SAVING FOOD SOURCES IN THE WILD
When it comes to food, the eastern forests provide a plethora of options to keep you well-supplied on your outdoor adventure. When thinking about harvesting these resources, it’s crucial to examine what can be maintained as well as what may be harvested.
From boiling a huge amount of meat in order to extend its shelf life for a few days to burying it in snow in order to keep it fresh, humans have preserved food from the beginning of time. There are a multitude of methods for preserving meat and processing plant food sources in order to increase their shelf life.
WHEAT FLOUR AND WHEAT MEALS
These plant-based flours may be used in recipes, eaten on their own, or combined with other grain-based meals. They are also gluten-free. Despite the fact that plant-based flours are not strictly classified as preserved foods, grinding items like acorns is a good approach to repurpose your resources and prolong the life of those resources.
ACORN FLOUR is a kind of flour made from corn.
The flour from acorns was a staple meal for many indigenous peoples throughout history, and acorns continue to be a significant source of nutrition for forest animals today. Because of its adaptability, it is one of the most valuable plant-based food supplies in the eastern forests. I prefer white oak acorns to red oak acorns because they contain less tannins and have a milder flavor.
Tannins found in the acorn may give it a bitter and astringent flavor when consumed. In order for acorns to have a milder taste, it is essential that they be handled appropriately.
To begin, you must first remove the shells from the eggs. Crush the acorns with a rock or an axe to make them smaller. In a separate dish, lay the crushed acorns, with the shells floating on top and the flesh sinking to the bottom. Toss the shells into the water. When processing the meat, you want it as tiny as possible, so you will leach it and eliminate the tannins before cooking it again.
Cooking the acorn flesh is as simple as dropping it into a fresh pot of hot water and letting it simmer until the water becomes brown. The tannins are responsible for the discolouration.
Pour another pot of boiling water over the acorn flesh, and repeat the procedure with it. It is important to make sure that the water in the second pot is already boiling, since if the acorns come into touch with cold water, the procedure will be undone. If the staining persists, you will most likely need to transfer the acorn flesh to a fresh pot of boiling water at least three or four times.
As long as the tannins have been eliminated in large quantities, the water will stay pure. However, if you don’t have the proper gear or setup, acorn flesh may be leached in flowing stream water by wrapping it up and putting it in the creek for a week or two. The resultant taste, on the other hand, is not as consistent as that obtained using the boiling procedure.
Once the meat has been thoroughly soaked and cleaned, it may be ground into a meal for hot porridge, used as a bread component, or dried out and stored for later use using a stone. If you desire to keep the acorn flour for subsequent use, be sure to soak it in water before using it to rehydrate it to its mushy state before using it again.
BUSHCRAFT SUGGESTIONS
The tannins that give acorns their astringent flavor may also be used to make medications for tanning leather, making them a valuable resource. Conserve the liquid remaining in the first pot of boiling water that you used to leach the acorn flesh and set it aside for later use. Astringents are most effective when used topically as a wash or poultice, and the resulting solution will be antiparasitic as well.
FLOUR OF CATTAILS
Despite the fact that cattail produces the greatest type of starchy flour that nature has to offer, the procedure of extracting it is not unduly hard. First and foremost, you’ll need to gather a large quantity of cattail roots. Loosen the dirt surrounding the cattail and the region where its roots are located.
Once you have released the whole plant, place your hand at the base of the stalk and pull to free it from the ground. You may now discard the stalks and focus only on retaining the roots. After you have completely cleaned and peeled them, lay them in a bucket of fresh water to soak.
You will begin to break up the roots at this point, which will cause the flour to separate from the fibers and become flour. Continue to separate the fibers in the roots until you have separated all of them. Because of the way you labor, the flour will naturally sink to the bottom of the bucket.
Remove the excess water from the mush and place the leftover mush on a level area where it may dry out in the sun. Once the flour has been allowed to dry fully, keep it in a cool, dry location away from insects.
BREAD MADE WITH CATTAIL ACORN
2 cups acorn flour (optional)
2 cups cattail flour (optional)
2 tablespoons active dry yeast 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup maple syrup 1 cup water 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon maple syrup 1 gallon of milk
2 tblsp. vegetable oil (optional) To create ash cakes, combine all of the ingredients into a dough and form it into patties, then place it on some hot ash from your embers to bake.
Wait until the ash has heated up to the point where it has become white. Cook the ash cakes until they are golden brown to your taste, approximately 3–4 minutes each side.
NUTS
Nuts, which are high in protein, are among the most straightforward plant-based food resources to harvest.
