foraging for spices and other strong flavorings?

[patandchickens]

I've been on a curry type 'kick' lately -- trying to eat more veggies and the most motivating way is to make or buy curry pastes to douse them with

But that got me thinking -- if you didn't have the ability to just go buy imported tropical spices, what are some things you could just go out and forage for the purpose of flavoring up yer food (which, if you were reduced to *having* to do that, would most likely *benefit from* a bunch of strong flavors )?

What I could think of off the top of my head:

garden herbs, obviously
garlic
hot peppers
wild or weed mustards (not the same as culinary mustard,
but usable for some purposes)
sumac berries, processed in a similar way to the middle eastern
version to make a tart lemon-ish red flavoring
wild garlic, wild onions, ramps

...and then I got stuck. And you couldn't make much of a curry or other highly spiced dish out of just the above mentioned things (well, maybe a sort of chili, if you had hot peppers and garlic).

So what am I missing -- what else is there, escaped-to-the-wild or genuinely wild, that has STRONG spice-type flavorings? (Tho of course the answer will depend on where you live)


Pat

 

[dacjohns]

Sassafrass for a marinade?

Wild anise, fennel, or whatever you want to call it.

 

[ORChick]

Juniper berries.

Nasturtiums, to pickle the buds to use as false capers

In the herb garden one could easily grow Cumin, Coriander, Caraway ... not sure about Cardamom though.

I have Saffron in my garden, but I'm not sure how far north one can go with that. This garden, in SW Oregon, is wet and dark enough when the flowers bloom (in Oct/Nov) that I don't get much harvest (Like 2 pinches of herb, rather than the 8 or 9 pinches that I got in California )

Turmeric, Ginger, and Lemon Grass all make nice houseplants - mine are outside in the summer, and inside when it is colder.

I think maybe in the total absence of "bought in" spices vinegar may come back into style as a flavoring.

 

[Denim Deb]

If you want to give it a peppery taste, peppergrass is always good.

 

[Wannabefree]

Dill. That's the only one I can think of that hasn't been mentioned. Oh, and hickory, don't forget natural smoke flavorings for meats!!

 

[Emerald]

I know that you're looking for close to home spices but I have found out one thing-I bought cinnamon sticks and whole cloves for a project many years ago (like over 10) and found them and decided to try grinding a bit of each to see if they were still usable--they were and they were both stronger flavored and smelling than the pre-ground stuff I had on the shelf.
So I am thinking about stocking up on a few jars of whole spices like cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, and maybe whole allspice. I already have a nice stock of whole nutmeg that I use-- I just had to buy a micro plane grater for them.
And the cinnamon when you grind it fresh has a flavor like no other! I made cinnamon rolls for the other parents at the school last week and got rave reviews and one of them has a parent that runs a bakery!
Anyone who lives near a save a lot they have whole cloves and cinnamon sticks for .89 a jar. P/S they also had real almond extract for the same price for an oz. I had to buy at a regular store last year and paid $3.79! so of course I bought 7 bottles!
On topic tho- here in MI we have wintergreen that is easy to find and also birch sap boiled down into syrup tastes wintergreeny!

 

[patandchickens]

Deb, what's peppergrass?

Emerald, that's a very good idea. Those would probably keep a pretty long time, especially if stored cool and airtight. (e.t.a. -- nutmeg too)

Vinegar as a flavoring is an EXCELLENT point. Mmmm

Thanks y'all, this is very interesting, keep 'em coming!

Pat

 

[ORChick]

Very good point, Emerald. Most of the spices I have are in their whole state, and I grind them as I use them - for black pepper and nutmeg its the only way; they lose flavor so quickly when ground. I buy my spices in large-ish bags from an Asian market, and store them in jars in my storage area (cool, dark), with smaller refillable jars (recycled spice jars) in the kitchen. What I can't get there I buy at Penzey's http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html?id=oiUCruIA - a little pricey, but the quality is excellent, and a little goes a long way.
I have a dedicated coffee mill for spice grinding, but I find that often I just pull out my morter and pestle (if you plan to buy one, get the largest, heaviest you can afford; the little things that fit in the palm of your hand are useless)

 

[Denim Deb]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidium_virginicum

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...a=X&ei=iljkTOLWBoKglAeG-Y35Dg&ved=0CBoQ9QEwAA

I like to eat the seeds.

 

[patandchickens]

Deb, that's great! Thank you!!!

I never knew about that one. Frankly all them little wild weedy mustards kind of look alike to me but I swear those pics pretty much look like something that grows on our property. It is probably too late this year to tell, but next spring I will have to pay attention (and taste things)!!!

A zillion thanks,

Pat