Fox Grapes, Autumn Olive Fruit, Acorns, and Ginkgo Survival

[Seventhsonjr]

Due to economic circumstances and a life of studying medicinal herbs, wild foods, and the need for self sufficiancy and survival (not to mention nearly two decades of working with impoverished Native "Americans"

and

Having been heavily influenced by Holocaust survival stories...


I have been spending quite a bit of time lately foraging in the wild and collecting foods which can be stored for the winter and/or eaten or used now.

I think because of the heavy springtime rains (I live in the woods not too far from NYC) and then serious hot sunny dry spells followed by a week or so of heavy rains again this year there are bumper crops of wild foods near my passive solar home in the woods.

A week or so ago the falling acorns from the hugely abundant white oaks began waking me in the middle of the night or early morning and then bounced loudly all day over my bedroom and skylight.

I have been collecting wild "fox" grapes (a form of Concord actually) in huge abundance this year and learning how to make wine or simply grape juice (simple for both) as well as autumn olives which are as much as fifteen times as high in the anticancer licopene as tomatoes. These Asian plants are considered an invasive nuisance but are incredibly abundant (ten or fifteen pounds of fruit per large bush/tree within reach) and are dried and used in Asian cooking and medicine. Do a quick google and you will find that this fruit and plant stops many cancers cold in research. There are millions of these plants along highways where they were planted because they adapt well to bad soil and stabilize the areas where they are planted. I go out in my driveway and can pick a couple of pounds of fruit in ten minutes or so and use them in oatmeal, curries, teas, cereal, or just eat them plain. They make great jelly and I am going to try some wine as well (if I get away from this damn keyboard long enough)

The seeds of the grapes also are high in medicinal and anticancer properties. I soak them, boil them and/ or grind them and add them to teas (they are not bitter but very hard).

The acorns got me looking in my Peterson Field Guide of wild Medicinal Plants and Herbs (Eastern/Central US) which is worth a million bucks for its survival value. Then on the net I found the ways to prepare acorns: pretty easy and not real time consuming unless you want to prepare and stor a LOT. Native "Americans" often gathered up to a half ton per person to dry and store for flour and stews (strung on strings they dry nicely too I've read).

First day a couple of handfuls chopped pretty finely and parboiled a coupla times to get the tannins reduced (pour the water off a couple of times when it somes to a boil through a strainer) and then chop more finely and I added this to oatmeal.

Today I took a bunch of Ginkgo fruit I had collected with the leaves (for tea, although some folks have trouble with mildly toxic elements in the raw tea - so for many extracts are better --- but expensive and I am living way below poverty level right now for a spell).

Ginkgo nuts are incredibley delicious when prepared (I advise you check the net as contact dermatitis can occur in some folks) and that was EXCEPTIONALLY simple. Fancy NYC Asian restaurants pick them in the fall in Central Park for upscale cuisine and Chinese markets sell them canned or even fresh at an often hefty price (altho the canned ginkgo nuts were pretty cheap near me - but not cheaper than FREE)

Ginkgo has remarkable medicinal powers.

I simply removed the noxious fruit covering and either shell them or bake them unshelled fifteen minutes in the oven at around 350 degrees and crack the inner shell and snack on them with olive oil and a little salt. Delicious (but there are warnings about overeating --- they are powerful - and are added to other foods for desserts at weddings (reported aphropdisiac and sperm enhancer with research backing that up), rice dishes and many other ways. Ginkgo opens vascular passages and is used extensively in Europe for memory and cerebrovascular problems as well as in other studies effective for erectile dysfunction. I use the leaves for tinnitus.

As I type I am snacking on the nuts and boy are they a great treat (my 12 year old son said they taste kinda like popcorn but nuttier and slightly sweet).

I would be remiss if I did not at leats mention another wild food for survival - the wild leek or RAMP (named for RAM - the Spring sees it early) hard to find but loves shadey wet soil and deep woods by streams. Good for all things as garlic is.


