Urban Foraging in Gävle

in #foraging7 years ago (edited)

Aronia Melanocarpa, growing in Gävle (own photo, shot with Nexus 5)

I was biking from the train station this afternoon, heading home, when I decided to stop by the spot where black chokeberry bushes grow and help myself to that sweet natural snack. I live on the edge of the city, close to a large city park and within a short walking distance from forest, fields and meadows. The nature is very accessible to me, which is one of the reasons why I love living where I am. But even within the city limits there’s plenty of edible stuff, just growing in the open, being ignored by most people.

Black chokeberry, or Aronia melanocarpa, has a number of valuable health-improving qualities. For example, it is great for strengthening one’s cardio-vascular system and for improving the functioning of the liver. It is most sweet and delicious in the fall, starting in late September and throughout October (if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, of course). One can eat it straight from the bush, one can store the dried berries or make a drink or a jam out of it. My dad used to produce his own chokeberry wine, because we had a few bushes of it growing in our garden. Maybe that’s why I am familiar with it and recognised it so easily.

Delicious black chokeberries, growing by the sidewalk in Gävle (own photo, shot with Nexus 5)

I am puzzled why no one ever collects or eats it here in Sweden. Even @surudoi was a little sceptical at first, when I introduced him to this wonderful berry during his last visit to Gävle. In his defence, he correctly identified it as aronia. I had no clue it was called that (and I had to check the Wikipedia to learn its English name). When I used to live in Lund, in the south of the country, it was the same story there. I was the only one eating berries straight from the bushes, catching strange glances from the passers-by. No one ever stopped and asked me about it. I guess it is simply not in the reserved nature of Swedish people to do that. Today was no exception: as I was feasting on the berries – they were truly delicious, I assure you! – people were walking by, observing me discretely, or staring in wonder, or smiling at my seemingly strange behaviour, or looking concerned. Maybe some of them thought that I was poisoning myself, knowingly or unknowingly. But no one stopped to question my actions or to enquire about this berry that I was enjoying. Oh well… more berries for me then!

And I paid no mind to the strange looks people were casting in my direction. I was enjoying the Mother Nature’s own candies. All natural, healthy and free – the best offer on the market!

I will probably collect some more chokeberries this weekend and dry them up for later use in the winter. @surudoi is planning to come to Gävle for another Bitcoin meetup this Saturday. Maybe he will be interested in picking some berries with me too.

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It's a shame that more people don't know about all the great food that is out there, just waiting to be harvested. Here in the US, so many people think that mulberries (Morus spp.) are poison, and they are delicious! If you harvest any more Aronia, dry them, or use them for cooking, I'd love to see that. Happy foraging!

Mulberry trees are my favorite, my childhood was spent raiding trees for berries. When I did so as an adult in Cleveland, I had my elderly neighbor running out to tell me they're poison, not to eat them. I knew better, but he about shit himself when I popped a handful into my mouth.
I used these same "poisonous" berries to make jam that John later sold to work friends, including rock stars, in the music business.

Thanks for your story. I've experienced that too -- just crazy, isn't it? I wonder how that myth got started. Mulberry leaves are even good to eat in the springtime, when they are young and tender. They are a great tree! And that's great about you making jam and selling it. :D

I think it has to do with mulberries producing a toxic substance that is also halucingenic. It is mainly a problem with the stems and unripe fruit from my understanding.

It's funny how people get scared of a fruit that isn't good to eat if it's not ripe. Just wait until it's ripe, lol. I've eaten a lot of stems in mulberry pie, but I've never had any issues. And I eat the young leaves, raw, in salads, in addition to cooking them as greens. There's plenty of cultural tradition for both. But I could see the older leaves being a problem and unripe fruit. But that shouldn't make people avoid mulberries. Oh well, more for us - and the birds and other wildlife.

From my understanding our culture pushes the idea of avoiding anything halucingenic so I would assume it has to do with that rather than the posinous nature of it. Cooking breaks the compound down from my understanding becuase you use unripe berries and stems to add more pectin when making jam.

We've got a crazy culture in some ways, don't we? Watch out for that mulberry! :O lol

lol yeah I have had people come up to me while picking them( eating some as I pick) and say" you can't eat those they are posinous". When I said no I have eaten them many times, they just shook there head and went on their way believing the same they always had and thinking of me as crazy or stupid.

Thank you, @haphazard-hstead! I will surely be doing more foraging and reporting here on Steemit.

I'm looking forward to your posts. Here are the guidelines for having foraging posts get curated for the SteemTrail @foraging-trail, too: one and two.

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