Take a walk through the winter landscape and forage up a meal of hickory tree nuts, fruit from a wild persimmon tree, and pine needle tea.
Expand your foraged findings even further by keeping your eyes peeled for wild persimmon trees and hickory tree nuts — both common winter delicacies found throughout the country.
Where we live, persimmons don’t ripen until late November, and they remain edible until early January. In other parts of the country, you may find them as early as September. These golf-ball-sized orange globes make excellent snacks while foraging; shaking a few off a tree and feasting on the sweet flesh is a seasonal delight. Even better, I’ll bring a bucket and fill it to the top, and then Elaine will turn my haul from wild persimmon trees into persimmon cookies and bread. Of all the breads she bakes, persimmon quick bread with wild black walnut is my favorite.
Using Hickory Tree Nuts and Fruit from Wild Persimmon Trees
Elaine will sometimes use shagbark hickory tree nuts in her persimmon bread too. Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) nuts are the largest and longest-lasting winter nuts from the hickory family. For an invigorating snack, I’ll crack open a few during a winter ramble.
One of the best things about the winter woods is that so many wild edibles are present for the dedicated forager to take advantage of. Add in some squirrel and rabbit hunting, and you’ll make your wintertime even more satisfying. Here are some of Elaine’s favorite recipes for utilizing winter’s offerings.
How to Make Pine Needle Tea
Need a wintertime pick-me-up on a cold, gloomy day? Consider concocting a pine needle tea, brimming with vitamin C. Numerous species of pines live in this country, and all of them possess needles that can be turned into tea.
How to make pine needle tea is easy. Gather 3 dozen or so fresh, green needles. Cut them into tiny bits, and place them in a pot of boiling water. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Then, strain out the needles and pour the tea into a glass. Add lemon or honey to taste. I prefer my pine needle tea cold, but others opt for the hot version.
More to Hunt and Gather Across the Winter Landscape
Bruce and Elaine Ingram live in Troutville, Virginia. They’re the authors of Living the Locavore Lifestyle. For more information on this book and others they’ve written, email them at BruceIngramOutdoors@Gmail.com.