I do not think I will get a half ton of acorns or more than a half dozen bottles of wine (wild concord - some maybe flavored with acorns for tannin (like a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Sharaz)- and some with autumn olive for anticancer properties and nutrition - just add a little yeast and sugar, stomp (crush with a potatoe masher) and put it in a jar with a mesh top to let the gasses out (or a ballon some say) and home made ready in about a month.


Acorn flour was a main staple for Native folks in many forested parts of North America (and South too). It was their wheat. The coffee , roasted dry (20 minutes at 350) and crushed in a mortar and pestle is incredible. My white oak acorns are almost sweet enough to eat without the boiling of part --- and the coffee does not require it. Sipping a coffeee now with roast acorn powder and a little regular ground coffee (for the caffeine).


I HIGHLY recommend finding out where your local Ginkgo trees are and gathering thr fruit off the ground. Parking lots are best for acorns (ease of collection) and rounded leaves (white oak) not pointy leaves (red oak) are best and easiest to prepare. Autumn olive can be found near most highways, entrance ramps, and are identified by the silvery-green leaves and abuindance of red fruit (will be gone after the frost). These berries freze nicely.

The grapes are getting raisiny now on the vine but stillc ome in great clustered and mashed into warm water with sugar to taste (or even better maple syrup which you can also collect in the spring - tho I haven't done THAT yet) makes great grape juice free and gives you almost all the ingredients for your wine (just add yeast).

Survival in these times means everything. A Little research on these things can save you tons of money (I also pick my own st john's wort for dream work and sleep - not good during the day) or at least some. And knowing how to make acorns palatable and store them could save your life in the years to come...

Love and Peace


Seventhson

[chiggerbit]

My understanding is that acorns can be toxic if they're not parboiled, so be careful, do your own research on the net first. Same for other wild foods. I remember how people used to drink comfrey tea by the gallon, then it was discovered that it harmed the liver, so just a word to the wise, inform yourself and use in moderation at first.

Is the autumn olive that you're talking about the Russian olive? It's quite fragrant in the spring.

Have you tried collecting your own yeasts, Seventhsonjr? I used to do it for sourdough culture by putting a baggie over my hand, running that hand down the bark of an aspen, then taking the baggie off by turning it inside out, and adding the flour, water, and I think sugar, letting it do it's thing. I still have the full instructions and recipes around somewhere, if anyone's interested. I don't do it anymore due to gluten intolerance.

[Crow]

According to herbalist Susun Weed, comfrey leaf is perfectly safe. Only the root is damaging to the liver.

Seventhson, do you harvest any burdock root this time of year?

[Seventhsonjr]

According to herbalist Susun Weed, comfrey leaf is perfectly safe. Only the root is damaging to the liver.

Seventhson, do you harvest any burdock root this time of year?

I am not sure about the best way to prepare this and root preparation always seems like hard work.

Any suggestions?


As for the acorn stuff Chiggerbit - I did a lot of research on them first (as I almost always do) and found that some, especially the white oak, can be eaten safely but one must be careful of tannic acid (must be leached out) --- altho some tribes ate them and others online eat some varieties (it depends on the tree, the soil, etc.) even raw. I am experimenting now with different approaches but shelling and parboiling first seems best --- although whole acornds can be roasted and then shelled for grinding for coffee (which is excellent btw)

boiling whole nuts leeches the tannic acid in the shells into the nuts and leaves them more bitter I found today.



Native tribes sometimes collected a half ton per person per year for drying and storage in a cool dry place (not too dry or they get really hard apparently)

As for the autumn olive and "russian" olive I believe they are different. A quick google image search may tell the difference. Autumn olive has a profusion of red berries (size of a pea) and silvery-green leaves. Some folks may confuse them. The flowers do not seem to have much fragrance and are tiny and white in the spring.

And finally --- ANY yeast recipes are appreciated as the damn yeast cost almost seven bucks for a little jar.

