EDIBLE INVASIVES
A cornucopia of edible wild plants is growing under our noses. Despite the appealing qualities of these feral foods, most of them have been forgotten, overlooked, or dismissed as useless. Some are simply invisible.
The plants featured here are wild foods I use at home daily when they’re in season. By providing a range of recipes for these plants, I’m making what I hope is an irrefutable argument for bringing these ingredients from the foraging fringes to everyday cooking.
Black Locust
STATUS: Widespread, native to southeast and northeast U.S.
WHERE: Along streets and in gardens, forests, and parks
SEASON: Late spring
PARTS USED: Flowers
One of the many excitements on a forager’s calendar in late spring is the appearance of black locust blossoms (Robinia pseudoacacia). They appear just when roses and peonies are peaking in gardens. The trees (also known as acacia or false acacia) occur all over North America. You have to pick them the second you see them in bloom, while the flowers are fresh.
As with other scented edible flowers, I find the best way of capturing their sweet taste and scent is in either a cold-infused syrup (heat kills delicate flavors) or a fermented cordial. These then form the base for recipes whose limit is only the scope of your imagination.
The flowers themselves have a great texture. The pea-like blossoms are crunchy and sweet.
