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wild food

Mustard Power: An Historic Food Crop

January 15, 2022 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

mustard plant courtesy Wikimedia user Nafiur RahmanFirst domesticated in Central Asia some six-thousand years ago by ancient cultures looking for the best way to ruin shirts, mustard has evolved from zesty warm to blistering hot to the point that it’s now being developed as an ultra-low emission jet fuel.

Given the large size of the mustard or Brassica family – some 3,000 strong, according to Cornell University – it’s no surprise that it comprises historic food crops, showy flowers, noxious invasive weeds, and more. [Read more…] about Mustard Power: An Historic Food Crop

Filed Under: Food, Nature Tagged With: Agricultural History, Culinary History, Food, gardening, local farms, nature, wild food, wildflowers

Hunters Can Help Fight Food Insecurity

November 21, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Venison Donation Coalition logoEach year, DEC partners with the Venison Donation Coalition and Feeding New York State to help provide food for those in need.

Through a cooperative relationship involving the New York State Department of Health, non-profit organizations like Feeding New York State’s regional food banks and deer processors, hunters contribute nearly 40 tons of venison each year to needy families across the state. [Read more…] about Hunters Can Help Fight Food Insecurity

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: DEC, Food, hunting, whitetail deer, wild food

Forest Fungi: Native Mushrooms and Forest Health

October 31, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

TOS_Fungi_AmanitaVernaA walk in the woods during fall is likely to reveal an array of forest fungi. Ranging from delicate, tan mini-umbrellas to fleshy, white softballs to foot-long, orange-yellow shelves growing out of rotten logs, they come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. Fungi are critical to the health of the forest, decomposing woody debris and helping trees obtain required nutrients. [Read more…] about Forest Fungi: Native Mushrooms and Forest Health

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Food, fungi, nature, wild food, Wildlife

Seeing Red During Fall Leaf Change

October 7, 2020 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

Staghorn sumac courtesy USDAEach fall there is roughly the same amount of yellow foliage, since in most woody plants Mother Nature sees fit to cache yellow pigments beneath the overpowering verdancy of chlorophyll.

While yellow is a stable commodity in the forest, red is a different story. Trees go through considerable effort to create the assortment of red pigments known to nerds as anthocyanins, so it’s not like red is just hanging around, having a beer with yellow as they wait for chlorophyll to fade. It’s a bit more complicated, which makes it less unreliable. [Read more…] about Seeing Red During Fall Leaf Change

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Native Plants, nature, wild food, Wildlife

In Pursuit of Giant Puffballs

September 7, 2020 by Richard Gast Leave a Comment

puffball mushrooms courtesy University of Wisconsin Green BayPuffball is the generic name for a large group of mushrooms with similar characteristics. They come in many sizes and are usually spherical or globular in shape.

Puffballs are distinguished from other mushroom groups by the fact that they lack many of the features or characteristics that other common mushrooms possess. A puffball has no stem. It has no cap. And no external gills. All of the spores are produced inside of the fruiting body. The most common way in which they release their spores is through impact; the external force of rain or falling debris landing upon them or of animals stepping on or brushing against them, thereby compressing and/or breaking the peridium; the protective layer that encloses the spore mass inside the fungus. When that happens, as the name puffball implies, the spores are ejected in a large puff. [Read more…] about In Pursuit of Giant Puffballs

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Food, fungi, nature, wild food, Wildlife

Fishing and Food Security: From Stream To Table

August 30, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Brook Trout provided by DECCornell Cooperative Extension is set to host a webinar on fishing and food security on Wednesday, September 16th, at 2:30 pm.

In these difficult financial times, many people are expanding their options for putting food on the table (or in the freezer). One of the most abundant sources of food has been, and continues to be, in the lakes, ponds, and streams near our homes. [Read more…] about Fishing and Food Security: From Stream To Table

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Cornell Cooperative Ext, fish, Fisheries, fishing, Food, local food, wild food

Call the Dogs off the Lions

June 21, 2020 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

sweat bee on dandelion - Scott Bauer - USDA Agricultural Research Service - Bugwood.orgAlthough it’s possible dandelions arrived on the Mayflower, they do not get the esteem they deserve as plucky immigrants that put down firm roots in a new land, or as a vitamin-packed culinary delight, or as a multi-purpose herbal remedy. [Read more…] about Call the Dogs off the Lions

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Native Plants, nature, wild food, wildflowers, Wildlife

NYS Wild Edibles Webinar Series Set

June 11, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

cattails provided by Cornell Cooperative ExtensionCornell Cooperative Extension has announced a series of three free webinars focused on how identify wild edibles, what parts of the plants are safely edible, when they should be harvested, and how they can be prepared. [Read more…] about NYS Wild Edibles Webinar Series Set

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Events, Food, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Cornell Cooperative Ext, Food, nature, wild food, Wildlife

History’s Editable ‘Weed’: Lambs Quarters

June 3, 2020 by Pat Banker Leave a Comment

Leaf shape showing white dusty underside

Lambsquarters, Chenopodium album, aka pig weed, fat hen, goose foot. The name lamb’s quarters believed to be associated with “Lammas Quarter,” an ancient English festival that was held at the time this plant, or its relative orache, was harvested.

The name Chenopodium album translates as: cheno “goose,” podium “foot,” and album “white,” referring to the shape of the leaf resembling a goose’s foot and the color of the leaf’s underside. White – goose- foot. [Read more…] about History’s Editable ‘Weed’: Lambs Quarters

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Cornell Cooperative Ext, Food, gardening, Native Plants, wild food

Dandelions: You Can Eat Them, Here’s How

May 16, 2020 by Richard Gast Leave a Comment

sweat bee on dandelion - Scott Bauer - USDA Agricultural Research Service - Bugwood.orgDandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are probably the most recognized of all broadleaf ‘weeds.’

Many people consider them a curse; a plant that can establish quickly, by seed, in a well-kept lawn and become extremely difficult to eradicate. [Read more…] about Dandelions: You Can Eat Them, Here’s How

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: nature, wild food, wildflowers

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