Wild Food Guide — 'M'

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 'M' and includes both common and scientific names.

This is the description page for Birch (Betula pendula) 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: Birch.

The European silver birch, Betula pendula is a small fast-gowing tree in the Betulaceae (birch) family and is indigenous to northern Europe. The name birch in English is derived from an old Germanic root similar to *birka. Which ulitmately derives from the proto-Indo-European root *bherəg- ('to shine') probably because of the silver birch's white bark.

Birch trees bear both male and female flowers (catkins) and the ripened fruit is a samara (ie it bears wings though these can be truly tiny in silver birch fruit). Because the pollen is airbourne birch is probably one of the most important allergens in northern Europe, accounting for between 15–20% of all hayfever cases. Birch trees grow very rapidly and are mature at 40 years. As a result of it's fast growth and its tolerance for a very wide range of soil pH though it requires a lot of light. As a result birch is a pioneer species in that it's one of the first tree species to colonize cleared ground. This is why birch trees are often seen on the verges of mature forests as they cannot compete with trees that have denser canopies.

Birch wood is not strong, but it has a high calorific value and thus makes excellent firewood. Birch twigs also used to be tied together for use as brooms. In terms of food birch sap is probably the most important substance derived from birch. The sap is produced by mature trees in early spring when the trees are preparing to flower and bear leaves. To extract sap, chose a mature tree during the first two weeks of March. Take a plastic tube, a collecting bottle and a drill with a bit that's the same width as your tube. Bore a hole in the tree some 50cm from the ground which is angled gently upwards (a few centimetres is sufficient). Insert one end of your tube in this and place the other end in your collecting jar. You should get some 2l in a 24-hour period from a single tree. Never collect more than this from one tree and make sure that you stopper the hole you drilled very firmly when you're done otherwise the tree will die from loss of sap.

The raw sap makes a very refreshing drink in it's native form as it's not overly sweet. Traditionally, however, this sap has been made into 'birch sap wine' (really a mead) as well as birch beers and birch vinegar. In Belarus, Russia, the Baltic States, Finland, and parts of northern China, birch sap is drunk as a refreshing beverage, and is believed to have tonic qualities. It is watery and pale green in color, with a slightly sweet flavor, and is bottled commercially.

Birch Sap and Cleavers Risotto
Wilding Apple Soup