I did a little reading on making my own yeast with flour and potatoes and apparently it is pretty easy. But I do not want to blow my first effort with bad yeast from experimentation SO any help on this would be great.The aspen recipe sounds awesome!

I have never hear of the "aspen" yeast but wonder if it works with other trees as well - few aspens that I know of around here --- although they are a common looking tree I guess and hard for me to identify easily. Especially this time of year

The best aphrodisiac I've found, though, is the tuliptree (green shoots and stems, flowers in the spring) Yowzah!

(Not to mention Yohimbe which works mucho magic but is expensive and doesn't grow around here.) Nightshade berries and flowers in VERY small doses are also reported to be good for loving and were used by Africans brought to the Americas. Scary huh?

I am pretty careful with what I ingest (I have had some real adventures by trial and error --- ). You'd never want to eat Jimson weed, probably (not without a tour guide). for example.

Eating one poison ivy leaf as a child prevented me ever getting that rash except maybe twice in my life.

But stinging nettles destroy me. (Although I drink the tea --- safe when dried)


Peterson's field guides is my bible on these things.

[slimmouse]

Cancer as an illness is about profit. Otherwise, it would hardly exist.

[chiggerbit]

Sorry,Seventhsonjr, foraging might work on a short-term basis (like MAYBE two or three months for the very knowledgeable) but is not a longer-term solution for a severe food crisis. The main solution, as I see it, would be in farming/gardening and storage techniques, not foraging, not for a population of this size.

As for the yeast, one package of commercial stuff will make a sour-dough starter that can last for years, nay, generations, even centuries, if you know the tricks. I am lucky, live near a Mennonite bulk food store, where it's all quite a bit cheaper, pay for a half-pint bag what you probably pay for one of those little triple-packets.

Too bad we don't have a survivor forum for this, as it might be fun to share ideas--foraging/farming/gardening techniques, commodites, that kind of thing. I kind of miss the Y2K thing.

[sunny]

chiggerbit:

Too bad we don't have a survivor forum for this, as it might be fun to share ideas--foraging/farming/gardening techniques, commodites, that kind of thing. I kind of miss the Y2K thing

Excellent idea!

[Avalon]

I believe that allergies like poison ivy can suddenly develop out of nowhere later on in life. Don't get too cocky.

I wouldn't eat anything near highways, chance of herbicides -- especially given that the autumn olive is considered invasive.

[Crow]

I am not sure about the best way to prepare this and root preparation always seems like hard work.

Any suggestions?

The only hard part is digging up the burdock root, because they tend to grow straight down for about a foot or so. You can peel and fry or boil them. They're very good, quite common in Chinese cuisine.

Nightshade berries and flowers in VERY small doses are also reported to be good for loving and were used by Africans brought to the Americas. Scary huh?

Now that's interesting. You can tell that nightshade is a powerful little plant...

But stinging nettles destroy me. (Although I drink the tea --- safe when dried)

Do you know jewelweed? It's the antidote for nettle stings.

Random question -- are you familiar with yarrow? I have seen hardly any here in NE this year, and I'm wondering if it's because of the bees....

[theeKultleeder]

Not really OT or OP (shoot, I get confused), but when I first moved to Georgia we had a nut tree in our backyard. I was so used to junk fruits and inedible whatnots that I assumed it was garbage. A year after we moved in our neighbor asked "Do you like the pecans from that tree?"

Since then, I've never tasted a sweeter pecan, because I could walk out in my backyard and pick it up out of the dirt.

[Joe Hillshoist]

Sorry,Seventhsonjr, foraging might work on a short-term basis (like MAYBE two or three months for the very knowledgeable) but is not a longer-term solution for a severe food crisis. The main solution, as I see it, would be in farming/gardening and storage techniques, not foraging, not for a population of this size.