Because all pine nut seeds are edible, there is no need to bother about distinguishing between various varieties of pine nuts. Some contain bigger seeds than others, and although you may eat them while they are still green, the older ones have a greater flavor. Catching them at the precise moment they are about to fall from the cones is the key to success.
Take note of any cones that are starting to turn brown but haven’t opened yet. Place them near a fire, and the heat will force them to open, allowing you to gather the seeds within. Just keep an eye out for mildew, which is the nemesis of all seeds. The most important thing is to keep them dry.
The flavor of hickory nuts is unbeatable, and their shells are particularly useful since they effectively seal off moisture and insects, allowing them to be stored for an exceptionally long period of time. Because hickory nuts may be difficult to crack, most people are not interested in tinkering with them.
Frequently, after all of that effort, you will be left with little fragments of shell all over the place and just a small amount of flesh. Allow me to share a little secret with you. It is necessary to take use of the internal structure of the hull itself in order to break it neatly and efficiently. My preferred hammering equipment is an axe, but any hammering weapon—even a simple stone—will do.
Turn the nut so that it is resting sideways and the sharp, raised edge is on top, as shown in the illustration.
(In other words, spin it till it wobbles and won’t stand up on its own).
Once the seam is complete, strike it approximately one-third of the way up the stem from where it was originally started. If you follow these procedures, you should be able to easily break the nut into three pieces every time, leaving plenty of exposed flesh for you to pick through.
WALNUTS
Walnuts, notably black walnuts, are a completely distinct species of nut from hickory nuts in every way. It is best to harvest them before they fall from the tree and keep them in a cool, dark place until they turn black.
If you do manage to take some from the ground, be sure to thoroughly check them for worm holes. When the outer skins of the shells become black, they may be removed and used to make colors and medicines, among other things. Once you’ve obtained the nut shells, you may crack them open and consume the flesh that’s within.
Walnuts do not preserve as well in their shells as hickory nuts or pecans. If you prefer to save them for later use, make sure they are completely dry before storing them. Maintain their shells and just split them open right before eating them.
FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND HERBS ARE INCLUDED.
There are a few decent fruits can be found in the eastern forests at certain times of the year (raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries) if you know where to look. The northern areas tend to have a greater variety of fruits and vegetables. Berries are energetic to consume and provide a good source of vitamins and fiber.
FORAGING FOR BERRIES
Take additional precautions to ensure that any berries you come upon can be identified before consuming them. When in doubt, don’t eat anything!
When searching for berries, examine the area from the ground up to the level of your eyes. Look for fruit trees and shrubs that are at a low level. A large number of species are creepers, therefore be sure to thoroughly inspect the ground.
Keep in mind that berry bushes have evolved to be able to defend themselves against predators such as birds. As a result, they are often hidden behind foliage or encircled by thorns. Make sure to keep an eye out for poison ivy as well.
LEATHER IN THE SHAPE OF FRUIT
In the absence of sufficient resources to establish a canning plant, making fruit leather is the most effective method of preserving fruit for later use. This straightforward procedure takes nothing more than a clear blue sky and enough of sunlight.
To begin, crush and ground the fruit until it is a purée. By plucking the seeds out of the mash with your hands, you can simply remove them from the dish. Spread the purée out on a flat surface, such as a rock or a chopping board, that is about 1 inch thick. Leave it out in the sun to dry for a few hours to speed up the process.
After drying, the purée will take on a glossy appearance, which will indicate that the fruit leather is ready. It should be kept in a cool, dry location away from insects and dampness. Fruit leather will survive a couple of months at room temperature, but it will keep much longer if it is stored in the refrigerator.
You may consume it raw, rehydrate it to prepare beverages, or use it as an ingredient in foods such as bread and cereal to add flavor and nutrition.
8 SOURCES OF STORABLE FOODS FROM PLANTATIONS
Many plants provide food resources that may be stored, such as seeds, spices, or bulbs.
Several of these foods may be prepared and dried for future use.
BULBS
Bulbs may be kept in a cool, dry spot for the duration of the growing season. In the woods, there are several wonderful plants with edible bulbs, such as wild garlic or onion garlic, that are worth exploring. Ramps and leeks also have edible and delectable bulbs that may be eaten.
SPIDER ROOTS AND TUBERS
Cattail contains an edible, starchy tuber that may be consumed fresh or dried and saved for later use.
Arrowhead is another water plant that produces an edible tuber that has a high concentration of starch. A big taproot, similar to that of the potato, is found in burdock, which may be readily preserved for later use if kept dry.
Dandelion root is a refreshing drink or coffee alternative that is low in caffeine. You may even dry it and crush it into a powder for use in a hot beverage later on.
In addition to cattails and arrowhead, yellow nut grass is an edible root plant that grows naturally in regions of water where cattails and arrowhead are prevalent.
