New York
Foraging – Central Park
Step into the world of wild foods with us this spring in Central Park, just as the season hits its peak for fresh, renewable ingredients. Mid-spring offers a bounty of vibrant wild salad greens, and during this walk, we'll explore the park's hidden corners to find them in abundance.
Expect to gather spicy mustard greens like garlicky garlic mustard, hot hedge mustard, and the fiery poor man's pepper, thriving across lawns and beneath the trees. We'll balance these bold flavors with milder greens such as violet leaves, spinach-like lamb’s-quarters, string bean-flavored Asiatic dayflower, and sweet, corn-flavored chickweed, all flourishing this time of year. Adding tender, cucumber-flavored cattail shoots will round out what might just be the best wild salad you've ever tasted.
If recent rains have been generous, we may also come across a gourmet surprise: wild mushrooms! We'll keep an eye out for fairy ring mushrooms, wine-cap stropharias, and chicken mushrooms, all prized finds for any forager.
Whether you're new to foraging or looking to deepen your connection to the wild foods around you, this walk will open your eyes—and taste buds—to the incredible, edible offerings of springtime in the city.
Ticket Type
When
05/17
Time
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Intensity
About
Steve Brill has been taking people on nature walks in New York's Central Park, and parks throughout the Greater NY area, since 1982. He gained notoriety in 1986, when he was arrested in New York City's Central Park for eating a dandelion. In 1994, Brill published his book: Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places which explains how to identify and forage for edible or medicinal plants. In 2001, Brill published The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook: A Forager's Culinary Guide; a 500 recipe wild and natural foods cookbook.
