[Sca-cooks] Edible plants at Pennsic

[Sharon Gordon]

> You've seen all of these at Pennsic?

***Those are some plants that grow in that area of PA, and that would likely
be found at Pennsic.  There are more, but I thought those would be the most
recognizable.

Or perhaps you see the site other
> than in just August?

***Some of those would be easier to find at other times of the year. And
definitely some are tastier at other times of the year. (And here again the
idea is not to actually harvest plants from the Pennsic site since we are
requested not to, but to see and id them.)

>
> Still, Wow. Lots of possibilities in that list. I'm not sure where you
> would use honeysuckle in cooking though.

***People often eat the nectar straight from the flower.  Other
possibilities: in rice, tea, and places you might use roses.  And carefully
as some people are allergic.

> I had a lot of trouble identifying edible plants in the wild in Boy
> Scouts and I still have that problem. But perhaps I will keep my open
> for such.

***It can be hard, especially by August when everything has grown together
in a jungle and fewer things are blooming.  For anyone who lives in an area
without poison ivy, please get someone to help you id it before you go
looking for the good stuff as the itch from that is pretty rough.

>
> Where would you find the blackberries and the raspberries? Down in the
> swamp areas?

***They are most often found on the edges between forest and meadow.

>
> I did harvest some horsetail reed at Pennsic several years ago for use
> as a medieval abrasive. But there's less of a hazard for that if you
> pick the wrong stuff since you aren't eating it.

***Very true.  Did you use it to sand something?

>Stefan, daylilies are yummy deepfried, unopened.

***And in stirfries and soup.  For modern recipes see The Delighful
Delicious Daylily cookbook.

Don't think I'd eat willow
though, unless I had a headache. :-)

***Might be useful in a broth used to make soup for evenings after fighting
(though only if all fighters eating soup were ok with ingesting asprin
equivalents, and not given to children)

>There is also the issue of what is in season.... I'm sure you would
find dandelion, but they are most edible in the early spring, they
will taste VERY bitter in August.  Lettuce too.  Asparagus is a
spring food.  Day lily flowers and buds are pretty much over by Aug,
are the roots edible too?  Raspberries tend to be spring and Sept, I
think you wouldn't find many in the heat of August. August is a bit
early for most nuts.

***All true.  The Lilies contest only required that the items be present and
indentified on site.  So they could have been harvested at more optimum
times.

Some other things to look for are burdock, nettle (but again, mostly
in spring), chicory (spring), clover, nuts, acorns, dock, cattails,
watercress, chamomile, mallow, rose hips, pokeweed, lambs quarters,
amaranth,  gooseberries, currants, I've found garlic mustard listed
as edible, but I don't like the taste or smell.

***Thanks for the additional items.  And I agree about the garlic mustard.
So far I can not find anyone who can eat this.

>One thing I've seen at Pennsic, that I didn't see on your list, is
mushrooms. I've ID'd two edible species- puffballs, and morels (also called
"peckerheads" because that's what they look like).

***Mushrooms would be a wonderful addition to the seige contest foods.  And
this is a food category that needs careful well trained harvesters to avoid
the poisonous look-a-likes for some of the tasty mushrooms.

Sharon
gordonse at one.net