Readily available survival food
 

I never read about this anywhere, and never heard of this, or had any idea.

I was watching Alton Browns 'Feasting on Asphalt' and he pulls to the side of the road, picks and eats... guess what....

Kudzu.

He picked a couple leaves and ate them raw.

That was the first I ever heard of Kudzoo being edible. For those of us in the south, that means a readily supply of greens. And they can grow up to a foot a day.


Wow, whooda thunk it.

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That stuff is out of control. You can all eat forever and it'll still take over.

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That might take some getting used to but here are a few kudzu menu items.

http://home.att.net/~ejlinton/jelly.html
http://www.nancybasket.com/gpage.html

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I've seen this stuff eat up whole farms, small forests, homes, parked vehicles (and even people if they didn't run fast enough :afraid: ).

So far I haven't seen anything that will eat it except goats and it seems they aren't too fond of it themselves. But you say we can eat it? Yummy....

http://www.fl-dof.com/forest_managem...0moonscape.jpg

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From the picture you provided it doesn't appear the goats would have a lot of choice. BTW, what's up with the avatar shift??? Didn't want to show off your mug anymore?

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I think folks were sorta jealous of my LSU hat. :aetsch:

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Alton Brown said the newer greener leafs were best, and sweet to the taste. Of course, those would be the ones toward the growth end of the runner. He ate a few leaves on the show, and implied they were tasty.

I guess if we get hungry enough, we will eat it. If you get a chance, watch Alton Browns 'Feasting on Asphalt' showing this week on the Food Channel. It is an interesting (to me anyway) show. He basically drives around trying mom and pop diners and road food. He is much braver than I am, eating stuff like brain sandwiches and pigs feet.

There is a Kudzu festival in Holly Springs MS (home of Shepard Smith) every year. One of the contests they have is a photo contest. Some interesting pictures, much like the one catwagon posted.

I had an uncle in the MS forestry service who bitterly opposed using Kudzu for erosion control. Obviously, he lost.

Just think if you could develop a taste for the stuff, you would be in high cotton for salads.


ETA: I always laughed at the idea of eating poke salad (sp?), until I had an aunt cook me some. It was great, but then, the women in my family could make sage grass taste good. After 9-11, I got in a "preparedness mindset" and poke salad came up in a conversation. Too bad that generation is leaving us without passing down that kind of information. Imagine being able to walk out by the barn, pick some poke salad, cook it up, and have your nutty nephew rave about it. It was good, real good. A very unique flavor.

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:cool1: P-99er:

I think the old folks spelled it Polk Salad...........just guessing.

My parents would eat it..........drowned it in vinegar.........too sweet for my taste..........sort of like cooked spinach with sugar on it......whewwww.......nasty stuff.

I'll take dandelion salad anyday..........maybe some maple tree bark on the side.........:eek: :eek:

Kudzu ? Never tried it...........nice information to know in a SHTF SITUATION.........I live in the South but no one I know eats the stuff..........yummmm........that french fried kudzu leaf thing sounds like a good way to replace potato chips.........:D :D

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At up to a foot of growth a day, finding new, tender shoots isn't that hard. I agree with Riverrat, it's nice information to know in a SHTF situation where food might be scarce or impossible to get.

Some communities in the old south survived only because the northern armies didn't recognize sweet potatoes and take them along with the other veggies. Knowing kudzu is actually edible when others don't can be an advantage.

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The stuff is everywhere around here.

Someone told me that cows will break through a fence to get to that stuff. Don't know if it's true. Maybe Tn_Andy can answer that bettter.

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Actually I don't have cable/satellite TV anymore so I didn't even know who Alton Brown was or what Feasting on Asphalt was about, had to watch a few short clips on google video to even know what the show was about.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?...ing+on+Asphalt

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Kudzu, Cows LOVE IT! Turn a few cows loose in an overgrown Kudzu lot and in a few weeks they will eat every last shoot. Puts wieght on them too. The Chinese eat it, drink tea from it and use it as a medicine, but they'll eat most anything.

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I know somebody will say it's a loony idea but does that stuff grow in eastern Kansas? Maybe it will get here some day on it's own, seems like I heard it "wasn't from around here" {usa}.

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Last time I was in the Rockies I observed Bighorn Sheep eating the noxious weed "Spotted Knapweed". Also observed Blue Grouse eating the same. It was very dry conditions.
Unlike goats or cattle, when wild game eat noxious weeds it may not be a good thing, as they might spread the seeds in their offal and infect other areas.

