A holiday in honor of all representatives of the fair sex is approaching. The eighth of March can be called not just a women’s day, but also a flower day, because it’s impossible to count how many bouquets are given around the world on this day. Have you ever thought that flowers can not be put in a vase, but... eaten?! We've put together a list of delicious flowers and five fantastic recipes for you.

• The most important thing in choosing flowers is to be sure that the flowers are truly edible, non-poisonous, not treated with any harmful substances, and collected away from highways. Be sure to make sure that the flowers are completely safe, otherwise the food you eat can lead to irreparable consequences!

• It is best to use flowers grown by yourself for food. You should also not look for edible flowers in flower shops and shops - they sell bouquets not for food.

• Use freshly cut flowers or dried (you can dry them yourself outdoors or buy them at a pharmacy), and eat only the petals.
• Wash the flowers thoroughly, remove the pistils and stamens, and any bitter spots.
• Flowers will be an excellent decoration for any dish, and can also be one of the ingredients in salads, jam, sauce, various drinks and sandwiches. The flowers can be placed in ice trays, filled with water and frozen - it will work original decoration for a cocktail.

• Before using a flower for food, try one petal first and decide if it really suits the dish.
• Allergy sufferers should avoid eating flowers.
• Attention! Hazardous to health: tomato and potato flowers, violet in a pot (Saintpaulia violet flower), hydrangea, lily of the valley, narcissus, sweet pea, chin, rhododendron, spurge, amadeus, hellebore, bean, wisteria, fragrant brugmansia, buttercups, oleander, wolf's face, belladonna, spotted hemlock, European euonymus, colchicum, purple foxglove.

What flowers can you eat?

Let's start with the queen of flowers - the rose. Eating fragrant rose petals as food is no longer new to us. Roses are often used to make jam and decorate desserts, ice cream and salads. By the way, dark varieties of roses are more fragrant than light ones. Rosehip petals are also suitable for making tea and decorating cakes.

Orchid. This flower is in no way inferior to a rose in beauty, nobility and elegance. Orchids are candied and used to decorate desserts and fruit salads, and in France they serve cheese and truffles with orchids.

Calendula, cloves, nasturtium. These flowers are not only very beautiful, but also pleasant to taste and have a piquant and spicy aroma.

Flowers of arugula, basil, onion, garlic, cilantro, dill, fennel, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, saffron. The aroma and taste of these flowers are similar to the corresponding leaves (herbs, spices), which are more familiar to us in use.

Cornflower, chamomile, dandelion, clover. Cornflower has a bitter calyx, so avoid consuming it. Chamomile is a popular and useful supplement for tea and other drinks. Dandelion can be eaten raw; its young flowers have a delicate taste. However, there have been cases of poisoning from raw dandelions, so be careful! Dandelions are most often used to make jam, wine and jelly. Clover flowers are sweet in taste and also have a slight licorice undertone.

Flowers of citrus fruits, apricot, peach, apple tree. Flowers of lemon, orange, and grapefruit have a sweet taste and smell pleasantly and faintly. They will be an excellent addition to various salads, desserts, ice cream and drinks; orange water is made from them. Apricot, peach and apple flowers are also edible.

Flowers of pumpkin, zucchini, radish. Pumpkin and zucchini flowers are very popular in salads, and they are also often stuffed with meat or vegetables and baked. Before cooking, you need to remove the stamens and prickly leaves. These flowers are not as fragrant as radish flowers, which have a distinct peppery scent.

Fragrant violet, pansies, sunflower. Violets and pansies are often used to decorate salads, fruit desserts, drinks and even pasta. Please note that not all types of violets are suitable for consumption! Sunflower petals are also edible, and its calyx tastes like artichokes.

Chrysanthemum, daisy, lily, chicory. These flowers are bitter (lilies are also pungent), not the most pleasant to the taste, but great for decoration, and chicory flowers are also suitable for pickling.

Acacia. White and yellow acacia flowers are placed in salads and pies, jam is made from them, and wine is infused.

Borage (borage, borage). These flowers have a cucumber flavor and are often used in lemonades, punches, cold soups, and casseroles. Borage is ideal for cabbage and cucumber dishes.

Fuchsia, gladiolus, lavender, lilac, geranium. All these flowers are unusually bright and beautiful, which will inevitably make any dish attractive and original. Fuchsia can be served with salad, and gladiolus can also be stuffed. Lavender is a fragrant and spicy flower that tastes like camphor. Lavender goes well with chocolate desserts, ice cream, and tea. Lilac has a pungent taste and is used to make ice cream and jam. You can sprinkle geranium petals on sweet dishes and flavor baked fruits with them.

Back in the 18th century, about 700 leafy vegetables alone were known, read - edible herbs and flowers. Modern people are concerned about finding and using wild herbs and flowers as edible supplements because of their undeniable benefits. Let's take a closer look at the “pasture” that will give us vitamins, nutrients and minerals.

Dandelions

Dandelion is mainly eaten in Western Europe and especially in France, where it is even grown in greenhouses as a salad plant. Salads made from fresh herbs were not known in Russian cuisine until approximately the era of Catherine the Second, and even after that they were served only in the houses of the nobility. The bitterness of the leaves contains the main value of dandelion as a medicinal plant. All bitterness increases liver activity, improves digestion and metabolism. To ensure that dandelion can be safely eaten, there are several ways. The simplest is to pour boiling water over the leaves, but in this case we get completely limp soft leaves, not a particularly pleasant consistency. Second method: chopped leaves are poured with salt water (1 tbsp per liter) and left to soak for 10-15 minutes, while they better time Taste from time to time so as not to completely lose all the bitterness. The slight bitterness of dandelions gives the salad a special piquancy. And the third, most labor-intensive method is bleaching. To do this, the dandelion is deprived of light for several days - covered black film, cardboard box or even a tin can. Arriving at the dacha in a week, you will receive white, crisp leaves, ideal for salad.

Primrose

The leaves of all types of primroses are used in Western Europe as salad plants. They have a pleasant taste and a very high ascorbic acid content.

The leaves of the wild primrose of our forests, which is also called rams, are officially used in medicine as a vitamin plant. They go well with green onions and cucumbers. Of course, you can make a salad from onions and cucumbers, but just primrose with onions is tasty and healthy. You can put daisy leaves and then their flowers in the salad, that too English classics, there salads and sandwiches are decorated with daisy flowers.