As for the yeast, one package of commercial stuff will make a sour-dough starter that can last for years, nay, generations, even centuries, if you know the tricks. I am lucky, live near a Mennonite bulk food store, where it's all quite a bit cheaper, pay for a half-pint bag what you probably pay for one of those little triple-packets.

Too bad we don't have a survivor forum for this, as it might be fun to share ideas--foraging/farming/gardening techniques, commodites, that kind of thing. I kind of miss the Y2K thing.

Are you sure chig?

It may be the case in your part of the world, and in seventhson's, but maybe not.

In the rainforest around here there are over 200 species of edible plants, but they pobably need to be supplemented a little with hunting. I think this is among the highest proportion of edible plants in the world, so we might be lucky, but there is heaps of suff to eat in the wild, if you know what to get and how to prepare it. Heaps of stuff that is toxic unprepared can be treated and made edible.

Though farming and gardening are a great idea, as is Orcharding. In fact planting an Orchard in the bush, ala a dope grower, in secret and hidden well might also be a great idea, and something that you, seventhson jr could do given time and inclination.

Although we don't have real winters in my part of the world. Frost is unusual. I dunno what effect winter will have on your part of the world, and your ability to forage, and for that matter to farm or garden.

Edited to add. BTW Really good stuff ssj, great effort and thanks for putting the info up. That bit about acorn coffee is really interestng.

[Seventhsonjr]

we evolved as hunters and gatherers (mostly gatherers).

In seaside areas Natives "foraged" shellfish and one story I love is the way they caught fluke (merely dig a large sand hole at low tide and wait for the tide to go in and out --- the fluke would settle into the sandhole and not realize the tide had gone out because the water settled into it over them when they buried themselves there --- then just take 'em for the wanting.

Baskets and fish weirs (sp?) were usefule in woodland streams and rivers and pools were dug for this purpose where the fish would collect themselves (I have an ancient one in the woods behind my house in a nature preserve - V-shaped walls down to the stream side and a deep (two foot) pool with just a one foot wide break in the wall for fish to pass through right into a net or basket.

But I digress. The sea near here is too foul, as are the streams, for this to work now.

My point is that for millions of years we lived by collecting what was availbale when it was available. On public lands there are huge areas where grapes, blueberries, raspberries, autumn olives, white oaks for acorns and many other foods can be collected easily if one has the knowledge.

It will not provide all you need but can supplement and in a famine could get you through. In researching acorn coffee I found an incredible coffee site collected from during the civil war by people in the confederacy. (I'll see if I can find the link).

It was all about survival and enjoying what was available.

During the Shoah (a word I prefer to Holocaust), folks used acorns and scavenged every minute of every day whatever they could. Those who were resourceful and good at "organizing" survival needs made it through.

We are entering very difficult times. Foraging is not a way to get all you need but if it provides five to ten percent of your dietary needs (or more during optimal seasons) and medicinal needs (burdock, grapes, autumn olive, even acorns have strong medicinal power as do wild leeks) then you are reducing your reliance on "the system" and can help others with the wherewithal and wisdom to do the same.


On another note: I found, for example, that st john's wort did not do well this year (perhaps I picked too much last year as I did not have much in my yard and make a sleppytime tea with it many nights with chamomile, hops, valerian, scullcap and passion flower inter alia depending on what's available). But I looked around for it and found little.

Same with yarrow. I have not seen much where in years past it was abundant.

I suspect it was the drought here (my neighbor had to "borrow" 200 gallons of water from my deep well as he has a shallow one. He was dead out). The rains came strong and early and then nothing for almost two months. Then rain like crazy.

I suspect that helps perennial plants with deep roots like autumn olive, grapes, oak, etc and bad for annuals like yarrow and st john's wort with thin surface roots.


But getting back to the acorns: as I mentioned native tribes here in the Americas gathered as much as or more than a half ton of acorns per person per season. It was their main food and could be easily stored with a little work.

One oak tree can produce a ton of nuts I am told.

