"How do you know what to pick?"
"How do you know that's safe to eat?"
These are just a couple of questions I get asked a lot! So, I figured I'd take a moment and share a few of my favorite book recommendations on the subject.
All of the pictures of these books are links to where you may purchase them.
My first favorite is Wild Remedies. This book contains amazing knowledge on harvesting techniques, proper wildcrafting, identifying plants properly, and of course 75 amazing recipes for crafting your own medicines from those plants. If medicine making isn't your thing, there are still some great cooking recipes in here as well. This book is over 300 pages, beautifully photographed and easy to read.
My second favorite is Medicinal Herbs by the amazing Rosemary Gladstar! This book has 33 common healing plants and includes advice on growing, harvesting, preparing, and using herbs in healing tinctures, oils, and creams. This is usually the first book I recommend to someone just beginning to make their own natural products. Rosemary Gladstar is a world-renowned educator and activist. She is the founder of Sage Mountain Herbal Retreat Center and Botanical Sanctuary and has mentored thousands of students over the past 30 years through her in-depth home study course.
Northeast Foraging is definitely a go-to for me. Although it is specific to one area, if you live in the northeast like I do it is very helpful. The plant profiles include clear, color photographs, identification tips, guidance on how to ethically harvest, and suggestions for eating and preserving. Also, it will tell you what to look for in each season.
Of course I have a favorite mushroom hunting book too!
Edible & Medicinal Mushrooms of New England & Eastern Canada has easy-to-understand information on finding, collecting, identifying, and preparing the safer and more common edible mushrooms in the Northeast area. It discusses the cooking characteristics of each variety, with advice about matching species with appropriate foods. Not every mushroom cooks the same or tastes the same, so I found that information to be the most helpful.
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