Wild Foods

With spring comes wild foods that inhabit our region. Last week, I met a group of visiting culinary students from France at a market.

Mid-conversation, the group’s leader took several steps away to harvest a lone mushroom on an adjacent patch of grass. He was elated to discover this fungus, like a familiar friend. “This wild mushroom is popular in France,” he said. To prove his point, he took a bite. I chose not to remind him that dogs favor that spot for cocking their legs.

Needless to say, it points to the fact that we live in a robust climate — one that produces a healthy supply of delicious wild foods. This fact is not lost on some market vendors who harvest chanterelles, wild blackberries, and even mulberries. Commercial fisher Kay Brandhurst adds wild mulberries to her offering of wild seafood. And “to think… I saw mulberries on Magazine Street.”

For the WWNO Farmers Market Minute, this is Richard McCarthy