Exploring Elderberry
Bright, bittersweet, alluring berry taste for a variety of uses.
Note: The below is also published in the Fall 2016 edition of Edible East Bay.
Harvesting elderberries.
The culinary and medical applications of both elderflowers and berries are many, which has led to the plant’s frequent appearance in world mythologies. Among pagan traditions, the elder tree is attributed with powers from protection and healing to vivid dreams and removal of negative spells. It is fun to use both harvests from the tree (flowers and berries) in a dish, such as elder almond pound cake. See previous post, the Regal Elderflower or Exploring Elderberry for more information about processing elderflower and the plant's uses in general.
Autumn’s elderberries—the dark and pungent counterpart to the sweetly fragrant blossoms—offer flavor that varies from tree to tree. At its best, the berry is juicy and bittersweet, similar to a blueberry, but smaller and more acerbic. At its worst, the bitter flavor shines through and the texture can be coarse and dry.
Processing the berries by cooking or drying will render them safe and improve the flavor. Elderberries are often cooked down into a cordial syrup, made into elderberry jam or wine, baked into pies and cakes, or dried and used as you would use dried currants. Dried berries can also be rehydrated by simmering with water and sugar for a more “stewed” flavor.
On Foraging: The elder plant found in Northern California (and most of the Western United States) is Sambucus cerulea, also known as blue elder for it's dark-blue berries. This shrub, which can grow to 30 feet high, has reddish bark and pinnate leaves that grow opposite each other. Like elder plants everywhere, it prefers warm, damp environments, so look near flowing water inland from the foggy coast. If you noted where you found elderflowers in early summer—you can return now through September (in our region) for the berries.
Some examples of using elderberries: Elderberry cordial, jam, elderberry buckwheat tart.
Dark blue elderberries with whitish bloom.
First Course
An exciting collaboration between a Nordic inspired porridge pop up and art.
If you know me, you know that I love porridge. During my time in Copenhagen, I was inspired by the restaurant Grød, where porridge was is not a pasty gruel that you eat just to be able to slog through your day (though grød does mean gruel in Danish), but rather a cozy bowl of deliciousness. With ingredients like heirloom rye, pea shoots, fermented rhubarb, toasted hazelnuts, and wild greens, I had a hunch that porridge could be a hit in many U.S. cities. Porridge is the epitome of hygge food, a danish word that means something along the lines of "beyond cozy" and is pronounced something along the lines of "hoo-gah". The concept of hygge has been popularized over the last year (it was shortlisted on the Oxford English dictionary's word of the year in 2016), but several years ago I returned with a new appreciation for hygge and all that goes with it, including porridge and, of course, candles. We may be approaching the first day of spring, but the weather is still ripe for hygge and, really, hygge (and porridge) can be embraced in any season if done right!
Gorgeous Koik Ceramics bowl that is similar to the one you'll take home at this event.
Since this danish epiphany, the porridge shop idea has been just a fun daydream until a few months ago when I finally put on a porridge pop up at Pizzaiolo restaurant in Oakland. I'm hoping to put on a few more at Pizzaiolo (so grateful to them for letting me crash their wonderful and cozy restaurant!), but meanwhile, I'm trying out a new concept. A few badass women maker friends and I are putting together First Course - a pop up featuring not only delicious porridge, but also limited edition art - including a hand-thrown bowl by my friend Sarah Koik (that you both eat out of and get to take home). This eat-your-porridge-keep-your-bowl idea has been a fantasy of mine, so I am ecstatic to see it come to fruition!
Other participating makers include beeswax candles made by amazing artist (and dear friend) Lauren DiCioccio, custom brass cast spoons by jeweler Christy Natsumi, and a set of cloth napkins/tea-towels hand embroidered by Nadia Lachance.
To reserve your spot at First Course, visit Sarah Owen Studios. Here's the porridge menu, just in case you need a bit more culinary enticement. Most produce is sourced from Top Leaf Farms, an urban farm less than 2 miles from the event, or it is foraged by yours truly, and millet was grown locally by Farmer Mai.
Millet and chicken tamari: Seared radish, crackling, and wood sorrel sauce.
Buckwheat, wild greens, and goat gouda: Soft-cooked egg, crispy shallots, and pea shoots.
Heirloom mixed-grain and rhubarb-apple crisp: Cardamom, yogurt, molasses, and bay nut.
I'll be sure to post a few recipes later on, but meanwhile get your tickets and see you there!
Elder Almond Pound Cake
Elderflower and elderberries unite for a perfect taste of summer, in all its glory.
This nutty loaf cake uses both elderflower cordial and elderberries for the complete elder experience. Cordial can be substituted for any sweet syrup and elderberries for other berries, if you only happen to have one of the gifts from the elder tree on hand. The time for harvesting elderflower in the Bay Area is May through June/July and elderberry season is July through September. See related the Regal Elderlflower article for information on the elder tree and harvesting elderflower - more information on harvesting elderberries will be available soon as July approaches! Serves 8.
