On Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:07:55 -0500, James Adams
wrote:
Do any of you have recommendations for books on foraging and harvesting
wild foods? There are many available. I don't know where to start and
am on a very tight budget.
I hope this is not off topic, and if so, could you please direct me to
the proper group(s)?
Thank you.
Jimmy Adams
You really should visit the library first if you are on that
tight of a budget. Make sure these books are what you really
want. I just used Amazon for display purposes. Buy from
whoever you are comfortable with.
Field Guides:
A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central
North America (Peterson Field Guides) by Lee Allen Peterson.
Uses drawings, excellent reference for identifying plants.
Only brief preparation info.
http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Ed.../dp/039592622X
===
Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide (Paperback)
by Thomas Elias and Peter Dykeman.
Uses real photos and is pretty good. My next favorite guide
after Peterson's.
http://www.amazon.com/Edible-Wild-Pl.../dp/0806974885
===
Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America by Merritt
Lyndon Fernald and Alfred Charles Kinsey. Revised by Reed C.
Rollings.
Uses black & white drawings and B/W photos. This is an older
reference but covers a lot of ground.
http://www.amazon.com/Edible-Plants-.../dp/0486291049
===
Read the Amazon reviews too.
Euell Gibbons stuff is good (as others have mentioned), but
take care with him. He liked to do some crazy stuff like eat
poison ivy (tiny amounts) to develop an immunity to it
(shudder). He wrote several good books on wild edibles
though, more than just "Stalking the Wild Asparagus".
I have more, but these are by faves. Only dig into the other
ones when I can't find what I want in the above and/or want
to know as much as possible about something. One can never
have too many books on stuff
What ever you do be careful. Make sure several references
agree on what you are going to try eating. Some of them
have/give really bad suggestions that I don't think would be
wise to try.
--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
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