Coumarin is a moderate kidney and liver toxin. It is present in greater quantities in dried plants. It can cause headaches and suppress appetite. Coumarin is transformed by certain fungi into an anti-coagulant, which may cause uncontrolled bleeding. Avoid if on drugs for circulatory conditions. Consume in moderation.
Coumarin smells of fresh cut hay and is present in Sweet Woodruff Galium odoratum, Sweet Vernal Grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, Melilot Melilotus officinalis, Mullein, Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria and some other sweet smelling greens, especially in the pea, grass and orchid families.

Often wild plants are only available or at their best for short periods, when they may also be abundant. Just like their domesticated cousins they can be preserved in a number of ways to be available out of season. They may be dried, pickled or fermented like sauerkraut. Whilst detailed instructions and recipes are beyond this guide, I will give a few basic ones here.

Read additional information in the Plant Parts section.

Drying

There are several methods for drying, however there are a few points which apply to all.

For best results

• pick just before flowering
• pick after the dew has evaporated and before the sun drives off some of the essential oils
• discard any dead or damaged leaves, and remove insects and debris
• avoid drying plants for consumption which contain coumarin as it becomes more potent when dried - however, the sweet smell will be enhanced and would make a pleasant potpourri

You can find out how to store in vacuum jars with little cost in an article on judyofthewoods.net (link in external link list - see last section on this page).

Bundle Drying

This is best suited for plants with smaller leaves and with a lower water content, especially aromatic herbs.

• cut stems up to about 20cm
• bundle about half to a dozen stems with twine
• hang in a dry, warm place with plenty of air flow for 2-3 weeks
• if dust is a problem, a gauze shelter can be constructed to protect the drying herbs - for small quantities a paper bag will also work, although it will disrupt the air flow somewhat, so allow plenty of room around the herbs inside the bag
• herbs will be ready when brittle
• remove leaves from stem
• crush with pestle and mortar, a herb mill or rolling pin
• store in airtight jars in a dark, cool place

String Drying

This is best suited for plants with larger leaves and with a slightly higher water content, e.g. Ramson or Dock leaves. Also suitable for thin slices of roots. To reduce labour roots can me sliced length-ways. Although not featured in this publication, this method is also suitable for mushrooms (sliced).

• with a needle and a long piece of strong thread string the leaves onto the thread through the stem, leaving a small gap between each leaf to allow the air to flow freely
• stretch threads in parallel horizontal rows onto a frame or on hooks/metal eyes on opposing walls in a dry, warm place with plenty of air flow until crispy dry - this may take only a few days in ideal conditions
• keep dust off as in the above method
• remove from thread
• these leaves may be slightly leathery and are best stored whole and processed in a herb mill or reconstituted in water when used in cooking
• store in airtight jar in a cool, dark place

Oven Drying

Oven drying is a quick and more reliable way to dry plant material and can dry parts with higher water content. However, the heat may destroy some nutrients and flavours. Some ovens may not have a setting low enough for drying. This method is suitable for all the plant material referred to above in both methods, as well as berries.

• loosely lay out sprigs, leaves, slices or small whole fruit on a baking tray
• heat oven to 50°C (120°F)
• remove after about one hour, or when crisp
• process and store as above

Dehydrator Drying

If you have a food dehydrator, whether electric or solar, you will already have the required experience which can be applied to wild food.

Some plants or parts of plants need to be prepared in special ways to make them either safe, palatable, or digestible, e.g. soaking or cooking to leach or destroy bitter or toxic substances or extracting the juice from plants with indigestible cellulose.

Refer to the warning notes for individual plants for more information. Follow advice to cook a plant or part of it, or leach some chemical, if it is indicated.

Leaching

Leaching is the process of soaking the plant or its parts in water to wash away some undesirable substances. This may be in cold or boiling, still or running water, depending on how easily the substance is removed. Where clean running water is not available several changes of water may accomplish the same. The more toxic the substance, the more thorough the method should be.

The process will be more thorough and fast if the plant material is chopped into small pieces or even ground or pulped. Fine material should be put into a cloth bag before suspending in running water or strained or filtered if leached in a container.

Leaching is an imprecise science and general instructions could be potentially dangerous or lead to a meal devoid of nutrients. How much leaching is enough? When do you know that you have removed the substance? Is it even worth doing? In tests which removed calcium oxalate crystals from Lords and Ladies (Arum Maculatum) roots, starch, the nutrient for which it was prepared, was also removed. It will also remove other valuable nutrients, especially if one is to "err on the safe side" with copious rinsing and boiling. In a survival situation the effort may outweigh the benefit. In a non-survival situation is it worth playing Russian Roulette when there is plenty of safe food available?

This method is best reserved for plants and their parts which retain high nutrient levels after leaching and where the process gives distinct feedback. Acorns are such a candidate. Please refer to the plant profile for more information.

Use wild plants in the same way as similar cultivated plants, though wild plants are often less palatable. They are easier to eat when mixed in small quantities with other foods, or when dressed or mixed with other strong flavoured condiments or foods. Add to stews, omelettes, stir-fries, soups or casseroles, or eat raw in salads, as nibbles or in sandwiches. Consume as tea, fermented brew, juice or make a smoothy with wild plants.

Cooking and changing water can reduce bitterness with some plants, albeit with the loss of some minerals and vitamins.