SUGGESTIONS
This nutrient-dense culinary resource is found in the middle of the cattail stalk and produces a great vegetable that can be used in soups or sautéed as a side dish. Harvest the cattail shoots when the weather is dry to avoid the ground becoming too soggy. Select big stalks that have not yet started to blossom, then detach the outer leaves from the center of the stalk using a pair of scissors.
After you’ve removed the rough outer layers, you may start working your way toward the soft interior. It takes a lot of peeling to complete this procedure, and your hands may get rather sticky as a result, but the end result is tasty and packed with vitamins, like vitamin C, beta carotene, and potassium.
SPICES/HERBS FROM THE OUTDOORS
The majority of wild plants may be dried and stored for later use. These dried spices may be ground into flavorings for food and beverages such as teas. Some of my favorite herbs and spices are mustard seed, garlic mustard, mint, shepherd’s purse, and dock seeds, to name a few.
The sap of numerous trees may be harvested in the early winter months, although maples and birches are the most abundant sources in the eastern forests. On a cool morning, this nectar creates a delectable drink that may be consumed directly from the tree. It may be further processed into syrup by boiling it down and removing the water content from the mixture.
MAPLE SYRUP
Maple syrup is produced by further rendering the sap, resulting in a delicious, sticky liquid that may be stored for long periods of time. Maple syrup may be used to sweeten a variety of foods and beverages and, when kept correctly, can last for years.
The sap should be gathered and poured into a cooking pot until it is about three-quarters of the way filled. Bring the sap to a boil in order to completely evaporate the water content. It will take many hours of steady boiling to do this.
Identifying the precise moment when the water has fully evaporated and the syrup itself has begun to boil is the most challenging part of creating maple syrup. If this occurs, the liquid will really catch fire and burn.
Keep an eye out for changes in color. After a few days, the syrup should begin to turn gold and then deepen, eventually reaching the mahogany color of maple syrup. Once the syrup is finished, strain it through a fine mesh strainer to remove any particles that may have fallen into the mixture during the lengthy boiling procedure.
Fill glass jars or plastic containers with the mixture and keep in a cold location. It should be good for around six months if kept in the refrigerator.
SUGAR MADE FROM MAPLE
Maple syrup may be refined even further to produce maple sugar, which is a delectable sweetener that tastes just like maple syrup. Bring the maple syrup to a boil, skimming off any air bubbles that float to the surface.
If the water begins to boil over the edges of the pot, turn the heat down a bit. When the air bubbles have stopped emerging, take the liquid from the heat and pour it into a wooden basin to cool down completely.
To eliminate any leftover moisture, stir the mixture for at least 5 minutes before allowing it to rest until it becomes firm. This hard substance may be crushed into sugar and kept in a cold area for a long period of time.
MEAT
Meat preservation, no matter which technique you employ, is an important operation since meat degrades rapidly, particularly if you do not have access to refrigeration, and thus must be done correctly. In order to properly consume the meat from your hunting or trapping expedition, here are a few tips for preserving it once it has been harvested.
DRYING WITH SALT
The process of drying meat entails drawing moisture from the flesh at a gradual pace in order to prevent the exterior of the meat from drying before the inside. If the exterior of the meat dries out too rapidly, moisture may get trapped within, causing the flesh to become rancid and rotten.
Moisture is the enemy of meat preservation because it promotes the growth of microorganisms in the meat. With this knowledge, two environmental factors are required for successfully drying meat: a warm atmosphere and a dry environment.
1. A relative humidity of around 30 percent or less.
The presence of a few consecutive days with a consistent temperature that does not vary much from day to night.
As a result, air-drying meat in the eastern forests during the winter months is not recommended. In the spring, take care that the weather does not become too humid. Consider the kind of meat that will be utilized as well. Meats with high quantities of fat retain moisture, causing the fat to become rancid more rapidly than normal.
The majority of meat will have some fat, but animals slaughtered during the winter months will contain much more. Before drying, be choosy and clip away any excess fat. When it comes to redmeat species, such as raccoons, the fat is more visible. When it comes to discriminating between fat and meat in lighter animals such as opossums, you’ll have to be extremely cautious.
It is essential that you salt the flesh immediately after it has been gutted if you do not have access to a refrigerator to refrigerate it. Before anything more can be done, the fatty tissue from the muscular meat must be removed completely. In order to ensure consistent drying, slice each piece of meat into long, thin strips of comparable size so that they may be cooked together. To hang the strips, prepare a heavy salt solution into which they will be dipped before hanging.
For drying meat and fish, use salt solution.
1 gallon of drinking water
20 ounces of table salt
Continue to stir the salt into the water until it is completely dissolved.
