John Nettles (@slowhikecompany)

First, don’t consume raw elderberries; they’ll make you sick. Also, when you pick the berries, separate as much stems out as you can, and also pick out the greens. A few won’t hurt you but try to avoid them. Finally, strain the mixture out after cooking. Here’s the recipe I use: >2 cups berries >2 cups water >1 cup sugar >1 lemon, squeezed. Cook for about 30 minutes, then strain well. It’ll keep about two weeks in the fridge and about three months in the freezer. Lookalikes to avoid inlcude pokeberries (Phytolacca americana), which don’t look much alike to me. Also make sure you’re not messing with water hemlock. Look for the woody stems with wart-like stipules. These berries are super messy, too. Not much distinctive taste but fun to cook with. #forage #batonrouge

It’s fall and I plan to be outdoors a lot. A few of my favorite fall flavors are late summer and early fall berries like American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), fall florals like goldenrod (Solidago spp.), piney scents and flavors from spruce pine (Pinus glabra), and turkey tail mushrooms (Trametes versicolor). I’ve got separate videos on most of these, so check those out if you want more detail. Quick safety note: Always get a positive ID before consuming anything. For this video, I used Callicarpa americana, Solidago spp., Pinus glabra, and Trametes versicolor. These plants and fungi may have poisonous look-alikes that I didn’t cover here for time’s sake. Recipes in brief: >Beautyberry syrup: Simmer 2–4 cups ripe berries with 2 cups water for 15 minutes. Strain, then stir the liquid with 2 cups sugar and a squeeze of lemon until dissolved. Store in the fridge. >Goldenrod honey: Fill a jar halfway with fresh goldenrod blossoms, cover with honey, and let infuse for 1–2 weeks before straining. >Pine needle infusion: Chop a small handful of fresh green pine needles. Steep in hot (not boiling) water for 10–15 minutes. Strain and enjoy. >Turkey tail decoction: Add a handful of dried or fresh turkey tail strips to a pot of water. Simmer gently for 45–60 minutes, then strain. Drink plain or with honey.

You may be seeing some grapelike berries growing along fences, trails, and trees. Do not consume peppervine (nekemias arborea) berries. That might look tasty but they’re full of calcium oxalate crystals which will mess you up if ingested. (However, DO consume muscadine grapes, which are larger, but get a positive ID first.) I’ve heard that peppervine berries can be eaten with some prepartion to remove the crystals—heating, I guess—but the taste still isn’t that great. Even animals avoid eating the berries, which may explain why there are so many left untouched on vines.

Four ways to identify chanterelle mushrooms. They’ll be hanging around till late August in the south then I think they go in season further north. If you want to know *where* to find them, check out my other video. These are by far my favorite foragible. There’s at least one toxic lookalike I know of, but nationwide I’m sure there’s more. Always get a positive ID before consuming any wild mushroom.

Purple thistles (Cirsium horridulum) are edible and delcious. Please make sure you are foraging safe, getting proper IDs from multiple sources, and not foraging plants near chemicals. Foraging #thistle: growing up, we used to call these plants “chardon” (French for thistle, pronounced sha-draw). Believe it or not, the adults would send the kids with knives out to harvest these prickly plants, to give them something to do. We would usually drench the raw, peeled and cut thistles in Italian salad dressing. But these days I try to be a little chef-ier and experiment with pickling and soups. The texture is like celery, crisp and with a pleasant bite, although a little insipid. With care, these plants are an easy harvest. Although it may be tempting, don’t go for the large ones because there are woody. Also take care when foraging near roadsides or anywhere in which the plants may have absorbed chemicals from their surroundings. #forage

You may know how to identify a chanterelle mushroom, but do you know WHERE to find one? Chanterelles tend to like older forests. This means the trees are big, the canopies are uneven, and there’s plenty of nutritious (if you’re a fungus) decay. I made this video because there seems to be lots of videos explaining what a #chanterelle mushroom looks like, not many tell you where exactly to #forage them. While in south Louisiana, these mushrooms have almost no poisonous lookalikes (jacks are very rare), always get a positive ID before consuming anything. #foragetok #nature #louisiana

Oxalic acid is a naturally occurring compound common in many #fungi and #forage plants, including purslane, wood sorrel, chickweed, and curly dock. Remember to consume these plants in moderation since the acid might be harmful to some people, and remember the safe foraging guidelines: 🌱 Get a Positive ID from MULTIPLE Sources Before You Consume 🌱 Don’t Eat Anything Near Roadsides or Place That Use Chemicals 🌱 Don’t Eat Unhealthy-Looking Plants or Mushrooms 🌱 Watch Out For Allergic Reactions—Try Just a Little #Foraging #WildEdibles #NatureLovers #OxalicAcid #WildPlants #NatureForaging #GreenLiving #EcoFriendly #HealthyLiving #PlantPower #WildHarvest #NatureWalk #EdiblePlants

🌿 Foraging cleavers, aka sticky grass, sticky weed, or galium aparine! Discover three culinary and medicinal uses for #foraged #cleavers. #NaturalRemedies

🌿 This conspicuous, mean-looking tree has a sweet secret. Large seed pods from the honey locust tree contain a sweet pulp that can be #foraged in the field. There’s not a lot of the substance, so it’s difficult to cook with. Nonetheless, I like to grab a few fresh pods when I have them for a quick helping of sweet forage flavor. Try it out. #louisiana #batonrouge

Part 2 of how to prepare #foraged oyster #mushrooms. I went really literal here with an on-the-nose recipe involving actual oysters, along with white wine and anise liqueur. This plays into the two trademark flavors of the mushroom.