Elderflower
Harvest May - July.
Elderberry
Harvest July - September.
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
6 tablespoons elderflower cordial (see Edible East Bay Summer 2016 issue for recipe or use St.Germaine or any other sweet syrup), divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
2 cups fresh elderberries, washed and dried (may be previously frozen, can use other berries if needed)
1 cup whipped cream or crème fraîche (optional)
The line of elderberries in this pound cake is delicious as it is visually appealing.
Grease one 9 by 5-inch loaf pan (or 4 mini loaf pans) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream the butter and granulated sugar until they are light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time then incorporate the yogurt and 3 tablespoons of the elderflower cordial.
Wait for a golden crust and clean toothpick.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt and slowly whisk this into the wet mixture until incorporated. Pour half of the batter into the greased loaf pan(s). Toss elderberries with remaining 3 tablespoons elderflower cordial and spread evenly over the batter in the loaf pan(s), followed by the remaining batter. Bake for 1 hour or 30 minutes if using the mini loaf pans. Cake is done when top reaches a golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Remove cake(s) from loaf pan(s), slice into pieces to reveal berry layer, and serve with optional whipped cream or crème fraîche.
Mini loaf pans or a standard 9x5-inch loaf pan can be used. Serve with whipped cream or crème fraîche (optional).
Fennel, Fennel Everywhere
Abundant sweet anise flavor.
“Note: we’re currently gathering samples in the most industrial soils we can find to measure potential toxins - if the plant tissues from these soils haven’t accumulated toxins, pretty much any urban soil will be safe. More on that later! ”
Whether you've been looking for it or not, you likely come across wild fennel, or Foeniculum vulgare, quitefrequently. On a recent sample gathering in West Oakland, I was once again struck by just how rampantly wild fennel grows. Asphalt, cement, roadsides, or parking lots, wild fennel survives and thrives everywhere.
Feathery leaves of wild fennel fronds.
Foraging wild fennel in a North Oakland median.
A member of the same family as carrot, parsley, and dill, fennel has thin feathery leaves that connect to a larger stem. The plants can grow very tall and may have delicate yellow flowers. On foraging walks, I always get very hopefully asked about how to harvest the fennel bulb, but alas, wild fennel does not have a large bulb as you find with conventional fennel. Fortunately, the leaves are incredibly abundant and flavorful, as are the stalks, and flowers, pollen, and seeds in season. Fennel often grows alongside poison hemlock, which is in the same family, but has leaves more like carrot tops and purple splotches on the stems. If you are unsure if what you have is fennel, give it a smell - the smell will undeniably tell you if you have fennel. You can find fennel primarily in the spring through early fall, though I have seen it at all times of the year, and the flowers and pollen can be found in the summer.
Although you probably wouldn't want to make an entire salad of fennel, the sweet anise and licorice flavor works great as a garnish. Try it in sauces, on fish or chicken, in soups, in omelettes, desserts, and as a salad component. The pollen is lovely as a tasty condiment and the seeds are a digestive aid.
When in doubt - smell the plant and if it's fennel, it will definitely smell like fennel.
The below is NOT FENNEL, but POISON HEMLOCK. Note the carrot-like leafy tops and purple splotches on the stem. The poison hemlock flowers are similar to fennel so be sure you carefully determine what you're picking and identify the fennel by the feathery, thin leaves and smell.
Photo credit: http://www.kingcounty.gov/
Wild Chamomile: Tasting Between the Cracks
Matricaria discoidea.
Wild chamomile aka pineapple weed is easily uprooted from the ground.
In a way, I was foraging before I even knew what it meant. The schoolyard of my childhood did not have much grass. Okay, it didn't have any grass at all. When we weren't scraping our knees on the pavement playing football or foursquare, we were investigating whatever we could find poking out from the cracks in the pavement. I specifically remember a "game" we had with one weed in particular: Matricaria discoidea, or "pineapple weed" or “wild chamomile”.
“Luckily, there wasn’t any poison hemlock growing from the cracks, though something tells me our intuition would keep us away from it. ”
The game went like this: I would instruct a schoolmate to envision any fruit of their choosing, then would have them smell the pineapple weed flower as I crushed it under their nose and voilà!, smell like that fruit it would. Sometimes I would also take a taste of the (strawberry, cantaloupe, grape, orange...) smelling fruit and, to my surprise, it also tasted like that fruit. Now, I'm not condoning tasting something that you have not identified, but it's fun to think that even young children can find food in a desolate landscape.
“Between its unique look and distinct, fragrant aroma it is pretty easy to identify and can be found in the spring/summer in gardens, on trails and yes, even in cracks in the sidewalk.”
Like chamomile, wild chamomile can be dried and made into a tea and is in the Asteraceae family, which is the same family as daisy, dandelion, and thistles. It grows low to the ground, has thin, feathery, branching leaves and small yellow cone-shaped flowers that resemble a tiny pineapple.