Levkoy

The leaves of the nocturnal plant are very good in salads - a perennial gillyflower that blooms with mauve flowers in June-July. They are spicy, taste like mustard and go well with any other greens. This plant is very often found in our flower beds, but it never occurs to anyone that it is edible. Meanwhile, from under the snow, nocturnal bushes emerge with green leaves.

Bluebells The leaves of most bluebells are edible and can not only be eaten raw, but also cooked delicious salad. Particularly suitable for this is the rapunzel bell - a pretty perennial that easily turns into an annoying weed. This type of bells has creeping underground shoots and large branching roots, similar in shape to carrots. These roots are also edible and even tasty, so when dealing with bluebells, do not throw them into the compost, but rather eat them. Bluebell greens contain a large amount of vitamin E, the vitamin of eternal youth, which is responsible for reproductive function and skin condition.

Day-lily

The most delicious spring salad obtained from the well-known daylily, especially the one that blooms in the fall. This type of daylily - yellow-brown daylily - is not considered a flower at all in China, from where it came to our gardens. Pickled daylily flowers can sometimes be bought in Chinese shops. But daylily leaves are also edible; they taste like onions, but are not at all spicy.

Young leaves are used both independently and in mixed salads. In summer, when the leaves become hard, you can put their young part, located at the very bottom, in salads. Daylily flowers are the main thing eaten in it, but in daylilies, blooming in spring, they have too strong smell and are used only as a seasoning. Autumn daylilies do not smell at all, so their flowers can be eaten in unlimited quantities, raw or processed.

Snooze

Pay attention to the most common weed in our gardens, which more than one generation of summer residents has been struggling with - weed, one of the popular names of which is “food-grass”. This ancient food plant of our ancestors is mentioned in Dahl’s dictionary: “If only there were hogweed and saplings, we would be alive.” Very whiny tasty plant, whose young leaves are edible. To ensure that they do not cause gas formation in the intestines, they must be scalded or subjected to any heat treatment.

Cabbage soup made from cabbage soup is much tastier than nettle cabbage soup. The taste is reminiscent of both carrots and parsley. Very old leaves can be put into the broth as a spice and thrown away after cooking, and young leaves can be used to prepare various dishes: scrambled eggs, stew, fillings for pies, salads. When the borers begin to eat intensively, the plants quickly weaken and after a year or two completely disappear.

Nettle

And, of course, how can you do without young spring nettles? It is used to prepare cabbage soup, add it to salads and prepare the filling for pies. However, be careful: nettles appear in thawed areas, especially “sweaty” ones, long before the snow melts completely. It grows quickly and after 10 - 12 days it becomes “old” and unsuitable for food.

Wild onion

Wild onions appear about a week later than nettles and grow on hillsides, along river banks, in sparse grass on rocky soils. Its leaves are similar to those of ordinary cultivated onions, but thinner, tougher, and noticeably less juicy. Wild onions are used to make salads, as are wild garlic. In addition, it can serve as a seasoning for soups, borscht, fish soup, like regular onions. It’s not prepared for future use - I found it and picked a bunch for a salad.

Ramson - wild garlic

It appears already in thawed areas and the first wild garlic needs to be looked for on the southern slopes in sparse aspen forests growing in place of dark coniferous plantations, in forest clearings. It appears earlier in places where warm groundwater comes out. On sale most often there are bunches with cut leaves and torn flowers.

Sorrel This tender small plant, whose leaves look like clover leaves, can be used like sorrel. It grows under the canopy of dark coniferous plantations and is very abundant. However, due to its small size, collecting sorrel is labor-intensive. It is not as sour as sorrel and is therefore suitable for salads. As an additive to such salads, you can use chickweed, a common weed that grows in well-moistened open fertile areas.

Sorrel

Consumed as food different types sorrel (common, pyramidal, curly, passerine). Leaves and young shoots are used mainly when cooking green cabbage soup, which is prepared according to the same recipe as cabbage soup from fresh cabbage. After the chopped leaves boil once, the cabbage soup is ready. They are served with a hard-boiled egg and fresh sour cream. Sorrel is also used as a filling for pies, especially in the first half of summer, when the berries have not yet appeared. The leaves are steamed, cut and mixed with sugar. You can add up to 50% of peeled hogweed stems (bunches). Sorrel can be preserved by hot processing and salting. Due to the presence of acid, there is no danger of anaerobic fermentation in this case.

bracken fern

Young shoots of ferns are used for food. Just two or three decades ago, no one in Russia collected ferns, since they did not consider it an edible plant. But with the development of relations with Japan, China and South Korea, where fern shoots have been eaten since ancient times, we began to harvest bracken fern, first for export, and then for our own consumption. Gradually, Russians, primarily residents of Siberia and the Far East, tasted this gift of the forest, and now fern is considered a delicious product, along with champignons, olives and asparagus. The fern harvesting season is short - about 2-3 weeks. It begins, depending on the area, at the end of the first or second ten days of May, and approximately coincides with the harvest of wild garlic.

Asparagus (Asparagus) On sunny sandy slopes, on dry manes and hills, white-greenish and juicy bird cherry trees appear in the spring at the time of flowering large shoots asparagus - excellent, rich in vitamins and other valuable substances of spring food. This plant was introduced into culture by the ancient Romans, who highly appreciated its qualities. In our country, asparagus is found wild in the European part, in the Caucasus and Western Siberia, where it grows in meadows and among shrubs. Probably everyone has seen adult asparagus - sprigs-like herringbone panicles with red berries, often added to flower bouquets. Young shoots of asparagus are also difficult to confuse with anything - they are thick sprouts with triangular scales, at first whitish, then darkening and becoming brownish-greenish, sometimes with purple tint. Young asparagus shoots are eaten boiled and used either as a main dish or as a side dish.

Yarutka

Yarutka can be detected without special labor on the nearest dug area, abandoned arable land or along a field road, as long as the soil is not covered with solid turf. This is a plant of the cabbage family, or as they were previously called cruciferous plants. Young shoots are used in salad.

Shepherd's Purse

Shepherd's purse, like cress, emerges in early spring, literally from under the snow. Shepherd's purse leaves are eaten raw in salads, boiled in soups and borscht, even salted. Interestingly, as a vegetable, shepherd's purse is widely used in Chinese cuisine; moreover, it was brought by the Chinese to Taiwan, where it is grown as a “magnificent spinach plant” (quote from the book “Edible Plants of Southeast Asia”, published by in Hong Kong).