#Foraging oyster #mushrooms and dishing up some fun facts about my favorite fall and winter fungus. Did you know that mushrooms can be carnivores? Here’s how to find your own oyster mushrooms. Check part two for cooking tips. Link in comments.

The bark of the black willow tree contains a surprisingly effective #natural pain reliever called #salicylic acid, a chemical very similar to aspirin. If you’ve got a headache in the woods, #forage for a black willow tree. Here’s how to ID the tree and harvest the beneficial acid. Note that different trees contain varying amounts of acid, so don’t overdo it. And don’t intake if you’ve got any potential sensitivities to the acid. Use caution. Also, note that the Black Willow tree is only one of several willow trees that contain the acid. Most willows have the substance in some form, and the latin genus for willow is Salix, which sounds similar to salicylic.

Wild purslane is a weed you don’t wanna throw out. Learn to connect with nature and enjoy the rewards on your plate with three incredibly simple #purslane recipes. #forage #louisiana

How to make flour and crackers out of the brown seeds of curly dock, Rumex crispus. These plants are often in disturbed areas such as near ditches and in parks, but be sure not to #forage any plant unless you’re sure it hasn’t been exposed to chemicals and fertilizers. Always get a positive ID before you consume. #Louisiana #ForageTok #CurlyDock

Unveiling the secrets of ringless honey mushrooms in the wild woods. Join me on this culinary adventure and discover the art of picking, sautéing, and savoring these meaty nuggets. 🍄🍳 #ForagingForever #RinglessHoneyMushrooms #CulinaryDelight #batonrouge Head’s up, these are not really beginner-friendly mushrooms. That can give some people quite a tummy ache. You may want to try a little cap and wait 24 hours to see how you react. There are also some dangerous look-alikes depending on where you are; it’s too complicated to get into in a 90-second video, suffice to say always get a positive ID from multiple sources before consuming anything.

Discover the captivating process of crafting your own Elderflower Champagne. 🌸🥂 Embrace the floral essence and effervescent charm of this homemade aperitif. #forage #ElderflowerChampagne #naturelove #louisiana

#Foraging for greenbrier tips is easy. Just look those for prickly vines and harvest the tender, delicious shoots. Tastes like asparagus, but better. #recipe #wildfood #greenbriertips #naturelover

APRIL 28 to MAY 1, 2023 — It’s the City Nature Challenge! Here’s something fun to do this weekend: take pictures of plants, animals, and fungi. The City Nature Challenge is a four-day friendly nature competition that goes on across the globe. #BatonRouge is competing against 400+ cities all over the world. Let’s take home the first-place! Get the iNaturalist app and start taking pictures Friday!

Sweet Leaf Galls: the unexpected treat hiding in plain sight 🌿👀 #foraging #wildfood #sustainableeating

Stop berry-ing your head in confusion! Here's how to easily spot the difference between blackberries and dewberries 🍇🤔 #forage #batonrouge #blackberries #nature

Who needs a grocery store when you can find these tasty mushrooms outdoors? Here’s how to forage srump puffball mushrooms 🍄🌿 #foraging #stumppuffball #mushrooms #homesteading"

A bolete is an oak tree’s edible best friend. Here’s how to #forage, identify, and prepare #bolete #mushrooms. #Forage #naturelove #batonrouge #louisiana #mycology #pasta #gnocchi

How to forage turkey tail mushrooms and make tea. Turkey tail #tea is your official holiday turkey drink. #foragetotable #ForageTok #Foraging #Louisiana #NatureLove

More #southeast #foraging. Here’s how to find America Beautyberries and prepare beautyberry syrup. Beautiful color, tastes a little like sweet allspice. Don’t forget to add lemon juice like I did. #foragetok #foraging #louisiana #batonrouge #recipe #syrup #texas

How to make goldenrod tea, yaupon #tea, and chicory #coffee. Fall #forage favorites that will make you forget all about pumpkin spice latte. #foragetok #batonrouge #louisiana #naturelove #foraging #foragingrecipes

Gelatinous forest fungus? More like delcious ramen topping! Here’s how to easily #forage and #cook wood ear #mushrooms. #louisiana #batonrouge #mycology #foraging #recipe #vegetarianrecipe #ramen

Couldn’t find mushrooms, so picked muscadines instead. Heres how to make a fruity muscadine pepper jelly. #batonrouge #louisiana #foraging #nature #muscadine #jelly #recipe #cooking

Late fall is prime time for Chanterelle foraging in the Southeast. Go get some this weekend! #batonrouge #louisiana #mushrooms #mycology #cooking #vegetarian #recipe #risotto #DrPepperTuitionContest #foraging so

Finding and cooking oyster mushrooms in the Gulf Coast. #batonrouge #louisiana #mushrooms #foraging #foragingtiktok #naturelove #recipe #mycology