Abundant pineapple weed at the Peralta Community Garden - the members had no problem with my taking as much as I wanted.
Harvested wild chamomile.
On a recent visit to the Peralta Community Garden in North Berkeley for a wild food talk there was massive amounts of pineapple weed that the gardeners gladly let me pillage. I turned my bounty into a stock of wild chamomile simple syrup that is great in cocktails, lemonade, or for drizzling on pancakes. Other uses include scattering on salads, fish, chicken, or fruit tarts. I may have originally "discovered" this weed in childhood, but it's great to come back to it as an adult!
Wanting the Unwanted: Why Eat Weeds
Wild food week 4/4 - 4/10!
What is the first food that comes to mind when you hear "foraged"? My guess is that a mushroom came to mind. While it's true that most mushrooms are grown in the wild, there's an abundance of other wild plant foods that are much easier to find and identify.
Just because these wild plants are out there, does that mean we should eat them? My colleagues and I of Berkeley Open Source Food (BOSF) are arguing yes. Here's why:
Nutrition:When the human diet shifted from hunting and gathering to agriculture some 10,000-20,000 years ago, we began the process of selecting certain monocultures for specific characteristics. Decreasing agricultural diversity had benefits, including population growth, but also led to a decrease in a variety of nutrients, particularly phytonutrients, causing the Western diet to have a much narrower range of nutrients today than it did thousands of years ago. These phytonutrients may reduce our risk for modern chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Incorporating more wild foods into our diet might help reduce the risk of chronic disease.
Ubiquitous snack: the humble dandelion
Sustainability: It's no secret that California is experiencing a massive drought. These wild plants require no water beyond what nature provides, are largely drought-resistant, and are abundant in urban environments. Additionally, if we can make it profitable for farms to harvest and sell their edible "weeds" rather than compost them, we'll increase farm efficiency. Finally, of course we also all have Armageddon in the back of our minds (or at least I do) and knowing about wild edible plants will set us up for success when the time comes!
Culture: When was the last time you picked your food from the ground? How did it taste? Did it give you a warm fuzzy feeling? Research indicates that even children who are reluctant to try vegetables will do so if they have a hand in harvesting them and foraging is no different. By knowing where our food comes from, we're helping get back to where we started, if even just a bit, which will result in improved quality of life.
Gastronomy: Let's face it, new, crazy ingredients are fun. Even if you don't want to "get wild" with wild foods personally, it's exciting to go to a restaurant and have them introduce you to a new, delicious, local plant, no?
Gastronomy: Getting wild at the Chez Panisse tasting table with chefs from The Perennial/Mission Chinese Food, Mission: Heirloom, and (of course) Chez Panisse.
Tasting table notes.
So, the next question is - how do we get these tasty, nutritious, and abundant plants on people's plates? The answer is multi-faceted, exciting, and challenging. A few of the angles we're taking to tackle the issue include mapping wild edibles in "food deserts", investigating barriers to consumption (and identifying how to overcome these barriers), creating a supply chain and market for wild foods, and promoting consumption of wild edibles.
One project on BOSF's foraged plate now is Wild Food Week, which begins tomorrow (4/4) and runs through Friday 4/10. Our intention with Wild Food Week is to increase awareness of and interest in wild edibles with a series of events from a guided foragers’ walk to dinners at César, Chez Panisse, The Perennial/Mission Chinese Food, and Mission: Heirloom. We are working with several local farms to source the edible weeds and will debut a foraging field guide called The Bay Area Baker’s Dozen Wild Greens. See event details here.
It's been an exciting and eye-opening journey with many unique challenges. I look forward to telling you more about these challenges as well as a debrief on the events and our successes. For now, here's a sneak peak of the top 13 most common wild edibles in the Bay Area that we've included in the Bay Area Baker's Dozen Wild Edibles field guide. If you donate $15 or more to Berkeley Open Source Food, we'll mail you a field guide of your very own! Just be sure to mention this in the "additional details about my support" section. Donate here.
Here's an idea of what the field guide looks like - donate at least $15 to Berkeley Open Source Food and we'll send you one!
We've had a lot of press for this event - check it out!
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/WhatTheFork/archives/2015/03/31/slinging-weeds-wild-food-week
http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=5da7f13757629775a7e122725&id=0b39e78e13&e=d87ccf06ab
http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/04/how-do-you-convince-people-to-eat-weeds/389357/
http://missionlocal.org/2015/04/for-wild-food-week-weeds-for-dinner/
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Wild-Food-Week-298812881.html
References:
Gibbons, E., 1962. Stalking the Wild Asparagus, David McKay Co., Inc., NY, 303pp.
Robinson, J. “Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food”. The New York Times, 2013.
Craig, W. “Phytochemicals: Guardians of our health.” J Am Diet Assoc. 1997;97:199-204.