Surepka

One of the first things that catch your eye in fields, garden beds and other areas dug up in August-September are the bright green, shiny rosettes of colza leaves. Their taste is reminiscent of mustard, slightly hot, so it is better to mix it with other ingredients in a salad. early plants. This bitterness disappears when cooked, which is why colza is also used instead of cabbage in soup or as a side dish for meat, but in this case it is not cooked for very long, otherwise the colza loses its taste.

Caraway

A well-known plant with a characteristic umbellate inflorescence (belongs to the corresponding umbelliferous family). Widely used in pickles, baking bread, etc.

30.09.2015

One of the cornerstones of the System’s foundation is the human need for food. One of the main reasons why people need money and why they work for the System is the need to buy food.

In this article we will cover the topic of how you can partially or fully realize your natural right to free food, how you can weaken your dependence on the System for food and thereby reduce the need to earn money to buy food. We will talk about the gifts of nature and wild edible plants.

Often the topic of eating wild plants comes up when it comes to survival in some extreme situations, when a person finds himself outside of civilization, face to face with wild nature, or in situations of any kind of disaster and famine.

In this article we will approach the topic wild plants and gifts of nature from a slightly different position. Although the current food situation in the world, and especially in “developed”, “civilized” countries, by and large can be equated precisely to a food catastrophe and an extreme situation: store shelves are bursting with “food”, there is a lot of food, but nothing to eat! That is, there are very few truly edible, high-quality, pure natural products; you need to look for them well in order to be able to buy them. In stores and markets there are only artificial industrial and GMO “food products”. And at the same time, they also cost money, and often quite significant ones.

So, in order to depend less on the System for food, you can switch to eating partially or completely on wild edible plants and gifts of nature. Wild edible plants can be collected in the forest, there are many of them within the city, in parks, if you have your own plot of land near your house or cottage, then you can grow wild edible plants there. This way, you will have less time to spend searching and preparing food, you will be confident in the purity of the plants you eat, and growing wild plants does not require much time and effort, they will grow on their own.

It is very important to realize that in order to depend less on the System in terms of food, you need to change your gastronomic tastes and preferences. It’s not always easy to do this, this is a certain mental and spiritual work, but making such changes is real and necessary, for this realize those advantages, which you get with these changes:

1. Independence or, let's say, less dependence on the System;
2. You always have food, you are freed from the conscious or subconscious fear of being hungry;
3. You can work less for the System and the toilet, and devote the freed up time to spiritual self-knowledge and development;
4. Improving the quality of nutrition (wild plants contain more nutrients than selective and fertilized ones when grown for sale in stores and markets);
5. Improved health (due to the refusal of store and market “food”, artificial products industrial production and eating plants of higher quality, more saturated with nutrients and without fertilizers);
6. After restructuring the body, some cleansing of it and getting used to eating plants, to get a feeling of fullness it will be enough to eat much less food than before.

Now let's move on directly to eating wild plants.

Greens as a complete nutrition
- what is protein
- amino acids and green plants
- why do we eat food?
- lack of energy
- removal of waste and toxins
- reducing food intake and increasing energy
- how to eat green plants raw
- why is there no food in supermarkets at all?
- green smoothies - detailed guide
- what greens to use
- amaranth, quinoa, dandelion in detail
- and other very interesting topics...

Since ancient times, people have eaten wild plants along with cultivated plants. In early spring fresh herbs supplied him with vitamins; in summer and autumn, during lean years, they replaced bread; often quenched thirst instead of drinks. Various parts of plants were used raw, and also prepared for future use - dried, salted, fermented, pickled. They were added as aromatic, spicy substances that significantly improved the taste of food, facilitating its absorption and long-term storage.

Many wild perennial herbs, trees and shrubs found in our country contain a whole range of biologically active substances necessary for the normal functioning of the body, and, above all, easily digestible carbohydrates, vitamins, mineral salts, and organic acids. Some representatives of wild flora are even richer in these compounds than cultivated plants our fields, gardens and vegetable gardens.

Wild plants are used to make salads, vinaigrettes, soups, borscht, okroshka, prepare porridges, seasonings for meat and fish dishes, bake pancakes and pancakes with them, and brew tea with them.

Gathering wild edible plants, which can be carried out from early spring to late autumn and even in winter, is a real opportunity to diversify and decorate our table at any time of the year, the taste of food, enrich it with vitamins, microelements and other useful substances.

In order not to fade the beauty of our fields and forests, in order to preserve reserves of plant materials for future generations, it is unacceptable to carry out harvesting in the same places from year to year. When collecting young leaves, shoots, buds and opening buds, do not pull out roots, rhizomes and bulbs. Leaves, especially young ones, should not be picked at the ends of the shoots. The underground parts of the plants are harvested after the seeds have ripened and fallen off, leaving some of them for the restoration of the thickets.

You cannot start collecting without knowing exactly the appearance of the plant, what part and in what phase of its development can be harvested, since some edible plants are similar to their poisonous relatives.

It should also be remembered that a person’s sensitivity to them is strictly individual - their inclusion in food may be accompanied by allergic reactions.

It is also necessary to remember. That for some diseases, wild plants can only be used in a limited form.

And now briefly about the most common wild plants:

Snooze
Snot is a storehouse of useful substances. Its greens contain: vitamins A, C, proteins, sugars - glucose, fructose, fiber, essential oil, coumarins, flavonoids, malic and citric organic acids, micro and macroelements - magnesium, potassium, manganese, iron, boron, copper, titanium . The youngest shoots are collected for food when the leaf is still light green, shiny and unopened - it is crunchy and does not yet have a specific taste. Snyti greens are good for cabbage soup - they put it instead of cabbage. You just need to cook the squash a little - it’s too tender. Also with “weed” they make okroshka: kvass or yogurt, green onions, dill, cucumber - and a little mustard for spiciness. The simplest way to prepare snyti is to dry the young leaves, grind them, sift them through a sieve and use the powder in winter as a seasoning when preparing dishes.

