UPDATE:
It turned out I used this as the basis for our next herb club program on November 9th. You can see what I added at the end of the post. I ran across this article on a totally unrelated blog I was reading, but being the herbie that I am I had to read it, then of course, to share.
What is the universal edibility test?
by Charles W. Bryant
What is the universal edibility test?Getting lost or stranded in the wilderness is serious business, and you need to make sound decisions to give yourself the best chance at survival. It also helps to know some basic wilderness survival skills. To make sure you're safe from the elements, you'll need to know how to build a shelter. To provide you with an opportunity to cook food, boil water and send a rescue signal, you should learn how to build a fire without a match or lighter. The other crucial component to survival is finding water in the wild. People can live without food for up to a month, but water is necessary to keep us alive.
But just because you can live without food doesn't mean you should. Going without food will leave you weak and apt to make poor decisions, which could endanger your life. Being able to identify edible plants in the wilderness is a good skill to have under your belt. The problem is, there are more than 700 varieties of poisonous plant in the United States and Canada alone, so unless you have a book that clearly identifies edible species, it's nearly impossible to determine whether or not a plant will make you sick with absolute certainty.
It's dangerous to eat a plant you're unsure of, especially in a survival scenario. It's better to be hungry than to poison yourself. Some poisonous plants look a lot like edible plants. Some plants have parts that are edible and parts that are toxic. Some are only edible for certain periods throughout the year. You can see where mistakes can easily be made.
If you're in a survival situation and you don't have a book on local edible plants, there is a test you can perform to give yourself a good shot at eating the right thing. It's called the universal edibility test, and we'll cover it in this article.
Universal Edibility Test: Separate, Contact, Cook and Taste
The universal edibility test requires breaking down the parts of a plant and testing them individually over a period of 24 hours. In a survival situation, you don't want to go through this trouble if there isn't a lot of the plant you're testing. If there are only a few sprigs of what you think might be the colorful and edible borage, it won't help you much even if you find that it is the cucumber-like herb. Find something near you that's growing in abundance. To prepare for the test, don't eat or drink anything but water for at least eight hours beforehand. If you're lost or stranded in the wild without any food, this should be pretty easy to accomplish. Now it's test time:
Separate - Because only some parts of the plant may be edible, separate it into its five basic parts. These are the leaves, roots, stems, buds and flowers. There may not be buds or flowers. Check out the parts for worms or insects -- you want a clean and fresh plant. Evidence of parasites or worms is a good sign that it's rotting. If you find them, discard the plant and get another of the same variety or choose a different one.
Contact - First you need to perform a contact test. If it's not good for your skin, it's not good for your belly. Crush only one of the plant parts and rub it on the inside of your wrist or elbow for 15 minutes. Now wait for eight hours. If you have a reaction at the point of contact, then you don't want to continue with this part of the plant. A burning sensation, redness, welts and bumps are all bad signs. While you wait, you can drink water, but don't eat anything. If there is no topical reaction after eight hours, move along to the next step.
Cook - Some toxic plants become edible after they're boiled, so get out your apron and start cooking. Your goal is to test it how you would eat it, so if you don't have any means to boil the plant part, test it raw. Once you've boiled it, or if you're going raw, take the plant part and hold it to your lip for three minutes. If you feel any kind of burning or tingling sensation, remove the piece from your lip and start over with a new part. If there's no reaction, press on.
Taste - Pop the same part in your mouth and hold it on your tongue for another 15 minutes. If you experience anything unpleasant, spit it out and wash your mouth with water. You're looking for a similar burning or tingling as you did on your lip. It may not taste great, but that doesn't mean it's toxic.
If there's no adverse reaction in step four, keep on truckin' to the following page for the next steps.
Now I am not going to copy the whole article, you can read the rest here. But I will tell you this,
I hope you have some fat on you cause this is going to take a little time and you will be hungry before the tests are completed.
Update:
Also notice it is on the How Stuff Works website. A very interesting place to browse.
For more information on
wilderness survival, please put down that carrot root and click forward to the
next page.
Plant Warning Signs
Aside from the universal
edibility test, there are a few other tips on what kinds of plants you
should avoid. These tips may rule out some plants that are edible, but it's
better to do that than to risk getting poisoned.
$
Never
eat plants with thorns.
$
Steer
clear of plants with shiny leaves.
$
Don't
eat mushrooms. Many are safe to eat, but many are highly toxic and
even deadly, so it's not worth
the risk.
$
Umbrella‑shaped
flowers are a bad sign. Stay away from these plants.
$
Don't
eat plants with white or yellow berries.
$
If
the plant's sap is milky or discolored, leave it alone.
$
Avoid
beans or plants with seeds inside a pod.
$
If it
tastes bitter or soapy, spit it out.
$
Avoid anything
that smells like almonds.
$
Same
as poison ivy, stay away from plants with leaves in groups of three.
Lots More Information http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/universal‑edibility‑test3.htm
Related HowStuffWorks Articles
Top 5 Most Poisonous Plants
How Entomophagy Works
How Poison Ivy Works
How Venus Flytraps Work
How to Survive the Freezing Cold
Harrowing Survival Stories
How to Find Water
How to Build a Shelter
How does hemp work?
How can I tell if a bug is edible?
If I kill an animal, can I eat it raw?
More Great Links
The Nature Conservancy
Survival IQ
The Edible
Schoolyard
Sources
"Edibility of
Plants." wilderness‑survival.net, 2008. http://www.wilderness‑survival.net/plants‑1.php
Brill, Steve.
"Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants." Harper
Collins Publishers, 1994.
Kaplan, Melissa. "Edible Plants List."
anapsid.org, April 19, 2007. http://www.anapsid.org/resources/edible.html
Some
Plants we know to be edible:
Wild Edible Plants
http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/food/edibleplants/
$
Blueberry
(fruit)
$
Garlic
Mustard (green plant)
$
Gooseberries (fruits)
$
Indian
Cucumber Root (tubers)
$
Jerusalem Artichoke (tubers)
$
Mayapple (fruit)
$
Nettles (young whole plant) (& cordage)
$
Ostrich Fern (fiddleheads) (young plants)
$
Trout
Lily (tubers)
$
Wild
Carrot (roots) be careful some toxic plants are lookalikes.
$
Wild
Garlic (whole plant)
$
Wild
Leeks (whole plant)
$
Agave
Root (root)
http://www.practicalsurvivor.com/wildedibleplants
cattails
- The spike or shoots can be harvested from spring until summer.
They can be eaten raw or sauteed. We must take the time to identify the plant
correctly at this time of the year. In the early spring, it is easier to
confuse the plant with poisonous look‑alikes such as Sweet Flag (Acorus
Calamus) or Daffodils (Narcissus). It is fairly common to find cattail plants
from the previous year still standing. Their cigar shapped fluffly head will
help verify that we found the correct plant. Later in spring the stalks will be
much larger.
It is important to know the
plants in the area and how they grow according to the season. From spring to
summer, the plant will start to create pollen. The pollen can be used like
flour.
Group: Monocot
Family: Alismataceae
Names: indian potato, wapato,
duck potato
Edible Parts: Tubers, buds and
fruits of this plant are edible in late summer
Preparation: Can be eaten raw,
recommend boiling. We boiled the potato for twenty minutes. If the water source
should be treated before drinking it, then any plant that grows near the water
source should be boiled.
Note: Arrow Arum has high levels
of calcium oxylate. Even after boiling parts of the plant for twenty minutes,
the plant will make you sick. Will cause vomiting, sweat, and diarrhea.
The leaves should be studied
closely and the tubers look nothing alike. Wapato will also flower during mid
summer with a three petaled white flower.
Mulberry
(Morus)
It is possible it would be found
in this area, not probable.
Kudzu
(Pueraria montana) -surprise! It has a use.
Nutritional value: Vitamin C, A,
Starch
Pretty much the entire plant is
edible and is also known for medicinal values. We were blessed to find this
great patch of Kudzu surrounded by Blackberries. The leaves can be eaten raw,
steam or boiled. The root can be eaten as well.
Kudzu flower blossoms smell
absolutely great ! Unmistakable smell of grape. The flower can be used to make
Kudzu Jelly.
Blackberry
(Rubus L.)
Prickly
Pear Cactus
Both the pads and the fruit can
be eaten. Prickly pear jelly is often found in the South‑west states. The pads
are supposed to be best if gathered in spring. The fruit here was a little past
its best point. The color of the fruit will be a dark wine‑like burgundy.
Acorns
(Oak)- Acorns contain carbohydrates, protein, amino acids, vitamins,
minerals and even fat. Although they must be prepared to eat, they are an
indispensable part of a wilderness diet. The native Americans would harvest the
acorns to help them pass the winters.
Acorns have the advantage of
being a food source that can be stored. Acorn fat can cause the acorns to get
moldy or rotten.
Preparation: Tannin should be
removed from the acorns. Reducing the tannic acid from the acorns by soaking
them will make them more palatable and less toxic. Some people soak the acorns
a process called leaching. Others grind the acorns into flour and then treating
it with hot water. Finally boiling the acorns is suggested for rapid removal of
the tannins. We soaked the acorns for three days after peeling the outer shell.
Pine
- There are over a hundred different species of pine. Not only can
the food be used as a supply of nourishment but, also can be used for medicinal
purposes.
Edible parts of the pine include:
* Pine needles
* Inner bark
* Seeds
High in vitamin C content pine
needle oil is used by some in aroma therapy for sinus and infections of the
respiratory system.
More on Kudzu
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/local-east-coast/did-you-know-you-can-eat-kudzu-092488
As with any foraged food, make sure the plant has not been sprayed with any
chemicals and is not growing anywhere that toxic waste is dumped. Try to avoid
plants grown too close to the roadways as they tend to contain too much dust
and automotive exhaust. Since the vine patches are thick, wear boots and watch
out for critters and insects. Also, kudzu looks very similar to poison ivy - be
sure you know how to distinguish between the two plants!Kudzu grows from Florida to New Jersey, and as far west as West Virginia and East Texas. However, a small patch of it has been found in Clackamas County, Oregon. No one is sure where it came from.
The leaves, vine tips, flowers, and roots are edible; the vines are not. The leaves can be used like spinach and eaten raw, chopped up and baked in quiches, cooked like collards, or deep fried. Young kudzu shoots are tender and taste similar to snow peas.
Kudzu also produces beautiful, purple-colored, grape-smelling blossoms that make delicious jelly, candy, and syrup. Some people have used these to make homemade wine. The large potato-like roots are full of protein, iron, fiber, and other nutrients. They are dried and then ground into a powder which is used to coat foods before frying or to thicken sauces.
Kudzu recipes to try:
Click here for some recipes for kudzu jelly, kudzu quiche, and kudzu collard greens.
More kudzu recipes
More recipes, including kudzu wine
