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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Burdock Yamagobo

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Yamagobo or pickled burdock root recipYamagobo is one of the tried and true recipes for cooking with burdock root that comes from Asian cuisine. It’s a simple recipe: burdock roots peeled and mixed with a pickle solution typically colored orange with..carrot powder, or more commonly orange food coloring–no thanks. After a reader tipped me off to the preparation, I had to try some for myself. Unfortunately, going through the trouble of slicing, dehydrating and powdering carrots didn’t give me any sort of interesting color. I knew I could use fresh or ground tumeric, but tumeric also adds a particular flavor, so I went in another direction.

Last year I started drying my own wild fruit, and one of the most interesting things I noticed was how deep of a color certain things lent to different recipes, especially baking and liquids. Dried chokeberries (Aronia) and wild grapes both make especially purple things, chokeberries being the stronger of the two.

The first batch I made was ok. It had a great purple color (even deeper than the yamagobo pictured) but there was something wrong: the roots were tough and stringy, even after a simmer in the pickle liquid that I’d hoped would tenderize them a bit. After a couple bites of extra chewy root, I knew what the problem was. I’d used Arctium minus to make yamagobo, and with those I typically just dig the top portion of the root (which is the toughest) since it’s the easiest to harvest. In Asia, greater burdock (Arctium lappa) is the species of choice, and it’s actually cultivated as a commercial crop. The roots of greater burdock are better all around compared to common burdock, especially if you’re lazily digging the top portion of the root as I was.

So, I tried making the yamagobo again with greater burdock from my local Asian market, and, like I suspected, that was the ticket. The roots were tender-crisp, and pleasant straight from the jar. You could probably get a similar result from foraged common burdock, but you’d need to really get down and pry out more of the tap root, which, if you’ve done it, is a pain.

Traditionally the pickles are used in certain hand rolls and served alongside dishes with pork, but I’ve served them as little nibbles on foraging forays with a bit of crunchy salt on the side as a fun, colorful example of the different ways cultures use this interesting root. I’m sure you can find some interesting things to do with them.

Yamagobo or pickled burdock root recip

Yamagobo or pickled burdock root recip
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Chokeberry Yamagobo

Makes 1 pint jar
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time5 mins
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Burdock, Pickles
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 8 oz gobo burdock not common burdock
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 3/4 cup rice wine or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • Pinch of hot chili optional
  • A few slices of fresh ginger
  • 1 Tablespoon dried ground berries, preferably wild grapes or aronia berries, or use tumeric

Instructions

  • Peel the burdock and cut into thick matchstick lengths that will nicely fit the jar.
  • Meanwhile, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil. Pack the gobo into a pint jar, then fill the jar with boiling water (a microwave works good) to heat it up and make sure the jar seals.
  • When the pickling liquid comes to a boil, pour the hot water out of the jar with the burdock, then pour over the hot, purple pickling liquid up to cover the burdock.
  • Screw on the lid, turn the jar upside down, and wait for it to cool and seal. Store in a pantry and wait at least a week to let the flavors meld. The pickles are shelf stable unopened, but should be refrigerated after opening.

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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
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Alan Bergo
HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mul HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mulberry trees and both got a bunch of fruit knocked down by the storms and wind. 

If anyone in West WI or around the Twin Cities knows of some trees, (ideally on private property but beggars can’t be choosers) that I could climb and shake with a tarp underneath, shoot me a DM and let’s pick some! 🤙😄

TIA

#throwadogabone #mansquirrel #beattlefruit #mulberries #shakintrees
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with @jesseroes TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with 
@jesseroesler and crew @campwandawega
📸 @misterberndt 

#staffmeal #brisket #meatsweats #naptime
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