Four Spring roots that you will love!
Spring for foragers is a lovely time of year. We have patiently waited for the unfolding of the final spells of snow, and mostly the cold weather is not so cold anymore. These are the days of warm sun on one’s cheeks, and an abundance of happiness that seems to emanate from an unending well of happiness that perhaps you had forgotten existed during the long, cold, and dark days of Winter. Finally, there is something to forage for besides Chaga, and Pine Bark!
A lot of hype is put on the abundance of greens in the foraging world, and while those are nice, they are not quite as nice, in my opinion, as the great selection of wild harvested tubers, and roots that one can harvest once the ground has thawed enough for digging. Here are four delicious wild edible underground portions that one can harvest to beef up those spring dishes.
And a note to the wise asses among you that read this, the title says “roots” but not all of these are the roots. I am aware of that, but I wish for this to be shown to as large an audience as possible and sometimes we have to make ridiculous titles on our blog posts!
Wild parsnip
Of all of the roots that we harvest, one of the best available roots that one can interact with is the Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa). If you are reading this blog and you live in North America, then guess what? Wild Parsnips are in fact an invasive species and we can completely obliterate patches of these plants without feeling any shame at all for our actions. In fact, these plants are so hated that if you do manage to take all of them from an area you are likely to receive a plaque of excellence for your effort from a local conservation district!
The leaves are often described as being “ladder like”.
The bonus of this taproot doesn’t stop there either, this species is usually pretty large, meaning that while efforts for other wild taproots might have you yearning for larger specimens, the taproots of Wild Parsnips can be at times freakishly huge. I have seen them as large and even larger than the ones farmers grow with all of their chemical fertilizers.
This is not to say that this will always occur, as most parsnips do not fall into the “freakishly giant” category. I would actually say the average Parsnip that we harvest is a little bigger than a small carrot, but as far as wild taproots are concerned a little bigger than a small carrot is pretty big. Wild carrots for instance are routinely the size of one’s pinky finger. It is not uncommon for us to pick enough to eat for a week in a matter of an hour. Remember to only go after the first year plants as the second year plants will be woody and gross.
One potential problem you’ll encounter when looking for Wild Parsnips is that in their vigor to expel these invaders from the land conservation districts are wont to use poisonous herbicides on these plants thus poisoning an entire area that you could have potentially harvested in. Look for wilted and very unnatural looking specimens and inquire with conservation districts as to where you can get the greenlight to harvest in.
As with all members of the Apiaceae, please make sure you take time to properly identify this plant before going out and harvesting as this genus of plants has some very deadly specimens in its repertoire. But don’t let that dissuade you from learning this wonderful plant.
As far as what you can do with this taproot, the possibilities are endless. We regularly sauté them, ferment them, bake them, and even blend them for creamy springtime soups. It is an edition that you don’t want to miss out on this Spring!
jerusalem Artichokes
If there was ever a tuber you should learn it is this one! I admit that 100% I didn’t enjoy these inulin rich tubers for a very long time. One giant reason that I did not enjoy these tubers is because they are known for giving the person that eats them ample amounts of gas, and not the silent but deadly kind either. I’m talking loud, obnoxious, farts that sound like they should come from a comedy movie. Hence the nickname: Fartichokes.
These tubers come in all shapes and sizes and colors. I have seen long skinny red ones, and short knobby almost brown ones. The real wild ones are sometimes as skinny as a pencil.
Thankfully I have since discovered a couple ways that I enjoy them, and the gas is lessened. This is an especially good thing because these tubers are prolific. I planted two tubers in an old compost pile three summers ago, and from those two tubers I now have well over fifty little plants emerging. Jerusalem Artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus) are a native species, so while with Parsnips I said to harvest with no regard for the impact it had on them, the same cannot be said about these plants. It is wise for you to really get to know these plants well before you start pillaging their communities.
The fact that they are so prolific however makes them an excellent addition to ones home garden. If you can find a patch and have permission to remove a few tubers you can start your very own little colony at your place, and you will soon learn what sort of rate of harvest these guys will handle.
As far as cooking them goes, the more time they spend being cooked the less the inulin content will assert its dominance over your bowels. If you are like me however, and you do not necessarily enjoy the taste of them cooked into oblivion then I urge you to try lacto-fermenting them. This allows them to keep a little bit of their crunchy texture, but it also helps stop some of the inulin impact.
Last year I fermented a quart jar stuffed with sliced Fartichokes, garlic, spicy Korean chili, carrots and 17 grams of pink salt. I let them sit with the loosened lid for a week before enjoying. The taste was out of this world. I even brought them to a private foraging class I was teaching and everyone also thought the taste magnificent. Don’t miss out on the chance to make your own this spring.