Burdock
Burdock, not only useful and treatment plant, but also edible. In Siberia and the Caucasus, burdock has long been considered vegetable plant. And in Japan it is grown in garden beds, and there it is called “dodo”. The roots and leaves are eaten. But burdock roots are especially popular in nutrition. They are consumed baked and fried; boiled and pickled in China and Japan are considered a delicacy. Burdock roots taste like potatoes and can replace them in soups and borscht; they are readily eaten raw - they are juicy, sweet and very pleasant to the taste. From the dried and ground roots, flour is obtained, from which delicious cakes are baked and cutlets are fried. If the roots are crushed, dried and fried, you will get a good coffee substitute, and if you add sorrel or vinegar, you can make a delicious jam and serve it with tea. Salads and soups are prepared from young leaves.

Quinoa
From peeled quinoa seeds you can prepare a nutritious porridge that tastes like buckwheat. Or bake pancakes, make mashed potatoes, flatbreads, casseroles, or make scrambled eggs. Salads, cabbage soup, and dressings are prepared from young leaves. Quinoa is very healthy and nutritious. Quinoa is pickled, fermented, dried, and added to soups. Our ancestors used quinoa not only in times of famine. Quinoa cleanses the body of toxins, thanks to the high content of fiber and pectins in the plant, which, like a sponge, absorb toxins, excess salts and waste from the intestines. Quinoa also helps with constipation associated with our traditional bread and carbohydrate diet.

Nettle
One of the most famous plants, which is probably familiar to everyone. Who among you in childhood did not accidentally run into nettle thickets, did not get burned, and did not remember since then what this plant looks like? But did you know that nettles are very often eaten? Salads, purees, cabbage soup are usually made from it, and young leaves are used in salads. By the way, nettles contain a lot of protein, not inferior to the amount of protein in legumes. Which is why it is sometimes called plant-based meat. Remember that you need to cook it for at least 5-6 minutes so that the formic acid contained in nettle hairs is completely destroyed. If you want to make a nettle salad, soak this plant in boiling water for a while.

Fireweed or Ivan-tea
The roots and leaves of the plant are eaten. The roots are used to make flour from which cakes are baked. The leaves can be used in salad and cabbage soup. Well, traditionally in tea.

woodlouse
All aboveground part Woodlice are edible. Per 100 g of weight it contains up to 115 mg of vitamin C, up to 23 mg of carotene (vitamin A), 44 mg of vitamin E, a lot of potassium and chlorine. Tender woodlice greens are used to prepare salads, borscht, soups, purees, fillings for pies and dumplings. When boiled, it is eaten like spinach, with butter. You can make carotene paste from greens.

Sorrel (horse and common)
Everyone knows ordinary sorrel - many people grow it in the garden or make a vegetable garden on the balcony, add it to salads or cook sorrel soup. It looks exactly the same in the wild. It usually grows in sunny meadows - look for it in the grass. Horse sorrel has leaves and inflorescences of a similar shape, but it is an order of magnitude larger in size - the plant reaches a meter in height. U horse sorrel tougher and not as tasty, but also quite edible leaves.

Dandelion
All parts of this plant are edible. The roots can be used to make flour. The roots can be brewed as a “coffee” drink. Salads and dressings are prepared from young leaves. Desserts made from flowers. Making jam.

Plantain
Plantain leaves are added to salads, tea, drinks, soups and seasonings. Unlike other herbs, this plant does not have a laxative effect on the stomach. In Yakutia, plantain seeds are stored for the winter, fermented with milk, and used as a seasoning. Young leaves boil well, and by adding a small amount of sorrel to them, you can prepare a delicious soup.

Dry soup dressing from plantain leaves: wash young leaves, dry lightly in air, then continue drying first at room temperature in the shade and then in the oven. Grind in a mortar, sift through a sieve, store in glass jars. Use for seasoning soups and cabbage soup.

Fern
They say that even the ancient Slavs ate ferns. Only two species are suitable for food - bracken and ostrich. Young shoots are suitable. They can be collected in early May within just a few days. These shoots are boiled for 10 minutes. The water is drained. And then you can cook them at your discretion. Pickle, make salads, fry, etc. They taste like mushrooms.

Wheatgrass
This plant is known to many as a weed. But not many people know about it healing properties. The roots of the plant can be used for food.

Flour and wheatgrass:
Dig up underground branching white wheatgrass rhizomes in early spring, Rinse cold water, air dry. Grind to remove brown scales, grind into flour or cereal. In the old days they made bread and porridge from such flour.

Hazel (hazelnut)
Hazel leaves can be used for cabbage rolls and salads. And nuts are used to make vegan nut milk.

Don't forget that the leaves and roots of this plant are considered poisonous, but its stem is safe to eat. How to eat rhubarb: choose the largest leaves, pick them together with the stem and peel it from the top layer. The remaining pulp is tender, juicy and tasty.

Wild rhubarb
This plant is also often grown in the garden. Sweet and sour jam is made from it and jelly with a specific taste is made. True, rhubarb grows more in mountainous areas; it can be found in the Altai Territory, the Sayan Mountains, Mongolia, Siberia, the Pamirs - in general, on a mountain hike.

Arrowhead
This plant can be found in the forest in many parts of our country, in the Urals and the Caucasus, in the Crimea and the Far East, in Siberia and in the central zone of Russia. It grows near the shores of lakes and rivers.

In autumn, tuberous formations develop at the ends of arrowhead shoots, which are usually eaten. They can be boiled, baked and even eaten raw, in which case they taste like nuts, boiled - like chestnuts, and baked - like potatoes we are used to. Arrowhead rhizomes can also be eaten.

Cane
Another plant that grows near the shores of lakes and other bodies of water and will grow up to 1.5 meters in height. It can also be found in water meadows, salt marshes, swamps and near close-lying groundwater. The most nutritious is the fleshy rhizome of this plant. It can also be eaten raw, fried, baked and boiled. The taste of the reed rhizomes is sweetish and very tender. You can also roast, dry and grind the cane roots to create a coffee substitute.

Broadleaf cattail
This plant also loves water, but it grows on the banks of rivers and lakes, as well as in water meadows. Distinctive feature, by which you can easily recognize this plant - dark brown velvety inflorescences, white and fluffy inside. It also grows in our forests in central Russia. Both rhizomes and young stems of cattail can be consumed in food. The rhizomes are usually baked, although they can also be eaten boiled. You can also make flour from them, and from it you can bake pancakes, pancakes and buns. If you find young shoots, they are usually boiled for some time in lightly salted water, and then pickled for the winter.

The list of edible wild plants is not limited to this; in the countries of the former USSR there are over 1000 species of plants that can be used for food.

