The Wild Supermarket: Elder and Dock

The Wild Supermarket:  Elder and Dock

I'm always amazed at the secrets plants hold.  I shouldn't be I guess, because after all, our ancestors were healthy and knew how to use the same plants we have and because of that, we're here.  They used plant medicinals because that's all they had and while we have the luxury of doctors, Walgreens and CVS, that might not be the norm in the future.  Be prepared, whether it's because you fear an uncertain future or because you want to be healthy without chemicals or because you don't have money for medicines from the store, being prepared makes sense.

My very favorite herbal medicinal as of late is Elder (sambucus nigra) and after you learn about it, it will be one of your favorites too! It's very simple to identify and is one of those plants where nearly every part is useful. Below are photos of Elder foliage, flower and fruit:

    

As early as the 14th century Elder was being used in many ways from making pipes for smoking to being used as a tasty beverage and a powerful medicine. Elder is an adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon word aeld or Eldrun and loosely means "fire".  Probably because stems of the Elder are hollow and were used for making pipes for smoking or to blow on a fire to get it started. I thought that was pretty cool but if that weren't enough, there's more....

Elderflowers are used to make Elderflower Cordial, a sweet, perfumey elixir used to flavor just about anything you can think of from martinis to lemonade to club soda.  Want to wean yourself or your kids off of sodas and artificially flavored drinks? Elderflower Cordial might do the trick. This is made from the flowers of the Elder, gather responsibly from different locations - don"t eliminate your patch by over collecting in one area. Here's how to make it:

Elderflower Cordial

1 qt water

4 c sugar

2 lemons, thinly sliced into rounds

1 orange, thinly sliced into rounds

1 t citric acid

25 elderflower heads, stems removed (about 2 cups flowers)

Remove flowers from stems into large bowl or gallon glass jar,  Slice lemons and orange, add these to the flowers and then add the citric acid.  Bring sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan till sugar is dissolved. Let cool to room temp, pour over flower mixture and stir to combine. Cover and put in fridge for 3 days.  After 3 days, strain liquid thru cheesecloth into a quart jar and store in fridge. To serve, pour 1 to 3 tablespoons into a glass and add mixer of your choice.

Another wonderful product of the Elder is the berries. This is the part that just amazes me....the berries have compounds in them that can prevent the flu or if you are already sick, can dramatically lessen the severity. When the doctor prescribes a flu remedy such as Tamiflu, the drug simply masks the symptoms of the flu and doesn't actually kill it.  Elderberry syrup or tincture (called Sambucol) actually coats the viruses and prevents them from attaching themselves to healthy cells therefore they cannot replicate and make you sick.  They are then just flushed out of the body naturally.  See how that works??? Tell me that's not amazing! There are two ways to make Sambucol - syrup or tincture. The syrup is nonalcoholic and obviously suited for children or teetotalers while the tincture is made with grain alcohol.  Either works, but I prefer the tincture, it is more potent because it hasn't been exposed to heat.

Sambucol aka Elderberry Syrup

2/3 c elderberries

3 1/2 c water

2 T fresh ginger or dried ginger root

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t whole cloves or ground cloves

1 c honey or sugar

Into a medium saucepan add all ingredients except honey or sugar and bring to a boil and simmer for 45 mins or till reduced by almost half. Remove from heat, let cool a bit, add sugar or honey and stir to dissolve. Store in lidded jar in fridge. 

Dosages:To prevent flu use 1/2 to 1 t for kids and 1 T for adults every day. If you are already sick use the normal dosages just take it every 3 hours daily until symptoms disappear.

Elderberry Tincture

2 c elderberries

Grain alcohol like Everclear or other high proof alcohol

1 c sugar

Pour berries into quart Mason jar, add enough alcohol to just cover the berries. Seal and let sit in dark, cool place for 6 weeks, shaking vigorously every few days.  After 6 weeks, strain off the liquid into a bowl and squeeze the berries to get every single remaining drop out of them, discard the berries. Pour back into the jar and store in cool, dark place.  

Dosage: THIS IS FOR ADULTS ONLY!!!

 To prevent flu take 1 T daily. If you're already sick, 1 T every 3 hours.

You could also make jelly and wine using Elderberries, but why would you waste these precious little gems on that?? If you do happen to have acres of the plants available and you want to make some, here a link to a great website that has tons of recipes and some cool trivia on Elder.