Burdock
Burdock is an oft overlooked species in the foraging community because it isn’t sexy. It lacks the flare and the allure of other fancy forageables like Ramps or Morels, but what it lacks in shine it makes up for in abundance, availability, and ease of use. Don’t let this season pass you by without getting out there and experimenting with this taproot.
Burdock (Arctium lappa or Arctium minus) can be found absolutely everywhere one goes it seems. Just like Wild Parsnips above this species is a non native that came from Eurasia. While Parsnip gets all the heat for destroying the universe Burdock sits back and enjoys a much more ample presence on the landscape and receives not nearly a tenth of the hate. I will never really understand why that is, but alas it is that way and so we must strike Burdock in the same way that we strike at the colonies of Wild Parsnips.
Burdock is a Biennial plant and much like every other plant with a two year lifespan, we look to harvest the roots from the first year plants only. Once you have found a group of Burdocks it is as easy as grabbing a shovel and going for the plants that are only showing off a rosette of leaves near the ground. The taller members that have a central stem are the second years and they have roots that taste like wood. Unfortunately I figured that one out myself when I first began my foraging journey in my early 20’s. A good tip for harvesting Burdock Roots with a shovel is to really try and keep the blade of your shovel perpendicular to the taproot. If you go at a slight angle, chances of you cutting the root are high because the taproots are typically at least six inches long and often eight to twelve inches.
These specimens here are small, yet perfect for eating raw or cooked.
Burdock raw can sometimes be a pleasant experience, but most of the time its better taken home and cooked. In my foraging classes I will often dig a taproot and peel it and offer it to students. The flavor can vary so widely from plant to plant that often my students will either really love it or really hate it depending on which flavor profile they get! Cooking them however seems to really mellow this whole experience out. If you don’t enjoy the experience of cooking them, these are yet another candidate for lacto-fermentation!
If you have the chance this spring to get out and harvest some (come on, we all know you do if you live in the US) then I suggest going out and doing your part to eat away the invader. Maybe you will find a way to really enjoy these overlooked wild edibles.
Horseradish
That’s right folks, wild Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) is all over the place, and this spicy relative of Broccoli is a delicious addition to any foragers spring dishes. What is even more surprising is that with the increase for love of all things spicy our country hasn’t seemed to increase its desire for this family of spiciness. If you haven’t gotten out there to try Horseradish yet, perhaps this is the year that you can give it a try!
These delicious bastards were probably picked in less than a minute!
Horse radish is fairly abundant, but not to the extent of either Burdock or Parsnips. This is fine and dandy though because even the most spice obsessed forager wouldn’t want to take too much because this taproot is used as a condiment anyway. Horseradish gives a punch to otherwise bland foods and it does it with such little amounts as to baffle the mind. What’s even better is finely dicing the roots and including them into your other lacto-fermentations with all of the aforementioned roots and tubers above!
Horseradish is said to be very high in Glucosinolate, which is the phytochemical found in Broccoli that everyone rants and raves about for its anti cancer benefits. I will leave that up to you on whether you find the evidence sufficient to believe this tidbit, but eating it is harmless either way, so there is no reason to avoid it unless you do not like spice!
Horseradish is best identified in the spring by its frilly, even dainty leaves that bear zero resemblance to the mature leaves that it adorns during the later months of spring and summer. A simple online search can easily show you what they look like. Remember to only harvest wild foods that you know like a good friend. Another helpful tip is that when you do find a horseradish plant remove the bottom three quarters of the taproot and replant the remainder. Surprisingly, these plants seem to suffer no harm from losing a giant portion of their roots and they just keep on growing and producing more taproots to harvest next year! These tops can be taken home and planted at your house ( they are not a native species, so nobody will bother you for taking them) so that you can have them close at hand if you need.
Taproots, tubers, and bulbs oh my!
Harvesting wild edibles is something that my family does as a practice of good health, a lifestyle, and as a flavor enhancer for the very boring and predictable table fare that most Americans routinely eat. Because I would rather not eat the same boring foods all of the time, I fit right in with foraging and all of the diversity of tastes that it offers.
Harvesting roots, tubers and bulbs is a great way to add more bulk to your foods in the spring. Greens are good and all, but nothing beats a hearty wild root vegetable medley. I am going to be putting a link to a shovel down below, if you want to help support me and my mission to write more blogs, please click through the link and do any normal shopping that you would do anyway on Amazon. I get a tiny percent of whatever you buy on Amazon, and it comes at no extra cost to you! Thank you so much if you’ve read this far, let me know what you think in the comments below!