At the same time, when collecting wild plants, it is necessary to very clearly distinguish edible plants from poisonous ones. If you don't know whether a plant is edible or not, it's best not to use it. In particular, due to the danger of confusing different kinds Beginners should not collect wild umbelliferous plants, although there are also edible ones among them (for example, angelica).

Plants that birds and animals eat are generally safe to eat. However, it is rare to find plants in which all parts are edible. Most of them have only one or a few parts suitable for eating or quenching thirst.

Checking unfamiliar plants for edibility

Whenever testing a new plant for food, follow the procedure below. Do not shorten it under any circumstances.

Testing should be carried out in full. If you are in doubt at any stage of testing any plant, do not eat it.

ATTENTION! EVERYTHING WRITTEN BELOW DOES NOT APPLY TO MUSHROOMS, BECAUSE A SIMILAR TEST WITH, FOR EXAMPLE, A PALID GREBE WILL END IN FATALITY.

Inspection. Try to identify the plant.

Make sure it is not covered in mucus or eaten away by worms. Avoid old, wilted plants.

Smell. Mash a small piece of the plant with your fingers. If it smells like bitter almonds or peach, throw it away.

Skin irritation. Squeeze a little juice or lightly rub the plant on an area of ​​the body with more delicate skin (for example, the inside of the forearm).

If you feel a burning sensation, notice a rash or swelling, this will indicate that this plant not suitable for human consumption.

Lips, mouth, tongue. If irritation did not occur at the previous stage, proceed to the next stage, taking 15-second pauses between each test to determine the body’s reaction:

Place a small piece of the plant on your lips;
- place a small piece in the corner of your mouth;
- place a small piece on the tip of your tongue;
- place a small piece under your tongue;
- chew a small piece.

In all cases, if you feel unpleasant sensations, such as sore throat, irritation or burning, do not eat the tested plant.

Trying a new (previously unknown to you) plant. Swallow a small amount of the plant and observe how you feel for 5 hours. Do not eat or drink anything else during this time. 5 hours is a long time, but it’s reliable and you definitely won’t get poisoned by eating an unknown plant! In other words, if you have not eaten the plant you are researching before and cannot find edible plants known to you nearby, do a test!

Food. In the absence of unpleasant sensations, for example, burning in the mouth, repeated belching, nausea, pain in the stomach or intestines, the plant can be considered edible and eaten.

If you have stomach pain, drink as much as possible hot water; Don't eat anything until the pain goes away. If the pain is very severe, induce vomiting by putting two fingers in your mouth and pressing on the small tongue.

If you are in the wild, a piece of charcoal ingested will also cause vomiting and at the same time absorb the poison. White wood ash, mixed with water to a dough-like state, will relieve stomach pain.

Of the variety of edible plants, we can roughly distinguish several main groups, taking as a basis the qualifications those parts of the plant that are eaten. These groups of plant foods include: vegetables, tubers and roots; cereals and herbs; fruits, fruits, berries and seeds; nuts and acorns; mushrooms and lichens; seaweed.

Here is a list of wild plants that are close to vegetables in their taste and nutritional qualities:
water chestnut (water chestnut, chilim), round sorrel, taro, common sorrel, nettle, shepherd's purse, or bagwort, rhubarb, dandelion, capers, sorrel or oxysirium, felt burdock, peony or marin root, saffron, cattail, water lily or white lily , susak, reed, southern dracaena, chastukha, cassava, wild onion, wild tulip, pennywort, angelica or angelica, viviparous knotweed, clytonia aculata, locust or curly lily, katrana, yam, mong-ngya, reed, burdock, chicory.

Cereals and herbs:
bamboo, hogweed, clover, purslane, fern, bracken, baobab, pistia, spreading shieldweed, moringa, wild chicory, arctic willow, lotus, melon tree, prickly pear, gourd, lophophora williams, wild pumpkin or luffa pumpkin, wild desert pumpkin, saxifrage spica, spoon grass, Nardosmia cold, lyre-shaped cross, arrow-shaped cross, snakeroot, tansy, Icelandic moss, rocky lichen, cactus, plantain, manna, goosefoot, primrose, primrose, sedge, shepherd's purse, coltsfoot, mullein.

Fruits, fruits, berries and seeds:
wild capers, breadfruit, sisygus, blueberries, mulberries, wild grapes, wild apple tree, marmalade aigle, wild fig, pandanus, cloudberry, lingonberry, blueberry, swamp cranberry, crowberry or crowberry, actinidia, Chinese lemongrass, Amur grapes, deshoy, shchim, dock, zoy, mam-shoy, mango, banana, guava, dai- hai, chocolate or coconut tree, juniper, sweet potato, sea quinoa, carob, rice, four winged.

Nuts and acorns:
manchurian nut, date palm, caju or cashew, chilim, Walnut, hazelnuts (lambard nut), European chestnut, almonds, acorns, beech nuts, Pine nuts, tropical almond, coconut, wild pistachio nut, western cashew nut.

Edible young leaves:
plantain, black currant, rose hips, small-leaved linden, large burdock, dandelion, meadow clover, common gooseberry, coltsfoot, spring primrose, wildflower, rhubarb.

Edible roots eaten raw:
fireweed, lake reed, calamus, burnet, six-petalled meadowsweet, large burdock, creeping wheatgrass, lungwort.

Edible leaves and young shoots:
blackberries, chicory, fireweed, sorrel, cumin, white jasmine.

Edible roots consumed as flour:
dandelion, lake reed, snake knotweed, viviparous knotweed, tuber grass, marsh marigold, sea corm, yellow egg capsule, white water lily, cinquefoil, creeping wheatgrass, broad-leaved cattail, umbrella susak, burnet.

Recipe for using edible root flour: cut, dry, grind, make dough, bake. You can add root flour to grain flour.

You can ferment flour: add regular bread or crackers, soak it and put it in a warm place until bubbles and a sour smell appear. The water lily flour needs to be soaked for several hours, changing the water. A good porridge is brewed from the crushed rhizome of lake reed.

Methods for storing edible leaves:
1. dry;
2. ferment like cabbage (for example, young dandelion leaves);
3. Make sour-salty puree (add vinegar and salt) and store in the cold.

Coffee can be made from roasted and ground burdock roots (first year of life), dandelion, and chicory. Eating a lot of sorrel is harmful: oxalic acid converts blood calcium into an insoluble compound.