Where wild foods have no domestic counterpart, general advice on preparation is given in the section on the relevant part, e.g. birch sap on the sap page.

Juicing is a way of getting concentrated goodness from plant material, and can also make nutrients available from otherwise indigestible plants (e.g. grass). However, mild toxins may also be concentrated, therefore the same caution applies to juicing as to eating whole plant material - consume in moderation.

Even when the taste is unpleasant, juice can be quickly washed down or mixed with more pleasant tasting fruit juices.

Leaves and stems are best juiced in an auger/crushing type juicer (e.g. wheatgrass juicer) due to their fibrous nature. Most common domestic juicers are centrifugal with a grating action. The fine teeth quickly get clogged up and cannot open the cells adequately.

Some roots and fruit are best pulped with a very fine grating action, as used by common centrifugal juicers. Soft fruit should be juiced with a crushing action. Mealy fruit like haws are not suitable for juicing but may be used in smoothies after removing the seeds.

A stainless steel or plastic meat mincer may also produce a pulp, but the juice then needs to be pressed from the pulp. This can be done by placing the pulp in a fine-mesh fabric bag or piece of cloth, and putting this into a perforated container and pressing down on the contents with a piston-like object (e.g. a piece of food grade wood), collecting the juice in a larger outer container. The pressing is best done with a mechanical press.

In a survival situation use rocks to grind plants into a pulp, and strain the pulp with cloth.

Avoid the use of cast-iron implements as they will taint the juice.

It is best to juice fresh, moisture-rich plant material. Some water may be added to the pulp to wash out a little extra juice.

To prevent oxidation (browning) of some juice, squeeze a lemon or other acid fruit first and juice any other plant material into this liquid.

For ease of digestion, drink slowly to allow saliva to pre-digest the sugars and starches.

Lactofermentation is not only an excellent method to preserve food, but also a way to greatly improve the food's nutritional value. It is particularly suited to succulent leaves, stems and roots. The most familiar lactic ferment is sauerkraut, however, most plant material can be fermented. A lactic fermented food is a live food with the type of microorganisms found in yoghurt and a healthy colon, and which are essential to health.

Lactic fermentation may also destroy or reduce tannin, phytic acid, calcium oxalate and some other anti-nutrients which prevent the uptake of minerals. It may break down tough plant matter like cellulose and lignin, the substance forming woody cell walls. Lactobacillus plantarum has the relatively unique ability to do so. L. plantarum is ubiquitous and is likely to be one of the lactobacilli to quickly colonise the brined or salted food. It is also present in kefir culture (both milk and water kefir).

The bacteria partly digest the food and manufacture many vitamins, as well as enzymes, and make minerals more bio-available. They will also colonise your colon and continue their good work there. They create and are tolerant of acids and prevent spoilage bacteria from taking hold in the food.

The growth of beneficial bacteria can be encouraged by creating an environment which is too harsh for the bad guys or giving the good bacteria a head-start with a starter culture, or both. Salt, acid, high sugar content and exclusion of oxygen favours lactobacilli. If food is salted or sugar is added, the lactic bacilli can survive and as they go to work, they create the acidic environment which further discourages spoilage bacteria. If salt or sugar is not desirable or suitable, a starter culture containing an army of beneficial bacteria, and also yeasts when using water kefir, will quickly outnumber the spoilage organisms, and, again, they will create the acidic environment to stop undesirable ones. Except for yogurt, lactic fermentation takes place at room temperatures.

Lactic fermentation requires some care and understanding to ensure success. However, it is not too difficult, and it is worth acquiring the knowledge and skill.

The subject is beyond this publication, but there is excellent information freely available online. For the best information read posts on the Cooking Traditional Foods blog. Find all relevant articles in her "lactofermentation" search result on the blog (link in the External Links section). This is an external link which requires internet connection. As the pages are slow loading on poor connections, it is advisable to access them on a computer.

The author, KerryAnn Foster, has done thorough research on the subject and has a number of relevant degrees. She covers all aspects of lactofermentation, including the right vessels to use, and explains essential technical information in layman's terms for more reliable fermentation. I highly recommend reading her articles and believe them to be more accurate than much of the online information and some of the popular fermentation books available.

It is also possible to make a fizzy lactic soda drink - a kind of root beer or variation on ginger ale. For a step-by-step recipe see the link for Blueberry Soda below. The recipe can be adapted with other fruit (or grass juice) and roots such as dandelion or burdock instead of ginger.

Further reading:

For a full list of links to articles please go to the temporary browser in the External Links section below.

We have gone from harvest to storage, preserving and preparing food, so let's end with the final stage of digestion - pooping. You can make a significant difference to your health not only by what you eat but also by how you eliminate waste products. The healthiest way to poop is in the squatting position.

Jonathan Isbit has written detailed information on the many benefits of squatting and how to adapt western toilets, so I will give a link to this fascinating book which he generously shares free online, though a paper copy can also be purchased. For a link to the free book Health Benefits of the Natural Squatting Position please go to the temporary browser in the External Links section below.

Jonathan also sells a platform to convert standard sitting toilets for use in the squatting position, but if you wish to go the DIY route you will find enough inspiration from the photos to construct your own.

External Links - opens a temporary browser with a list of links (requires internet connection)