Wild Food Guide — 'G'

Welcome to the Celtnet guide to wild foods. As this recipe site has grown it has become obvious that to allow people to replicate some of the more ancient recipes on this site (especially from the Ancient, Roman and Medieval periods it is necessary to list modern alternatives but also to produce a guide so that the curious can find the original (often wild) ingredients for themselves. These pages are an attempt at bringing all these potentially useful and often forgotten wild foods together into one place. To use this guide simply click on the first letter of your term above or below. Alternativey why not just browse through the terms. You may well find something that surprises you!

This page covers wild foods beginning with the letter 'G' and includes both common and scientific names.

This is the description page for Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the wild foodstuff: Coltsfoot.

Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara, (also known as Ass's Foot, Bull's Foot, Butterbur, Coughwort, Farfara, Foal's Foot, Foalswort, Horse Foot and Winter Heliotrope) is a perennial flowering herbaceous plant that's a member of the Asteraceae (aster/daisy) family. The flowers, which superficially resemble dandelions, appear in early spring (long before dandelions) and leaves do not appear until the seeds are set. The leaves are large and form a rosette at the base of the plant. The shape of the leaf broadly resembles the hoof-print of a horse (hence the common name). The plant is often found in waste and disturbed places and along roadsides and paths and as it spreads by both seed and rhizomes it is often considered and invasive plant.

It is a native of Asia and Europe, where it has long been used as a cough suppressant. Indeed, the Latin name of the plant Tussilago literally means 'cough suppressant'. The flowers and flower buds of the plant can be eaten raw in salads or they can be cooked. They are also traditionally used to make coltsfoot wine. The young leaves can also be used as a salad vegetable or they may be added to soups and vegetable stocks. They can also be cooked as a vegetable. Note that the leaves should be washed after being boiled as this reduces their bitterness. The flowers can also be made into a herb tea. One note of caution, the plant contains traces of liver-affecting pyrrolizidine alkaloids and though safe in small doses you should not eat large quantities of the plant.

Coltsfoot Wine Coltsfoot Flower Sorbet
Coltsfoot Throat Lozenge Coltsfoot Cream