year : 2015 27 results

Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate, by John Kallas

OVERVIEW The Wild Food Adventure Series, Volume 1 By John Kallas Overview – What's the book about? You are here. Features – How function and design work to maximize learning. Go HERE Uniqueness – How this is different than any book before it. Go HERE Reviews – Visit Amazon, GoodReads and other sources of reviews. Buy – A copy from or directly from the author (see below). Switch to Volume 2 HERE Authors Position: L...

October 8, 2015

Berry Book Series by Bob Krumm

After learning about wild foods from his mom, an avid forager herself, Bob Krumm spent time in various parts of North America learning about wild berries and other edibles. At the four regions covered by his books, he amassed recipes from the local inhabitants and is sharing them with you. Each short chapter covers a different berry producing plant or covers groups of related plants like, for instance, "all wild rose hip producing plants", or "all gooseberries". Chapters start out ...

October 6, 2015

Acorn Pancakes, Dandelion Salad and 38 Other Wild Recipes by Jean Craighead George

This book probably sells more copies by it's title alone, then any other wild food book. It is a cute little hardcover published by Harper Collins Children's Book Division. They say it is appropriate for ages 4-8. It looks like and is about the size of a children's book. But I disagree with Harper Collins. Any recipe book involving simmering, frying, baking, and generally using fire and stoves etc. requires adult supervision. I envision the adult cooking this food while the child helps. But ...

October 6, 2015

Bill and Bev Beatty’s Wild Plant Cookbook by Bill and Bev Beatty

This book could have just as appropriately been included in our edibility section had the title been different. Bill, the actual author, covers thirty plants sharing insights and experiences along the way. He has a degree in biology and is a nature and wild food educator. Each plant-based chapter starts out with Bill sharing his real life experiences learning about, finding, gathering, and preparing the plants for use in his kitchen. There is often really good detail here. Following that ...

October 6, 2015

The Wild Taste - Plant and Mushroom Recipes for the Knowledgeable Cook by Kathryn and Andrew March

Wild in the Kitchen – Recipes for Wild Fruits, Weeds and Seeds by Ronna Mogelon

This book has the look and feel of the Moosewood Cookbook. The plant and food art within is stylistic - creating a down home mood more than serving to identify the plants illustrated within. Ronna Mogelon is a chef (she studied cooking at George Brown College in Toronto Canada), amateur naturalist, graphic designer and food stylist for the movie industry. She lives in a 100-year-old log home on a farm in rural Ontario Canada. At the beginning of the book Ronna gives some brief tips on ...

October 6, 2015

The Wild Taste – Plant and Mushroom Recipes for the Knowledgeable Cook by Kathryn and Andrew March

March and March have been writing about and experimenting with wild foods for years. Their first publication was "Common Edible and Medicinal Plants of Colorado" in 1979. Kate March studied cooking at the China Institute in New York City, and with various chefs. "The Wild Taste", aside from an Appendix, is all recipes. The recipes range from traditional Americana to International cuisine using wild foods. They cover almost a recipe a page for 270 pages of text. At the beginning of 3 ...

October 6, 2015

The Wild Food Gourmet – Fresh and Savory Food From Nature by Anne Gordon

This is the nicest 'looking' wild food cookbook I've seen. The Wild Food Gourmet is designed in the classic style of photographic-based cookbooks and high end food magazines. The food photography is professionally done, plentiful, and the finished dishes look luxurious. The text is filled with gourmet recipes that range from simple to moderate in preparation. Two-thirds of the plants covered could be found anywhere in North America. Many of the greens can be found in ones own garden ...

October 6, 2015

Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants by Stephen Facciola

A potentially useful addition for a wild food library. This is a big book that is worth the $40 if you're a hard-core wild food researcher. Cornucopia II is an informational and resource catalog potentially covering any plant in the world that has edible parts, not just 'wild' edibles of North America. There is, however, plenty of information related to wild foods within all the other content. Wild foods that have been cultivated at one time or another (and there are many) are included. ...

October 6, 2015

Native American Ethnobotany by Daniel E. Moerman

What Moerman has done is organize a vast amount of information from 206 North American ethnobotanical reports into one 927 page volume. This is a 'big' hard cover book of original Native American ethnobotanical knowledge. It covers wild plants that Native Americans used for food, tools, fiber, dyes, medicines, and ceremonials. Using original sources, Moerman gives summarized accounts of uses for 4,029 plants from 1,200 genera, used in 44,691 ways in 291 different Native American societ...

October 6, 2015

The Encyclopedia of Edible Wild Plants of North America by François Couplan

The encyclopedia is really a catalog of about 4,000 North American plants that, somewhere along the way, have been said to be edible by one or more of François' many references. Plants are organized by Phylum, Family, Genus, then Species. The catalog is enriched in a relatively few spots by the addition of François' personal experiences. This is sort of the grand son, or really grand nephew, of the 1919 government document "Sturtevant's Notes on Edible Plants". The differences being ...

