Interesting On-line Reference Works
There are some fascinating old online reference sources relating to food - but not necessarily about 'wild foods'. They often shed light on how people in the past coped with preparing food without the benefit of microwaves and frozen TV dinners, or preserving foodstuffs.
Located at: Making of America Books archive at University of Michigan
The Prairie Traveler: A Hand-book for Overland Expeditions You could say this was the 19th century equivalent of a modern survival guide for intrepid travellers crossing the American continent. It is a fascinating insight into how America's west was traversed and includes a few brief items on wild foods.... but also mentions things like managing stampedes, forging rivers, hunting, and what to do when you meet an Indian. Basically a dietry book which contains quite a lot of interesting historical pieces and backgrounds to many common foodstuffs, but only mentions the occasional item which can be truly called a 'wild food'. Obviously lots of recipes - but more importantly the reader will get an idea of what cooking was like in the days before gas marks and electric ovens. Also contains 'recipes' for washing clothes and other domestic chores - so not a true cookbook. :) Located at: Cornell University's Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (CHLA) collection, part of the A R Mann Library Project.
The Everlasting Pleasure: Influences on America's Kitchens, Cooks, and Cookery, from 1565 to the Year 2000 Some interesting background material - particularly 17th -19th century - on what Americans were eating. Has the occasional recipe / instruction. A layman's guide to food origins, with the occasional insight into production methods at the time of writing. Really a biochemical/dietry analysis book but has sections on green vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts, with the odd passing reference to wild foods such as thistles, dandelions. Mainly the usual culinary herbs but with one or two aditional items. Interesting section on food from the forest, and preparation and preservation of foods during colonial times but nothing on foraging. Volume 2 deals mainly with the European continent. Covers all sorts of beverages plus some insights into spruce beer and birch wine production. Heavy-weight study of 'apples' by someone who obviously lived and breathed apples. Contains a handful of popular apple recipes of the period. Historical background to many of America's native foodstuffs. Has a small section on eating plants like jack-in-the-pulpit [toxic under normal circmstances], hog/yellow pond lily, pigweed, common milk-weed and reindeer moss. Rather technical but gives an insight into problems associated with baking at high altitudes and therefore might be of interest to anyone in the climbing community who has an itch to make their own bread. Other interesting on-line reference materials: Ethnobotany of the Menomini Indians, Huron H Smith, Mus. of City of Milwaukee, 1923 Useful Wild Plants of the United States & Canada, Charles Francis Saunders, Robert McBride & Co., New York, 1920 The Ethnobotany of the Gosiute Indians of Utah, Ralph V Chamberlin, American Anthropological Assoc., c1912 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians, Matilda Stevenson, Bureau of American Ethnology, 1908-9 The Compleat Angler, Izzak Walton, 1653 The English Physitian, Nicholas Culpepper, 1652 |