Hunt for Milky Mushrooms in Forest Park with Wildman Steve Brill
At 11:45 AM on Independence Day, Wednesday, July 4, America's go-to guy for foraging, "Wildman" Steve Brill, will lead a 4-hour walking tour of Forest Park, beginning at the corner of Forest Park Drive and Park Lane in Kew Gardens.
Forest Park is one of the best places for foragers in early summer. Get lost in this vast park, and at least you'll have enough to eat. (That is, if you can distinguish the gourmet plants from the deadly ones!) It boasts a large, mature secondary growth forest, trail edges, thickets, and cultivated areas—all overflowing with wild plants. In fact, as soon as we set foot onto our first lawn, we'll find such wild delicacies as spicy hedge mustard, common plantian, which makes outstanding vegetable chips, and lemony wood sorrel.
This is not the season for most roots, but burdock doesn't care, and provides a delicious, hearty underground vegetable, growing in abundance near the playgrounds we'll be passing as we begin the tour. The cooked taproot tastes like a combination of potatoes and artichokes. Nearby, we'll find honewort, an herb with a flavor similar to parsley, celery, and carrots, that will turn any savory dish into something special.
Sassafras, on the other hand, grows in open places in the woods, on hillsides, and in edge habitats. It tastes like root beer, which you make from the taproots. You can also use it for brewing a delicious, detoxifying tea, or as a cinnamon-like seasoning. At this time of year, the young leaves are delicious as well, and you can use them to thicken soups, creating gumbos.
The black birch tree, of birch beer fame, is a common forest tree that tastes like wintergreen. The twigs, which you can chew, make a delicious non-steroidal anti-inflammatory herb tea, reducing the chance of heart attacks, and you can thicken, season, and sweeten the tea to make black birch Jello. You can even use it as the main flavoring of"Wildman's" Stick Pudding!
Another plant we'll look for along the park's paths is sweet cicely, with leaves and roots that smell and taste like black licorice, great in oatmeal and cookies alike. Everyone will also find plenty of leafy green vegetables, such as poor man's pepper, string bean flavored Asiatic Dayflower, and mild-flavored lady's thumb. For still more heat, the seeds of field garlic will fit the bill.With lots of rain and a bit of luck, gourmet chicken mushrooms, black-staining polypores, and hygrophorus milky mushrooms could be popping up throughout the woods. We'll be so busy foraging, the four hours will be gone before you know it!
Date: July 04, 2018 11:45 AM-4:00 PM
Location: Forest Park | 83-98 Forest Parkway, Flushing, NY 11385 | (914) 835-2153
Admission:
The suggested donation is $20/adults, $10/children under 12. Please call at least 24 hours ahead to reserve a place.
Event website: wildmanstevebrill.com