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/e/elder-04.html

  

o   Now, see the pics above?  Let's talk about some Curly Dock (rumex crispus), it's a versatile food and an important medicinal. You can recognize it by the unusual leaves that have a frilly, ruffled look or as it's called, curly. The seed heads form and when ready they turn a dark brown.  When I first started foraging, this was one of the plants I started with because it's easy to identify.  When the seeds are fully ripe, the leaves tend to develop a powdery looking mildew on them, making identification even simpler. The leaves, if picked very young can be added to salads or soups and have a pleasant tangy taste.  If you gather them a little older you'll need to parboil them in a few changes of water to get rid of oxalic acids that can be damaging to the urinary tract and also can flare up gout in some. Once you've parboiled them you can eat them as you would any cooked green.  The seeds are gathered when brown and ripe and then can be ground into a fine or coarse flour and used in oatmeal, breads, etc.  A word of warning about Dock seeds - they have a strong laxative effect in some people,  That can be a very good thing if that's an issue with you but if it's not, then it can be a messy surprise because it's like a stick of dynamite for your colon!.  I add about a teaspoon in oatmeal or sprinkle it on top of muffins before baking. The root is also valuable, it is very high in iron and can be used as an iron supplement when dried and powdered and added to foods.

     

     

  That's it for Elder and Dock.  Get out there and forage!

The Wild Supermarket: Red Sumac

Isn't a supermarket a wonderful thing? Don't we all love going shopping and getting whatever we are hungry for?  Maybe some people don't LOVE going grocery shopping but we can all agree that we LOVE having the luxury of shopping for everything we need in one location.  I am 99.999% sure that no one reading this can remember when there were no supermarkets.  The very first grocery store opened in Manhattan in 1916 and was a failure, closing a year later.  However, in 1916 Clarence Saunders opened the first of a chain of self-service grocery stores in Memphis he named Piggly Wiggly. Up until then, your only option was your home garden or the General Store and both were indeed limited in variety.


If the recent crises in Greece and China are any indication of the direction the world is headed then I'm thinking we need to get a better food plan together - and I don't mean on a national or global level, I mean on a personal and community level.  Depending on farmers in California, Texas and even farmers in other countries is not a responsible way to go about your life.  We could wake up one morning and the convenience of the supermarket would be a thing of the past.  If you couldn't run to the store how would you feed your family? If we plan for this possibility by raising most of own organic food and by working within our community for other items then a crisis like that won't be as difficult to survive.  If that idea is a little farfetched to some, look at it like this: the food you raise will be free of pesticides and artificial ingredients and it's 100 times better for you. Not to mention the exercise you'll get from working in your own garden!

Not everything need be raised in your garden.  Some things grow wild and can be foraged close by where we live.  That is FREE FOOD!! and who doesn't love free food?? It's your own private Wild Supermarket!  I want to give you a quick tutorial on foraging today and how simple it is and the plant we're going to start with is:

Red Sumac (rhus glabra) is a great intro plant. It has an unmistakable appearance so you won't get a wrong version of it.  There is a Poison Sumac (toxicodendron vernix) but it doesn't look like Red Sumac, below is Red Sumac:


And this is Poison Sumac:


The easiest way to positively identify Poison Sumac is the berries, they are white and don't form the torch shaped panicles that the Red Sumac has. I will add that Sumac is related to Pistachios and Mangoes, so if you have allergies to those foods, be careful when trying Sumac products.

Right now through September is peak Sumac season and they are super high in Vitamin C! They are a vivid crimson and the leaves are just starting to get a hint of red as well and you'll be able to spot groves of the plants from some distance away.  There are couple of great uses for Red Sumac.  The tastiest is Sumac Lemonade and it's easy to make too.

You'll know they are ripe by the color but also by the tart red powder covering each little berry.  Want to know why the drink is called Sumac Lemonade?  Rub a berry between your fingers and touch your finger to your tongue.  It's quite tart, kind of like a lemon but to me it's more like the tartness of leaving a Vitamin C tablet on your tongue too long.  Gather at least 12 heads (the red seed clusters), just snap the entire head off and give them a gentle shake to make sure you don't have bugs in them.  Get a large pitcher or jar (I use an old glass gallon jar) and place them in the jar.  Cover them with warm water, and close the jar.  You can let the jar sit at room temp for several hours or you can put it in the sun for a few hours.  You will see that the red powder has infused into the water and now it's a gorgeous red color.  Get a big pot and pour all of the contents (berries and water) into the pot, bring it to a boil and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.  Remove the berry heads and discard or compost. Rinse that same jar and using a triple layer of cheesecloth, strain the remaining liquid into the jar.

You'll want to rinse the pot out well now because you'll need to strain the liquid another couple of times between the jar and pot with fresh cheesecloth each time.  There are little hairs on the Sumac and they aren't pleasant to drink so strain it 3 times!  Once you've finished straining it, add sugar to taste - start with a half cup and add more as you need it (you will).  It's ready to enjoy now!


Go out and start foraging in your own Wild Supermarket!