Herbal tea is a source of vitamins and other beneficial substances

Suitable for tea:

1) flowers and leaves: St. John's wort, strawberry, raspberry, lady's mantle, meadowsweet, cumin, white damselfish;
2) leaves: nettle, plantain, currant, fireweed, coltsfoot, lungwort, primrose;
3) fruits: lingonberry, rowan, black elderberry;
4) flowers, leaves, fruits: rose hips, hawthorn.

More full list herbs used for tea: St. John's wort, oregano, chamomile, chicory, mint, yarrow, linden, hawthorn, nettle, rose hip, sweet clover, fireweed, thyme, chaga, golden root, strawberry leaf, currant leaf, cherry branches, barberry leaves , wheatgrass root, apple leaves, ragosa root, blueberry leaves, susak root, blackberry leaves, rose flowers, meadowsweet leaves, acacia flowers, lemon balm, meadowsweet flowers, etc.

Seeds of plants used for porridge:

field mustard, bristle grass, canary grass, chicken millet, spreading boron, pearl barley, wild barley, weedy millet, grate grass, wild rice, sandy oats, yellow acacia, plantain and others.

So, for eating wild plants you can use different ways, you can prepare: salads, soups, vinaigrettes, borscht, okroshka, porridge, use as filling for pies, stew, boil, salt, ferment, pickle, make seasonings, bake pancakes, pancakes with them, brew tea, and also make green smoothies .

Read it online here.

And another list of books on wild edible plants:

Ivanova, Putintseva “Forest Pantry”
- Koshcheev “Wild-growing edible plants”
- Berson "Wild Edible Plants"
- Keller "Wild Edible Plants"
- Verzilin “In the footsteps of Robinson”
- Tsyplev “Extreme Cooking”

• Remember that it is better to change your diet gradually, so that the body has time to readjust, so that the intestinal microflora has time to rebuild and change, on the condition of which the health of our body largely depends.
• We highly recommend consistently and gradually giving up eating meat (any kind), eggs and dairy products. These products are very harmful and cost you not only money to buy them, time to prepare them, but also your Health. More details about this in the lecture “ERIDATED LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH” by world-renowned MD Michael Gregor. This video is a powerful blow to deep-rooted and erroneous views on the usual “balanced” diet, which recommends consuming meat, milk and other animal “products.” In this valuable lecture, Michael Greger talks and shows the results of the largest long-term research in the field of nutrition. Having gone through the list of the 15 most important causes of death in the World, the doctor shows a very definite connection between fatal diseases and the consumption of “food” of animal origin. It has been proven through many experiments what stunning results can be achieved by switching to an exclusively plant-based diet.
• You should also avoid eating artificial, industrially produced foods. The reason, we think, should be clear: our body cannot be adapted to qualitatively digest and process artificially created products and substances (which do not exist in nature initially) and do this for a long time (life or most of life) without receiving negative consequences and causing illnesses in the body. Our bodies are not created or designed to cram such a large volume of artificial products stuffed with chemicals into them.
• It is very important to stop consuming regular bread. And even if it is homemade, without yeast, with homemade sourdough, this still does not make the bread completely healthy. Why regular bread is harmful, read the article “Bread that is killing us”
• To depend less on the System, you need to consume less, have fewer attachments, strings connecting you to the System and by which the System can tug you and motivate you to act as it needs. The word “less” fully refers to the amount of food a person consumes. In modern society, we are accustomed to the fact that the refrigerator and table should be full of food, we should eat 3 times a day and to the full and preferably high-calorie food - this is considered the norm, although our body does not think so. In fact, it is not good for our health. It is quite normal and even beneficial for the human body to take some breaks in eating and consume small amounts of food. The main thing is that the food is of high quality, nutritious, and natural. Think for yourself, in the absence of industrial artificial production people ate seasonal products, and there was not such a volume of food; sometimes a person could go hungry for 1-2 days due to circumstances. And only in the 20th century, when, thanks to new technologies and the development of industry, people began to eat regularly and a lot, mass diseases of diabetes, cancer, obesity, cardiovascular and other diseases appeared. Studies have shown that reducing the amount of food by 30% of the usual leads to significant improvements in health and increased life expectancy in animals. Many centenarians also have a fairly modest amount of food consumed. Russian porridge
  
  

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Fresh greens contain many vitamins and microelements. Some edible herbs can boost immunity and cleanse the body. To do this, many gardeners grow on personal plots dill, sorrel, parsley. Green onions and salads are rich in fiber. Perhaps this is the entire list of greens that are planted in the garden for consumption. Edible wild herbs can help diversify your diet. Many of them are medicinal plants. Beneficial wild edible herbs are popularly called edible weeds.

Where do herbs grow?

Edible wild herbs can easily be mistaken for common weeds. Some species grow directly in the garden bed. Experts do not recommend getting rid of them. Many weeds have beneficial properties and good taste.

Edible wild herbs are widespread in middle lane. Edible plants can be found in a meadow or forest clearing. It is better to collect edible herbs away from roads. The urban environment also adversely affects the properties of plants. The plant gains its most beneficial properties by growing in meadows and forests with good ecological conditions.

Edible herbs “come to life” (photo attached below) with the beginning of spring, straighten out, and gain strength. They reach their greatest development in midsummer - they bloom luxuriantly and set seeds. In autumn, fruiting occurs, they become coarser and gradually die off. Let's take a closer look at which herbs are edible.

woodlouse

Otherwise, woodlice is called chickweed. The plant reproduces quickly, and in wet summers it can spread to most beds. The growing season lasts a long time: from May to October. The leaves contain more vitamins of groups A, C and E. Chickweed has a high concentration of trace elements, iodine and potassium.

Woodlice is a medicinal plant. Doctors recommend consuming it raw for thyroid diseases, cystitis, hypertension, bronchitis and arthritis. By adding a few leaves of the plant to a salad, you can prevent the development of cholelithiasis and urolithiasis.

Housewives sprinkle salad, soup or main course with finely chopped herbs. Due to its neutral taste, woodlice is suitable for most ready-made dishes.

Quinoa

Quinoa, like woodlice, is usually classified as a weed and is actively combated against its spread. The main property of this plant is vitality. In addition, green shoots contain many useful substances.

Herbalists use quinoa for arthritis, gout, constipation and menstrual irregularities. The leaves contain substances that suppress appetite. There are also a number of contraindications: not recommended for gastritis, colitis and other gastrointestinal diseases.