So if you wanted to make acorns a part of your main diet you COULD forage for them and have enough to survive year round. I believe also the volume was to be able to hold out too during lean years in the event of drought etc..

I was inspired to write this because I found that the acorns were really worth the effort and that first batch I made parboiled three times after chopping and put in oatmeal with maple syrup was simply superb and made me feel great!

The roasted acorn nuts ground for coffee was exquisite (though I added a little coffee to get the caffeine I needed ---as far as taste it was superb alone)

And the Ginkgo nuts, with their powerful and mystical energy were simply divine. They are abundant in certain areas.


As for pesticides, I tend to forage in out of the way places not too near large urban areas and away from places highly likely to be treated with any pesticides or herbicides. Exit and entrance ramps have lots of autumn olive in my region and attract little attention if you stop (to pee, say, altho that could get you arrested too --- or for a cell phone chat).

As for growing anything not lawful ---- I have kids and would not ever risk that, but as an herbalist I see the high value in a relaxing medicinal herbal tea whether legit or not. Wish I lived where I could grow something like that legally (alaska? vermont? california?) for teas and biscuits.


Native culture can teach us much about survival (not gambling culture but, you know...). Sweat lodges and hot rocks can help keep us warm and heal us. Keep us in tune wiuth the earth.

This is my way of sharing some of what I know.

And knowing about acorns could help save lives. If not now, then sometime in the future.

[Seventhsonjr]

http://44tennessee.tripod.com/dutchman/jan0002.html

This site has lots of good survival info but mostly related to coffee substitutes used by people in the South during the civil war.

Very interesting and kinda reminds me of threads here and elsewhere only 150 years ago or more.

[chiggerbit]

Let me guess: Kentucky coffee tree beans, right? I have some of those trees here, couldn't figure out what they were when I first moved here.

One tip for serious survival involves getting enough vitamin c so you don't get scurvy. I have two tips for that: the flesh on rose hips, and the "horns" on regular sumac- those fuzzy clusters of rusty-burgandy berries make a great tea. But make sure you don't use the poison sumac. Around the countryside here we have these horrible multiflora roses that have invaded ditch and pasture with abandon. The rose hips on these are quite small, but there are lots of them. Domestic roses make great rose hips, too.

[Seventhsonjr]

Let me guess: Kentucky coffee tree beans, right? I have some of those trees here, couldn't figure out what they were when I first moved here.

One tip for serious survival involves getting enough vitamin c so you don't get scurvy. I have two tips for that: the flesh on rose hips, and the "horns" on regular sumac- those fuzzy clusters of rusty-burgandy berries make a great tea. But make sure you don't use the poison sumac. :shock: Around the countryside here we have these horrible multiflora roses that have invaded ditch and pasture with abandon. The rose hips on these are quite small, but there are lots of them. Domestic roses make great rose hips, too.

One problem I have with the sumac is they always seem to be way too buggy for me to trust. The bugs love 'em I think.

I haven't seen a lot here this year though but they are usually in abundance.

I am going foraging right now!


The poison sumac is, I believe, white berried and not red or purplish like the good ones.

Something I found also great (But might be rare) is sweet fern for tea. Don't know about vitamins in them but they are aromatic and add a nice flavor to tea (mildly astringent). Also used by Native folks as tea and burned for incense.

Also the sweet fern is/was used (I use it this way) to line baskets to keep bugs off the food. I found my bananas resist fruitfly infestation when I put them in the basket with sweetfern.

Look up its image on google and try to find some in waste places. I found just a little this year but a little long way.

Check out the coffee site tho. I didn't see Kentucky coffee trees but that might be in there.

Acorn coffee was the most popular with chicory (I need to get some and that is what flavors cajun coffee (cafe au-lait) in the French Quarter (Cafe du Monde).

A little bit of work but well worth it. (Just as sassafras is the "File" in file gumbo. Free for the taking and makes great tea as well as soup stock (thickener) . Warnings on that may be overstated according to Peterson. And in small amounts very useful.