What We Can Learn (and Eat) Urban Foraging

Casey off Camera: How would you describe, like, this texture? Austin Banks: We can’t feel it, I forgot. Unfortunately, we don’t have feel-a-vision through the camera, but trust me when I say “soft,” “semi-waxy.” Austin: [Loud noise off-camera]. Sorry [laughs], the “thunk-thunk” got me! Welcome to the wild world of urban foraging. Austin – off camera: It’s some bee-roll. Austin: Foraging, at least as we call it today, is really the practice of finding things in the natural world, usually referring to plants, fungi, things of that sort, and then finding edibles among them. Urban foraging brings this practice to the big city. Austin leads foraging walks that guide Chicagoans through the city’s edible plants—even if “edible” comes with a caveat. Austin: The nature of urban foraging is that we are not, in fact, consuming and eating most of the things that we find due to a lot of various factors, most of them being environmental. Some of them have to do with property lines and that sort of stuff. Austin: Which is why I personally do not encourage most of the dog level plants to be harvested. Dog level: If a dog can raise his leg, then we shouldn't be touching it. Austin: All right, let’s get going, y’all! Austin: A la your local Olive Garden, these are in fact grape leaves. Austin: When fruiting, they look like little tiny grapes. The kind of you'd find on any regular vine, obviously much smaller and a lot more bitter, as well as more seeded. Austin: But you can also tell because of one, the leaf shape, a little bit jagged in edge, but still a very distinct heart. Two, the little curlicues going off where the vine is and three, the reddish brown color of the bark. Austin: So, I do get some pretty frequently asked questions on these trips. The number one, of course, is “Can I eat that?” Austin: Can I put it in my mouth? Should I put it in my mouth? And then fourth would probably be, Is this poisonous? Austin: And that's where our handy guidebook comes in clutch to let us know. Austin: Oh, speaking of! We have probably the star of this walk. If we look into our handy dandy Midwest Foraging book, we can see that she’s very familiar. Austin: This is the dinner plate hibiscus. We also call it the rose mallow, pictured right over here. Look at her. One for one, right? Though Austin’s an expert, good foragers still confirm species using reputable sources like a published guidebook, no matter how familiar or safe a find seems. If a mistake makes it to the dinner table, it might bring some consequences with it that can range from mild discomfort to death. Austin: One thing that a lot of people are gaining more interest in has to do with mushrooms. This right here is a specimen that is home grown. It is the lion's mane mushroom. Beautiful, edible. Delicious. Austin: As it is, most of the mushrooms that you do find in the wild are in fact inedible for a number of reasons. So is the message behind urban foraging: “Don’t eat that”? Sort of. Austin does use some foraged finds in the kitchen. But there’s more to the practice of foraging than making raspberry jam or crabapple butter. Austin: Outside of consumption, foraging does have a lot of value, particularly with feeling connected with your community, the environment and your neighborhood. Austin: By encouraging people to learn more about what's around them, they find that they have a little bit more of a stake in their neighborhood and their communities, and that can encourage them to also invest in those communities.