Previously, quinoa saved people from hunger and vitamin deficiency, so it was cultivated. But over time, the plants stopped sowing fields with seeds. Now this seed crop has been undeservedly forgotten. The leaves have a delicate taste and can be added to salads, okroshka and fortified cocktails.

Dandelion

At almost every step we come across wild but tasty medicinal edible herbs. One such plant is dandelion. This is a low plant with bright yellow flowers. The seeds are dispersed by the wind over long distances, so it may appear unexpectedly in the garden. Refers to medicinal herbs with choleretic and diuretic effects. Its leaves help normalize metabolism and relieve symptoms of constipation and hemorrhoids.

The upper part of the plant is added to salads and soups. Sometimes young leaves are stewed with onions and spices, and then used as a seasoning for fish and meat dishes. Before cooking, dandelion shoots are immersed in salt water for 30 minutes. This little trick will help get rid of the bitter taste.

Nettle

Nettle is a fastidious edible herb in the garden. She prefers to settle in places with good environmental conditions. Vitamins A, B, C and carotene are contained in the leaves in large quantities. Nettle is rich in phytoncides and tannins, there are small amounts of minerals, as well as iron, magnesium and potassium salts.
Some gardeners consider nettles valuable plant, because its decoctions can lower blood sugar levels and relieve inflammation. It is recommended to eat it fresh for liver diseases, arthritis, anemia and anemia.
Before cooking, nettle leaves are poured with boiling water for a couple of minutes. Add finely chopped greens to salads, side dishes and omelettes. Due to the high protein content it will be thick and filling.

Burdock

Burdock is a plant with large fleshy leaves and inflorescences, which are strewn with hooks on the outside. Thanks to these hooks, the seed heads easily stick to clothing and wool. Distributed almost everywhere.

In Asian countries, burdock is considered horticultural crops and is used in cooking. It is widely used as a dressing for salads and soups. Young shoots and roots of the plant are popular. Big leaves They can also be eaten, but they are not as tasty.

Have high content essential oils, tannins and vitamins A and C. Thanks to this, burdock has found use in medicine. Its decoctions stimulate tissue regeneration, improve digestion and reduce fatigue. Doctors use the leaves of the plant as a medicine for diabetes mellitus and urolithiasis.

Horse sorrel (wild sorrel)

Sorrel is a plant with bright green leaves that have a pleasant sour taste. It is recommended to keep it not only on the table, but also in the first aid kit. Sorrel is able to stop bleeding, relieve inflammation and improve appetite. The plant relieves pain well and removes toxins from the body. For medicinal purposes, it is also used to treat vitamin deficiency, scurvy and anemia.

The leaves of the plant are rich in organic acids and microelements; they contain a high concentration of vitamins A, B, C and K. Chemical composition wild sorrel is similar to rhubarb. endow sorrel with antibacterial properties.

Housewives love to make salads and use it as a filling for pies. In the Caucasus and Central Asia, the plant is widely used in the preparation of dough, soups and hot dishes.

Sapling is a short herb with delicate green stems and lush leaves. One of the relatives of this species is celery. It grows mainly in the forest in sunny meadows and along the edges of paths. The first shoots appear immediately after the snow melts. Only young leaves are suitable for collecting, so it is better to go in search of the leaves in early spring.

Dwarf contains several groups of vitamins and is rich in manganese, boron and iron. Infusions from the upper part of the plant are used in the treatment of kidney and liver diseases, anemia and vitamin deficiency.

In cooking, they are used raw or boiled. It is not recommended to boil squash for a long time, as it quickly loses its beneficial properties. The plant is a good substitute for cabbage, so it is fermented with carrots. Housewives add the leaves to okroshka and salads, prepare cabbage soup and cold soup. And the petioles are usually salted and pickled.

Yarrow

Yarrow is a perennial with serrated leaves and corymbose inflorescences. Medicinal plant collected at flowering time. Fresh heads are of great value. Prepared for the winter, drying in a well-ventilated dry room.

Concentration of essential oils, tannins and organic acids can reach 80% in yarrow. Researchers also note a high content of vitamin C and carotene.

Yarrow's young shoots, leaves and flowers are considered edible. However, it must be used extremely carefully. In large quantities, it is harmful to the body and can cause skin rashes and dizziness. This herb is not suitable for people with increased blood clotting and a tendency to form blood clots. Pregnancy will also be a contraindication for the use of yarrow.

Plantain

Plantain is a small plant that can be found on roadsides. They grow everywhere in steppes and meadows, and can be found in wastelands and sandy soils. It is very easy to recognize a plantain: the leaves are collected in a rosette close to the ground, and several flower stems on top have a dense spikelet.

Everyone knows that plantain is good at stopping bleeding and healing wounds. The juice of the plant has disinfecting and anti-inflammatory properties.
Plantain leaves are used in cooking. They can be added to salad or soup. Traditionally, in the middle zone it is customary to prepare teas and infusions from plantain. In Siberia, the seeds of the plant are stored and then fermented with milk. It turns out very healthy seasoning. In Europe, plantain is known as it can be found in garden beds.

Lungwort (pulmonaria)

Lungwort - low perennial grass with pink or blue corollas. Flowering begins very early, and the inflorescences contain a lot of nectar, so the plant is considered a good honey plant. It grows mainly in forests and ravines, but can also be found in bushes. For development, young shoots need shady corners; with an abundance of sunlight, they quickly die.

Lungwort contains a lot of manganese, copper and iron, so it helps cleanse the blood. The leaves contain rutin, carotene, ascorbic and salicylic acid. Beneficial features the plant retains even after drying. Lungwort has been used for a long time to treat lung diseases.

Young shoots and leaves are used to prepare decoctions, and they are used to salt and pickle vegetables for the winter. In European countries, lungwort is added to mashed potatoes and dough.

In order to enrich your menu with vitamins and microelements, it is not necessary to plant all the beds with garden herbs. Useful edible herbs and plants can be found among weeds and wild plants. They can and should be used to stock up during the warm period nutrients. Edible herbs and plants can maintain health and give energy for a long time. There is so much in the wild useful herbs, which can be eaten, that it is impossible to list them. We looked at the most common edible herbs (names and descriptions of plants).

Did you know that nasturtiums and pansies are not only beautiful flowers for the garden, but also great salad ingredients? And these are not all the flowers that can be eaten.