As for readily available survival food WTSHTF, there is one that many of you probably overlooked. You might be food for someone else. When all else is scarce, human flesh may be plentiful and widely accepted..

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Dude, you need counseling.




I heard the plant comes from Japan?

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If knapweed was tasty I'd be in luck. That and tubbleweeds grow like crazy around here. The goats keep it mowed down, but like you said, they just "recycle" it and it comes back anyways. Too dry around here for much else to grow wild.

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Lambs Quarters is more nutricious than spinach which is more nutricious than just about anything else. Grows wild all over my backyard.

Doesn't grow as well as Kudzu, duh, but you can find it all over the place. Also tastes good, a lot like fresh spinach.

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In Chinese medicine, the root is used for fever and hangovers from too much booze.

Jennifer
www.discountsilverclub.com

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When my grandmother died a couple years ago at a little over 100 years old, I had few requests for her 'stuff'. I did get two items that I will always cherish. The first is the cookie tin that ALWAYS had some kind of 'goodie' in it when we visited my grandparents house. The OTHER item I will also cherish forever is her cookbook. So it's not ALWAYS lost. If you ever have the chance, request from your favorite relative who DOES know how to cook for his or her 'recipe books or recipe files' after they are gone. You will mainly find hand written recipes and recipes cut out of newspapers that are at least thirty to fifty years old. You will be tickled when you can reproduce the same meal that you remember fondly as you visited this relative.

My grandmother was born around the turn of the century. Which means she was the generation that produced 'The GREATEST GENERATION'. That generation (my parents) produced 'The Baby Boomers'. MY generation produced the 'Xgen' and on and on and on...

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Might be a good idea to google up poke salad before you try to cook any yourself. I think that the old-timers only used young plants and even then they washed and boiled several times, draining and refilling the pot each time. I understand that every part of the mature plant is poisonous.

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Stranger, my aunt said she did boil multiple times. IIRC, it was because it was so tough.

I don't think you can eat the berries.

Around here, the proper pronounciation is "poke salat".

Here is an article: "Don't eat poke salad".

http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/new...june21b02.html


Maybe I am not her favorite nephew after all.

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You are a very enterprising young man\woman. Your "net fu" is strong.

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Not very PC but SO True.

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If this is pokeweed then yes, it toxic with oxalic acid. But, not to fear, so is rhubarb (leaves). So mind to eat the spring shoots and boil which breaks the acid.

One missed is Japanese Knotweed which is also an edible pest. Never had it but you eat the shoots (at least) like bamboo shoots, and you have to sift the soil to get rid of it, something like crabgrass. It looks like soft, red bamboo with small white flower clusters.

I recommend Lambs Quarters, aka amaranth. Best spinach you never grew. You're going to have to weed it anyway! Put it in the pot.

TS

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I wouldn't dismiss the idea of widespread cannibalism after a bad TSHTF scenerio.

It has happened before, and it will happen again.

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Since my Cannibalism History 101 is lacking do you mind giving example(s) of when/where?

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If you think back to Katrina, you should remember that the Evil Gee Dumbya Bush caused the poor blacks of New Orleans to resort to cannibalism.



In the event you didn't see the whole story: there were reports in the black media that blacks were having to resort to cannibalism. It turned out to be false, but they never apologized for the lie.

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You can also eat lamb quarters raw.

It is the only green that doesn't keel over and die in my garden. :( Perhaps I should try encouraging it next year.

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Rapa Nui.
Crusaders.
Khmer Rouge.
North Korea in the 90's.
Japanese during WWII.
Russians during WWII.

Incidentally, George H. Bush (the former president) came close to being eaten by the Japanese during WWII. He was the only one in his crew that was rescued, the remaining members were executed and eaten.

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how about grubs and worms? you guys talk about that yet? and bugs? and anthropophagy?

the usual assortment of survivalist menu items!

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I wouldn't try it, runcible. I had a lot volunteering in my backyard and garden, but I actually bought a packet of seeds and planted it in the raised bed. Nothing. I think I saw a few sprout but the next day they would be gone - eaten I think by some insect or critter. But I have plenty from my volunteers at the moment.

Yes, I agree it is great to eat raw and that's the only way I've tried. Tastes great right off the plant.

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You can also eat stinging nettles if you boil them. Tastes kind of like spinach. Another weed in yards that can be eatin is plantain(sp). The young leaves are good raw and when the seeds have turned brown on the stems they are good on ice cream. Gives it a nice crunch.