Forage Sustainably

Mushrooms

Treat the environment gently. Deforestation, developments, overharvesting and using tools like rakes damage the delicate environment in which mushrooms grow. If you don’t take great care, mushrooms may not come back. Pick just a few in each patch, then go back in a week to pick a few more. You shouldn’t be able to tell if anything was harvested. Only pick mushrooms at their edible prime. Leave the small ones to grow, spore and reproduce and the old to decompose and enrich the soil for more to grow. If you treat a mushroom patch properly, you can come back year after year to harvest.

Chanterelles

Always cut above the ground. Do not pull them out of the ground. Leave the stem behind and intact. Gently replace any disturbed moss and twigs or debris.

Pine Mushrooms

Pull these out of the ground, then immediately gently brush the grey, mineral-rich soil from the stem and butt of the mushroom with your fingers. Place disturbed soil back in the hole as well as any moss.

Did you know?

Pine needles can be used for making tea, as a natural insect repellent, or as a natural air freshener.

Fiddleheads

More common in northern BC, these young, tightly wound fronds of the ostrich fern taste like a cross between green beans and asparagus. Their tender shoots break easily, so take care not to break, or step on the plants. Always leave multiple fiddleheads in the pod.

Prepare: Lightly steam in lightly salted water or sauté with a little garlic. Be careful not to overcook. Serve with a little butter, a shaving of Parmesan cheese or squeeze of lemon juice.

Dandelions

Named for the French ‘dents de lion’—lion’s teeth—dandelions are edible and medicinal. Harvest young leaves in early spring before they flower and become too bitter, and roots in the fall at the height of their nutrition.

Prepare: Use leaves and petals in salads, sandwiches and add to pestos. Steamed, add to egg dishes and stir-fries. Brew tea from the roasted root.

Jeremy continues, “Our work is one of the very few human activities, industry-wise, where we don’t alter or destroy the environment. We do everything on foot. We harvest by hand using no tools except for a knife. And we do it in a way that we can go back and do it again.”

About West Coast Wild

Since its inception in 2009, West Coast Wild Foods has grown into the premier wild mushroom company in North America. They are committed to keeping the forest wild and their harvests sustainable, and are known for the quality of their products and their all-natural, emission-free mushroom-drying system. Their focus is to bring an ever-changing and growing line of wild food products to the public.

Rose hips can be used for making delicious tea, jelly, or as a natural dye.

Chemical-free without any added fertilizers or chemicals of any kind, West Coast Wild Foods are as healthy and delicious as you could possibly get. Each ingredient is fed by melt water and nourished by the forest itself.

SOURCE https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-dandelion.html