Many flowers will not cause harm to health if you decide to evaluate their taste. True, it cannot be said that plants from the flower garden are so tasty. They are intended to decorate the site, while vegetables and fruits are grown for food. But how I would like flowers not only to please with beautiful buds, but also to be used as, for example, a side dish for the main dish. Unrealistic desire? You will be surprised, but such flowers exist! We counted at least 9 beautiful edible plants that can be grown in a flower garden to the delight of the culinary gardener.

1. Monarda – petals with a spicy taste

Monarda leaves and flowers have a “warm” and spicy aroma, thanks to which the plant can be a worthy replacement for oregano. Flowers appear on the crop in mid-summer. They are harvested immediately after blooming, while they are still young and fresh. This will produce spices with the strongest aroma.

Unlike flowers, monarda leaves do not change their taste throughout the growing season (unless they are affected by powdery mildew, of course).

You can add monarda to food both fresh and dried, like many spices. It is recommended to use this spice with meat and fish. It is equally good as an independent seasoning or in a mixture of herbs. You can also add monarda petals to green salads or sprinkle them on “pale” soups to improve their appearance and aroma.

And if you add 1-2 monarda flowers to a bottle of white vinegar, you can get a nice pink herbal vinegar.

2. Rose is both beautiful and tasty

You can collect edible petals from absolutely any rose, unless it was sprayed with toxic drugs and did not grow near the road. Taste qualities buds vary depending on the variety of rose, but the main rule is: than more fragrant flower, the tastier its petals are.

Roses can be used in cooking either fresh or cooked. Raw petals are suitable for adding to salads, as well as decorating cakes and pies. Who hasn’t heard of rose jam made from whole petals? The dried flowers are used to make a syrup that is great for adding to cocktails, sorbet or icing. Some also include rose syrup in ice cream or custard for a richer taste and aroma.

3. Lilac – crunchy and sweet-tart flowers

Lilacs bloom in late spring and their first flowers are sweet and tart, and when you chew them they “pop” funny in your mouth. As for taste, it may vary depending on the type of plant. Some varieties of lilac have a bitter taste, so before using the inflorescences in cooking, you should first taste a couple of them.

Lilac flowers are best eaten raw to appreciate their crunchy texture and microbursts of sweetness. White and white are considered edible purple flowers. Throw them into a salad, add them to vanilla yogurt, sprinkle them over lemon sorbet or cake - you can't go wrong.

Hibiscus - a universal flower

You will be surprised, but hibiscus is used not only in making drinks: its raw petals can also be added to salads. Although it cannot be said that hibiscus flowers have an aroma that significantly changes the taste of dishes. Its petals tend to have a mild vegetal flavor, but the shape of the buds definitely adds a few bonus points to the plant. Flowers are most often used for cooking Syrian hibiscus.

The shrub blooms from mid to late summer, so its flowers can be used in cooking throughout this entire time. Fully opened buds are edible. Remove the pistils and stamens from them, and use the “bowls” themselves as baskets for sauces. Or fill the flowers with goat cheese, close the petals, dip the buds in beaten egg, roll in bread crumbs and bake... Are you already running to pick buds from your hibiscus?

5. Crimson - delicious buds, beautiful flowering

Bagryanyk (or cercis) is a very unusual tree, which blooms even before the leaves appear on it. You can eat buds or already blooming flowers. But be prepared for the fact that their taste is quite specific: a little spicy, and when the buds open, a little sweet.

In their raw form, cercis buds and flowers can be included in salads or used as decoration for cakes and muffins. The texture is as crunchy as lilacs. When baked, crimson flowers lose their decorative look, but do not lose their taste, so they will be a good addition to bread, buns or pancakes. Interestingly, unopened buds have also been used in cooking: they can be pickled and used instead of capers.

6. Elderberry – pollen not only for bees

Edible elder flowers bloom in early May, but the earlier you collect them, the better. If it rains in the garden, it will wash away the pollen, and with it the aroma and taste.

But the value of elderflower pollen does not end there: it contains natural yeast that promotes fermentation. Elderflower champagne - truly summer drink: light, lemony, carbonated and just a little alcoholic.

How else can you use elderflowers? Try frying its flower umbrellas in batter, then sprinkle with powdered sugar - you will get very aromatic and sweet pancakes.

7. Daylilies - from the flower garden to the plate

It should be said right away that not every daylily can be put in a salad. Only certain varieties are suitable for use in cooking, one of which is Fulwa Kwanso. This yellow-brown daylily is especially popular in Chinese cuisine. Flowers and buds of the plant can be collected from mid-spring to mid-summer. The buds are valued for their green beans, the petals for their bright color and the ability to thicken liquids.

Daylily buds Fulwa Kwanso You can stew it with vegetables, and the petals of the opened flowers can be added to fresh salads. Dried flowers, ground into powder, make a good seasoning for pasta and rice dishes, which they will also give an orange tint.

8. Euphorbia - tenderness and sweetness

As with daylilies, not every milkweed flower is edible. There are quite a lot of euphorbias in nature, wild and cultivated, but only Syrian cottonweed suitable for human consumption. The plant blooms in mid-summer. You can pick both tightly closed buds and completely open flowers filled with nectar.

Inflorescences Syrian cottonweed They look like miniature broccoli florets and have a pleasant vegetal taste. They can be blanched in boiling water for 1-2 minutes and then stewed or fried in a pan. Open flowers are suitable for making syrup. To do this, mix 2 cups of individual flowers with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar, bring to a boil (stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar), remove from heat and leave overnight. Before using, remove the flowers from the syrup.

9. Magnolia – for a sharp and spicy taste

The petals and unopened buds of many magnolia species are edible, but it is better to pay attention to varieties with big flowers, such as magnolia grandiflora or Magnolia Soulange. They have the best taste and texture. Flowers should be collected as soon as they bloom - which is mid-spring. But before you pick off the entire magnolia bush, be sure to taste the petals - you may not like them.

Raw magnolia petals can be added to salads - they will give dishes a piquant, spicy taste. But the most The best way– marinate them in rice vinegar and use them as a complement to meat and fish.

Of course, you need to understand that flowers are first and foremost ornamental plants, so you shouldn’t demand the impossible from them and expect that after special preparation they will turn into exquisite dishes. But this does not mean that they should not be used in cooking. Don't be afraid to experiment! Moreover, both in the garden and in the kitchen.