Description
Product Description
“This is the ultimate guide, and Chris is the undisputed heavyweight champion of foraging in the South.” —Sean Brock, author of Heritage and chef of McCradys, Minero, and Husk
The Southeast offers a veritable feast for foragers, and with Chris Bennett as your trusted guide you will learn how to safely find and identify an abundance of delicious wild plants. The plant profiles in Southeast Foraging include clear, color photographs, identification tips, guidance on how to ethically harvest, and suggestions for eating and preserving. A handy seasonal planner details which plants are available during every season. Thorough, comprehensive, and safe, this is a must-have for foragers in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Review
“A fabulous field guide to sustainable, adventurous eating down South.” —Library Journal
“I’ve been waiting years for this book. This is the ultimate guide, and Chris is the undisputed heavyweight champion of foraging in the South.” —Sean Brock, author of Heritage and chef of McCradys, Minero, and Husk
“Chris Bennett is a thoughtful and expert southern chef who knows his wild plants. This book will open a new world to beginning foragers and will make an already rich regional food culture even richer.” —Hank Shaw, James Beard Award–winning author of Hunter Angler Gardener Cook
“A wonderful reference for anyone with an interest in foraging. . . . may spark an unrealized fascination.” —Smith Mountain Laker
From the Back Cover
With this savvy guide you’ll learn what to look for, when and where to look, and how to gather in a responsible way. A seasonal guide for foraging year-round Detailed information for safe identification Collecting tips for sustainable harvesting Tips for preparation and use
About the Author
Chris Bennett is a forager, writer, cheesemonger, and trained chef. He has worked with top chefs around the Southeast providing unique ingredients to the area’s best restaurants. He has been featured in Birmingham Magazine, Cooking Light, Garden & Gun, Discover St. Clair, and The Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook. He is a frequent speaker, and was selected as one of Southern Living magazine’s “50 Innovators Changing the South.”
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Preface: Foraging in the Southeast
Foraging for wild edibles is undergoing a renaissance in the United States. Whether it is the logical extension of the farm-to-table movement or the result of decades of American reforestation, foraging is an experience no longer claimed just by hunters and campers. We are living in a fortunate moment when you might find local edible wild plants on your dinner table at an urban restaurant. You might be able to take a community foraging class taught by a local expert who lives in your neighborhood. You may even find yourself in your own backyard plucking some wild ginger for your morning tea or gathering dandelion greens for the evening’s salad.
This rebirth of interest in edible wild plants is good for the landscape and for preserving our cultural heritage. Foraged foods require no packaging, spraying, or fertilizing to be at their freshest and most tasty. They need no trucking or shipping to reach your table, for this is as close to the land as you can eat. From the mountains of West Virginia and the Carolinas to the swamps of Louisiana and the coastal floodplains of Mississippi and Alabama, the Southeast is extremely rich and diverse in wild edibles. Wild plants are copious in wild lands; no logging, clearing, or plowing is required to create optimal growing conditions for these edibles. At the same time, this free food is available in all types of landscapes—urban, suburban, rural. The range of different plant habitats in the Southeast is staggering: mountains, foothills, plateaus, floodplains, swamps, marshes, grasslands, forests, ridges, va