Foraging may seem like a far-away concept after the invention of grocery stores, but before spending money on food and other items that aren’t sourced locally consider this little bit of winter foraging.
Buying locally-sourced food is a fantastic way to support local businesses while reducing carbon footprints, but that is difficult to do when there is snow on the ground because things simply aren’t growing.
Except they are. Winter may seem like the landscape is dead and drab. However, by looking closely at what’s around someone can find all sorts of useful, edible greens in the winter climates of Moscow.
Here are three plants that can be harvested in the winter close to home:
Pine needles
Pine needles can be used to make fresh-tasting teas, flavorful cocktails and are a good source of vitamin C. Most conifer trees have edible needles, excluding the yew tree, and are safe to consume after washing any dirt and grime off. Before harvesting, nibble the fresh needles to test whether you’ll like the taste or not because each tree is different.
According to a USDA study, the older pine needles are the more vitamin C they have in them. Compared to vitamin C levels in oranges, according to the USDA, pine needles can provide more than three times the cure for scurvy than oranges do.
For a stronger pine flavor, use older needles, but unless you want tea that tastes like turpentine be sure to pour the hot water over the needles instead of boiling them.
Rose hips
Another winter item rich in vitamin C is rose hips, but being an immune booster isn’t the only thing rose hips are good for. Rose hips can be used for a tasty tea, jelly and syrup among other things.
The flavor of rose hips is similar to crabapples, tart and sweet, because they are in the same plant family. On the inside, small hair-like fibers grow around the seeds and can be irritating to the throat, so make sure to have a strainer or cheesecloth handy when cooking with rose hips.
While the fruit of the rose ripens in the fall, it will often persist through winter covered in snow and ice. When harvesting rose hips, they should be red or orange and fairly easy to pull off the bush. They can be used fresh, or preserved by freezing them or dehydrating them.
Willow bark
While it may seem weird to consider tree bark as a food, willow bark is especially known for its ibuprofen-like properties. Willow trees contain salicin, which has been synthesized to become the active ingredient in aspirin.
Most willow trees are easy to identify in the early spring because they are some of the first trees with budding leaves in the form of fluffy catkins. This is also the easiest time to harvest the bark because the sap makes it easier to separate from the rest of the tree.
To harvest willow bark, cut sticks of new growth from the trees and peel the bark from them with a knife. Once the materials are home, they can be dried or used fresh in a tea to help soothe mild headaches and other minor pains.
Unlike with the pine needles, be sure to boil willow bark for roughly 10 minutes and allow it to steep for 30 minutes before serving.
All three of these foraged goods are available within walking distance of the University of Idaho campus and are common all around the Pacific Northwest. They are easy to identify, harvest and use, but new foragers should be wary of permanently harming these plants or local ecosystems. Only take what is needed and keep in mind the local critters need their habitat intact.
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected]