Gifts of the Earth: Foraging 101

One crisp October morning, while making my daily trek from my bed to the Ag Quad when I spotted two softball-sized grey-brown spheres. These were the purple-spored puffball, Calvatia cyathiformis — growing in spite of all the bustle at the top of Libe Slope. I had stumbled upon that night’s dinner!

We walk past hundreds of living things every day — whether on a hike or even on the way to class. Reasons abound to stop and smell the flowers, but culinary advantages to paying attention to the world around us also await us.

Countless species of plants, fungi, and even insects are edible and unique. Learning how to cook these species adds incredible diversity and variation to your diet. Foraging these species yourself opens a doorway into a new branch of culinary delights, one deeply connected to nature.

A forager senses the seasons changing, and is in tune with different ecosystems and the treasures they contain. Fall not only brings gilded leaves but also the chance to discover a bloom of Chicken of the Woods. The orange mushroom, which tastes similar to chicken, can be fried and turned into a week-long feast. Damp, shady forests are home to ferns and chanterelles. In a world where food is heavily processed and time outside is a rare commodity foraging can be healthy for the body and soul.

Purple-Spored Puffball

Plants

Plants are a great place to start foraging! Many species are abundant and edible. Fiddlehead ferns are young fern fronds that can be found in woodland areas in the spring. Both the leaves and flowers of dandelions are tasty and can be used in salads and drinks. Many plants have edible components. A good way to get started is to identify some common plants in your area (using a field guide, iNaturalist, or other means), then use the internet to search for ways to process and prepare them.

Mushrooms

Though often flying under our radar, wild mushrooms are ubiquitous. With a unique biology and unparalleled flavors for which chefs will barter top dollar, foraging for fungi can be very rewarding. Some great-tasting common edible fungi are Puffballs, Chicken of the Woods, Chanterelles, and Morels. These are fairly distinctive and common mushrooms with few toxic look-alikes. A quick internet search can confirm the ID. For most fungi, however, a field guide is paramount to successful identification.

Dr. Kathie Hodge teaches “Mushrooms of the Field and Forest” here at Cornell. The class is a great way to start collecting and identifying mushrooms, but even if you don’t take the class the identification books are a valuable resource. “Mushrooms of Northeastern North America” by Alan Bessette and “Mushrooms of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada” published through the Timber Press by Timothy Baroni are used in the class. Baroni’s book is especially accessible for non-mycologists. Purchasing either of these and using them for identification is one of the best ways to ensure proper identification.

As fulfilling as mushroom collecting is, many are wary of foraging fungi — for good reason. There are poisonous mushrooms in the genus Amanita that grow in New York and can be fatal when consumed. Make sure your identification is correct before you eat anything, and always use caution when trying a new species.

Chicken of the Woods

Insects

An insect may be the last thing you’d expect to see at Trillium Dining Hall, but many cultures around the world (including pre-colonial indigenous peoples of the Americas) practice entomophagy. We can collect some of those same insects and reap the benefits found by consuming

Insects provide a bounty of vital micronutrients, such as iron and calcium, and are consumed regularly by cultures around the world.

Digging in the ground or scavenging rotten logs can help uncover grubs — known for their rich nutty flavor. Grasshoppers can be collected early in the morning (the cold slows them down significantly) or any time of day with a net. Ants and isopods can also be collected and eaten.

How do you cook a foraged insect?

1. Catch your insect of interest in the wild.
2. Store it in the freezer for at least 2 hours or up to overnight to kill it.
3. Remove the insect from the freezer. Detach any bits you don’t want to eat. For instance, wings and grasshopper back legs are often too crunchy for enjoyable consumption.
4. Place the insect in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes depending on its size.
5. Heat oil in a frying pan. Once heated, add the insects and let cook for approximately 30 seconds to crisp up the edges.
6. Lightly season and serve. Insects can be enjoyed by themselves — eaten similar to popcorn — or mixed in with rice, pasta, or veggies.

Foraging on Campus

• Allium grows in the mulch in front of Cornell Law School. In late spring, it bears round, purple flowers. Allium is in the same family as garlic and onion; it can be used like chives in any dish.
• Wild raspberries grow near many trails on campus, including near Fall Creek and in the Cornell Botanical Gardens.
• Dogwood trees grow near Corson-Mudd Hall. Come the early fall, the trees boast of edible berries. Though the berries are somewhat sour, they can be made into a wonderful lemonade, simple syrup, or cobbler.
• Purple-spored puffball mushrooms grow annually on Libe Slope in the fall. They don’t have a strong flavor, but can be added as a vegan protein to many dishes and used similar to tofu.

Tips for Success

• iNaturalist is a website and free app that allows scientists and hobbyists alike to record observations of plant, animal, and fungi species. It is a network of biologists sharing information. This is useful because when you’re on a foraging walk you can snap a picture of a plant, animal, fungi, and iNaturalist will algorithmically generate suggestions for identification that are typically reasonably accurate. Other users can also correct the identification. Don’t eat anything exclusively based on an iNaturalist identification, but it can be an incredibly valuable tool to help with identification. You can also search other individuals’ posts, allowing you to find locations where edible species have been found. Other online communities of foragers can be very helpful in getting started as well.
• Learn the culinary applications for the things you collect. Some foraged specimens are delicious on their own, such as Chicken of the Woods. Others, including puffball mushrooms, need to be integrated with other flavors for best results, and some need special preparation. White pine needles, for example, cannot be consumed on their own but can be made into a warming winter tea.

Warnings

• If you’re unsure about something, don’t eat it. Unless you are lost and starving in the woods, it’s never worth the risk.
• Try a small bit of every new thing, and wait a day or so before you eat a large portion. This is especially important with mushrooms: some individuals have an allergic reaction to commonly eaten species.
• Pesticides are used in many managed areas and can be harmful when ingested. Make sure the area where you are foraging is free from pesticides and pollutants. Managed areas such as lawns and roadsides tend to have more pollutants than open grasslands and woodlands.
• Slugs and snails are cesspools of bacteria and parasites. Leave escargot to the professionals, and avoid eating slimy creatures.

This guide was originally published in the Creme de Cornell magazine. This is a slightly expanded version.