 Part II: Th e Plants
66 Foundation Greens
67 5 Wild Spinach
85 6 Chickweed
101 7 Mallow
129 8 Purslane
141 Tart Greens
143 9 Curly Dock
165 10 Sheep Sorrel
177 11 Wood Sorrel
191 Pungent Greens
195 12 Field Mustard
217 13 Wintercress
231 14 Garlic Mustard
249 15 Shepherd's Purse
261 Bitter Greens
269 16 Dandelion
297 17 Cat's Ear
313 18 Sow Thistle
329 19 Nipplewort
343 Part III: The Potential of Wild Foods
345 20 Why Eat Wild Foods?
351 21 The Nutrition of Wild Foods
373 22 Oxalates
383 23 Agriotrophytology
387 24 Crafting a Wild Paradise
395 25 Feeding Yourself and Society
401 References
407 Index
Dr. John Kallas has investigated and taught about edible wild plants since 1970. He founded Wild Food Adventures (www.wildfoodadventures.com) in 1993 and is the publisher and editor of Wild Food Adventurer. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Gibbs Smith
Pub Date: June 11, 2010
1.03" H x 9.0" L x 6.26" W
416 pages
paperback