A delicious collection of essays, recipes, and practical plant information exploring Japan's thriving culture of foraged foods.
From bracken to butterbur to "princess" bamboo, some of Japan's most iconic foods are foraged, not grown, in its forests, fields, and coastal waters--yet most Westerners have never heard of them.
In this book, journalist Winifred Bird eats her way from one end of the country to the other in search of the hidden stories of Japan's wild foods, the people who pick them, and the places whose histories they've shaped.
"A beautiful and thoughtful exploration of the deep relationship--past and present--between people and wild plants in one of the world's richest foraging regions."?Samuel Thayer, author of Incredible Wild Edibles and The Forager's Harvest
Autorentext
Winifred Bird is a writer, translator, lifelong cook, and lover of plants both wild and domesticated. For almost a decade she lived in rural Japan, where she worked as an environmental journalist, grew organic rice and vegetables, and ate as many foraged foods as possible. She currently lives with her family in northern Illinois.
Paul Poynter (illustrations) is an artist, tree climber, and woodsman living in Matsumoto, Japan.
Klappentext
From bracken to butterbur to "princess" bamboo, some of Japan's most iconic foods are foraged, not grown, in its forests, fields, and coastal waters--yet most Westerners have never heard of them.
In this book, journalist Winifred Bird eats her way from one end of the country to the other in search of the hidden stories of Japan's wild foods, the people who pick them, and the places whose histories they've shaped.
"A beautiful and thoughtful exploration of the deep relationship--past and present--between people and wild plants in one of the world's richest foraging regions."-Samuel Thayer, author of Incredible Wild Edibles and The Forager's Harvest
Inhalt
- Introduction
- Acknowledgments
Common Weeds and Woodland Wonders: The First Greens of Spring
Tree of Life: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Horse Chestnut
Feast and Famine: The Split Personality of a Globe-Conquering Fern
The Tallest Grass in the World: Tales of Bamboo Wild and Tame
Seasons of the Sea
Conclusion
Recipes
Glossary
- Plant Descriptions
- Cooking Terms
Selected Bibliography