Identifying and foraging common wood sorrel. A common edible weed, often mistaken for clover or shamrock. Perfect for beginners.

Identification difficulty: Beginner

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm going to try and get this post up early so I can go out drinking :). I'm not Irish, but who does't love a good beer? (Note: I said a GOOD beer. Not that swill they dye green and pour out by the barrel-full!)

In honor of the occasion, I'd like to talk about how to identify common yellow wood sorrel, sometimes called the American Shamrock.

Wood sorrel isn't a shamrock, as a shamrock is a type of clover (Latin genus: Trifolium), and wood sorrel is part of the genus Oxalis. Then again, there is some confusion about what a shamrock actually is! You see,  we associate the classic "3 heart" shape with shamrocks, yet no clover actually has this shape. Clovers are all 3 ovals! Instead, sorrels (Oxalis species) have the 3 hearts.

So who knows, maybe wood sorrel really is a shamrock after all?

As I've mentioned before, wood sorrel holds a special place in my heart. It's the first wild food I ever ate, that I didn't harvest with my mother or one of my grandmothers. No member of my family ever pronounced it as safe, I never picked it with them. I watched other children enjoy it, and picked and ate it for myself. They called it lemon clover. I ate it without hesitation, rather a dangerous precedent when your "expert" is an 8-year old, but it all turned out all right in the end.

Anyway, wood sorrel is easy to identify, and grows throughout North America. It also tastes great, and is a very versatile ingredient in the kitchen, all-in-all, a perfect plant for beginners to forage.

One small note of caution: Oxalis species contain oxalic acid, and shouldn't be eaten by those with kidney or liver diseases, or by those with certain autoimmune diseases, like Rheumatoid arthritis. 

On to identification . . .

Avgolemeno recipe (Greek-style chicken & lemon soup) with foraged purslane. Gluten-free, low-carb, paleo

A quick jaunt around the neighborhood yielded quite a basket full of purslane, and some wood sorrel. Both plants contain oxalic acid, with a bright, lemony flavor. I decided to try adding the weeds to a Greek Avgolemeno, a chicken soup with lemon, eggs and fresh veggies.

Given that purslane also has a mucilaginous (thickening) quality, I decided to bypass the rice that's usually added to the soup, and make it 100% gluten-free and paleo. It was a great lunch, and I have plenty to bring to work for healthy lunches throughout the week!

Wildcrafted wood sorrel compound butter

Making compound butter is just fun. It's nearly impossible to go wrong when you mix fresh herbs and creamy butter, everything just tastes good. Compound butters are a great way to preserve the flavors, medicinal benefits and nutrition of herbs, fruit and flowers, long after their season is past. Finally, compound butters are an essential chef's tool to infuse dishes with flavor. As the butter melts, it seeps into the crevices of meat, fish, etc. and carries the fresh flavors with it. For a vegetarian, you could use the butter on pasta or grilled veggies!

Wood sorrel is great for compound butter, the sharply sour citrus flavor contrasts with the sweet,
creaminess of the butter. Use quality, grass-fed butter for the best results. 

For each 1/4 lb of unsalted butter (1 stick) I used about 1 cup of fresh wood sorrel, lightly packed and 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt.  

I minced the sorrel first, in the food processor, before adding the butter (in 1/2 cubes) and salt. I processed everything until very smooth. At first, the butter looked smooth but still had a lot of fibrous textures from the stems, so I just kept going. Eventually it became really smooth and creamy. 

Once you have it the way you want it, you can wrap small amounts in plastic wrap, and freeze it.

Foraging: What is in Season, Early Spring

Hi all! An early spring has come to Texas, and has me out foraging a full 6 weeks earlier than I usually did in New Jersey. The weather has been comparable to early/mid April back North and the edibles I've been finding are usually out at that time too.

Given the mild weather, I imagine this is early even for Texas, so most other years expect these plants in mid-March down here. 

As always, identification remains ultimately your responsibility, and never eat anything without checking multiple reliable sources, as pictures on the internet aren't  always 100% clear or color accurate. Please read my entire disclaimer up top.

But without further ado, here are some plentiful edibles out in early spring:

Foraged Wood Sorrel Custard Pie

If you can get past the strange look, this pie is mighty tasty

Wood sorrel (Oxalis species) holds a special place in my heart. It always feels like the first wild food I ever ate, even though it really isn't. Ever since I can remember I picked berries with my mother, or chokecherries with my grandmother.

But wood sorrel was different. No member of my family ever pronounced it as safe, I never picked it with them. Rather, I learned it was edible from other children, who called it lemon clover. I ate it without hesitation, rather a dangerous precedent when your "expert" is an 8-year old, but it all turned out all right in the end.

Apparently my experience was typical; magically wood sorrel is enjoyed by children, who teach it to other children, and then somehow forget they ever ate it when they become adults. Sam Thayer tells of children all over the country delighting in this simple weed, and sharing their enjoyment with others. It goes by many regional names, lemon clover, lemon grass, sour clover, sour grass, and, apparently "juicies".