October 5, 2015

Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms of North America by Nancy Turner and Adam Szczawinski

There are really no alternatives currently in print to this book. Turner and Szczawinski are ethnobotanists who have written extensively on edible wild plants. And while they are not toxicologists, they have done an excellent job of putting together technical, academic, and medical information about North American poisonous plants, mushrooms, sea vegetables, and more. Their unique contributions in writing this book include an understanding of the edible aspects of some poisonous plants ...

October 5, 2015

Alaska Wild Berry Guide and Cookbook by Alaska Geographic Editors

This book is divided into two sections - plant identification and recipes. There is a lot packed into this book. It could have just as appropriately been included in our cookbook section - the recipe part is prominent and impressive. The plants cover an area much larger than the title suggests. This book is just as appropriate for all of the Pacific Northwest as well as much of Canada and the very Northeastern United States (from the upper half of Minnesota to Connecticut). The plant ...

October 5, 2015

Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies by Linda Kershaw

An important book for those in the Northern and Central Rocky mountain areas as well as other areas in the West. This is a photo-based guide focusing on the identification of wild edible plants. Kershaw's book, like other Lone Pine publications, covers lots of material. Brief descriptions of foods and medicines, often referring to uses by Native American Peoples, are given for each plant. Like the other books in this section, there is no detailed processing information. This book covers ...

October 5, 2015

Best-Tasting Wild Plants of Colorado and the Rockies by Cattail Bob Seebeck

An essential book for those in the Southern and Central Rocky mountain areas and useful for the West, in general. This is a photo-based guide focusing on the identification of wild edible plants. Seebeck does more than any other guide by offering four thought-out photographs per plant. Yes, you heard me, four, not one, like most books. These photographs show different parts of the same plant. You are much more likely to be able to identify a plant if you can clearly see closeups of flowers, ...

October 5, 2015

Wild Berries of the West by Betty Derig and Margaret Fuller

This is a high quality photographic guide focusing on the 'identification' of wild plants that produce berries. Derig and Fuller are 'mostly' their own photographers who provide us with 103 berry photographs, 67 flower photographs, and a few vegetative photographs. There are 20 line drawings to supplement the photographs. Like most wildflower guides, they focus in on the fruits and flowers, rather than on close-ups of other parts of the plants, but they do a fairly good job of showing at ...

October 5, 2015

Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West by Gregory L. Tilford

This is a high quality photographic guide focusing on the 'identification' of edible and medicinal wild plants of the west. Tilford, his own photographer, uses 86 photographs to help you recognize the plants he included. Unlike many 'flower' identification guides Tilford shows us leaves, stems, flowers and sometimes even fruits. And in a helpful way points out unique characteristics that might help us identify the plants. Included here that you do not usually see in 'wildflower' guides ...

October 5, 2015

A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants Eastern and Central North America Peterson Field Guide Series by Lee Allen Peterson

A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants Eastern and Central North America Peterson Field Guide Series No. 23 by Lee Allen Peterson

This is a high quality field guide focusing on the identification of wild edible plants of the eastern half of the country. Peterson uses a mixture of 78 photographs, but mostly, high quality black and white line drawings to help you recognize the plants they included. Unlike many 'flower' identification guides Peterson shows us leaves, stems, flowers and sometimes even fruits. And in a helpful way points out unique characteristics that might help us identify the plants. Included here ...

October 5, 2015

Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants by Thomas Elias and Peter Dykeman

An important book for any wild food library. This is a valuable resource that focuses on both the identification as well as the uses of edible wild plants. Elias and Dykeman cover 220 plants, of which 20 are poisonous. Each plant they cover is represented by a range map and one to four full color photographs to help you recognize the plants they included. The book organizes plants into seasons. The introduction covers topics that include harvest and preparation, jam jelly and pie ...

October 5, 2015

The Flavors of Home by Margit Roos-Collins

An important book for any wild food library. Essential if you are from the western coast. In fact, no matter where you are in North America, you could benefit from this book. There is even a really good 25 page section on pacific coast sea vegetables. The reason this book is so good is that Margit is knowledgeable and honest. She explains about each plant, tells you what she used it for, and how she prepared it. She gives you valuable tips, tells you what worked for her and what did not. ...

October 5, 2015

Edible And Useful Plants 0f California by Charlotte Bringle Clarke

Edible and Useful Plants of California by Charlotte Bringle Clarke

An important book for a wild food library. Essential if you are from the Southwestern United States. After Gibbons seminal works from 1962 - 1966 many people were inspired to learn and then write about wild foods. Of the many books coming out in the 70's, Clarke's stood out. Covering 200 plants, having 46 color photos, and many fairly accurate line drawings, the book tells us of Native American uses, and plant lore in a clear and concise way. For most plants, she gives a recipe or two based ...

October 5, 2015