Foraging in the wild is one of the most critical survival skills. This is a skill that could one day save your life. Even in very difficult situations, far from civilization and without supplies, you can survive. For this, you need to know which way and which food can be obtained in the wild.
Writing a survival post on wild foods for a wide range of regions and terrains is challenging. We’ve tried to include a wide range of widely dispersed plants and other methods to forage foods in the wild.
Plant food
First, these are mushrooms. It is important to be able to distinguish between edible and inedible mushrooms. Next, there are various berries and fruits of trees such as blackberry, rosehip, wild strawberry, and many others. Plants such as burdock, sorrel, nettle, oxalis, and woodlice will also come in handy. From aquatic plants, pay your attention to reed roots, and water lily leaves.
You can also use different types of bark, branches, and buds of trees. It is better to choose the bark and buds of a birch or a pine. Young twigs of oak or willow are great as well.
General safety rules for foraging
First of all, it is important to collect the necessary information and knowledge. Make it a habit to carry a book with descriptions and images of plants with you to help you identify the ones that are safe to forage. The book with plants from your region would be extremely useful. In a survival crisis, the Universal Edibility Test can come in handy. Also, try to follow our general safety rules.
Whether you’re a novice or an expert forager, these essential criteria should be kept in mind at all times:
- Plants with a strong, unpleasant odor or very bright color should be avoided.
- You should cook some plants before using them since they are not suitable for eating in a raw form.
- Fruit and berries that look to be rotting should not be consumed.
- Experiment with new wild edible items one by one in small portions.
You can find a lot more information in the book Wild Food: A Complete Guide for Foragers by Roger Phillips.
Knowing these simple ways to get food, you can always save yourself from hunger. at any time of the year and in almost any area.
We’ve tried to choose the most widespread plants as an example, however, they can be different for various regions and parts of the globe. Stay with us to learn more about the books you can use for more specified knowledge on the topic.
