Now Forage

Sassafras: Dark blue-black berries on red stalks. Edible but rarely used. The bark and roots (root beer flavour) contain safrole — regulated. Young leaves can be dried and ground as filé powder for gumbo.

Shagbark hickory: Thick green husk splits into four sections when ripe. Nuts fall; gather from the ground. Rich, sweet, buttery flavour — worth the effort of cracking the very hard shell. Dry for 2–3 weeks.

Sugar maple: Maple syrup season: tap trees in late winter when days are above freezing (4°C+) and nights still freeze. Sap runs clear and sweet; boil 40 litres of sap to make 1 litre of syrup. Helicopters (seeds) and young leaves are also edible in spring.