Just before hanging the strips, soak them in the salt solution for a few seconds. This solution will enhance the taste of the meat while also speeding up the drying process and keeping insects away. Suspend the beef strips vertically from the thickest end of the thickest end. If feasible, attach them to a line using small-diameter cordage loops to keep them from falling off. After that, the dried meat may be kept in a breathable bag. You may eat it as-is or rehydrate it shortly before using it as a snack.
DRYING IN THE SUN
Sun drying is the most effective method for drying fish, but the principles are the same for drying meat.
Getting the moisture from the internal layers to the outside is, once again, vitally essential to the process. Remove the heads and guts from the fish, and then divide the fish down the middle right at the spine. You should now have two parts that are side by side and have the skin on top of each of them.
From here, chop the fish into numerous equal portions and serve immediately. Although fish dries more rapidly than red meat, the strips should still be dipped into the salt solution before cooking. To dry the fish strips, construct racks out of two tripods and a cross pole, which can be assembled in minutes.
For the most part, the length of time it takes to dry the fish is dictated by the quantity of humidity present in the air. You should be able to bend the fish when it is entirely dry because it should break.
Using a corner of the fish after it has been drying on the rack for a day, you can determine whether or not it is done. Let it rest on the tripod for another half day before trying it again. If you do not hear a crack, it is time to replace the tripod.
JERKY
You may produce jerky by marinating beef in a good salt solution and seasoning it with spices, then drying it over a low-heat fire at around 120°F. Prepare the meat by cutting it into thin, lean pieces.
Making jerky differs from salt drying in that the objective is to dry the meat at a high temperature over a long period of time rather than just a few hours.
Hunters have employed this method for centuries because it does not need the use of salt or rubs (although these additions might enhance the flavor of the meat), and because it is simple to store and transport the meat.
They would consume as much flesh as they could at the kill site and then dry the remainder, resulting in a significant reduction in the weight of the meat. An whole pound of beef may be reduced to around 4 ounces in weight when done correctly.
When the meat is done, it should crack when bent but not break in half when cut in half. It should be dry and not wet or oily in texture at all.
SMOKING ON THE OUTSIDE
Making jerky is comparable to cold-smoking in that you cut the meat into thin strips, salt it, then dry it at a high temperature, just as you would with jerky. The meat is dried at a lower temperature than that used for jerky production—approximately 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
You want a fire that produces a lot of smoke to enhance the taste (and deter bugs). The majority of the time, this procedure takes 12–24 hours.
HANGING OUT IN THE COLD
As long as the temperatures remain around freezing for a few days, meat may be securely hung to dry throughout the winter months. A lack of bacterial development is ensured by the frigid temperatures.
It is not necessary to debone and chop the flesh into strips for this procedure, but the animal must be entirely gutted and opened with a cross stick in the breast to ensure that the carcass remains open as it dries.
SUGGESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES
1. Before consuming any fruit, be sure it has been ITEMized since many berries are harmful. 2.
The presence of salt may be a serious worry in the long run, however certain plants contain so much salt that it is possible to remove it by boiling them. If the roots of the hickory tree are chopped and cooked, they may offer salt for cooking.
Afterwards, there will be a black stuff left behind that will be salt when the water has been entirely boiled away. Animal blood is another valuable resource that is high in salt and a variety of other nutrients. It’s important to note that when you extract salt from hickory, you’re really extracting mineral salt. That is to say, it takes a lot to earn a little money.
3. Natural dyes are produced by a variety of fruits and plants. Bloodroot is orange to reddish in color, whereas raspberry becomes red, goldenrod turns deep brown, pokeberries turn purple, and pokeberries turn purple turn orange. Berries dyes may be fixed by soaking them in a hot fixative of salt water, however most vegetation dyes must be fixed by soaking them in vinegar.
4. Inks for writing may be readily manufactured from the same plants that are used to dye clothes, and the color of the berry will usually indicate the color of the ink that is produced.
Pokeberries are the closest color match to the hue of India ink. To manufacture ink, macerate the berries (which are toxic) in a pan or other container for many hours. Stir add enough water to completely cover the material (about 1 cup in total), then gently bring the mixture to a boil.
Remove from heat, stir in 1 teaspoon salt and, if available, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and cook for 15 minutes more until the salt and vinegar are dissolved. Mix the components well to dilute them, then filter the liquid into a storage container or bottle that can be tightly closed. A pen may be made out of any huge feather that is large enough.
5) Vinegar may be made out of anything that has the potential to ferment. If you need vinegar as a fixative, a simple punch produced from wild berries may be covered until it ferments (turns to alcohol), after which it can be left out in the open for a couple of weeks and it will turn to vinegar.