Month: September 2012

Video of our presentation at MAD 2: Delineating the Edible and Inedible

by Josh Evans. The full video of Lars and Mark’s presentation at MAD in July. https://vimeo.com/48727169 What it’s all about (a summary from our first post): “How do you take something ‘inedible’, like an insect, and bring it into the category of the edible? One of the many powers of cooking, and science in general, is that it can bring us into a new understanding and appreciation of the world. Instead of serving a cricket whole on a plate, as other attempts at normalising entomophagy have done, in this case it is more effective to transform the raw material into something that will be recognised as delicious before edibility is even raised as an issue. If it looks and smells and tastes delicious, it must be edible, right? This is our strategy: instead of accepting, as contemporary culture does, that something must be edible before it can be delicious, we … Read more

Søl Ice at Meyers Madmodsløb

by Josh Evans. Two Saturdays ago, we packed up the ice cream bike and headed out to Tiøren at Amager Strand. The occasion? Meyers ‘Madmodsløb’, literally ‘Food courage race’ – a big event to challenge kids to try new flavours and unfamiliar foods. The response was for the most part extremely positive. Sometimes we told them what it was beforehand, as a challenge to incite their competitive spirit; other times we told them what it was afterwards, to get them to try it at all. It took some discretion but our goal was to get that seaweed into as many mouths as possible. Just like with the insects, the first taste is the hardest, and after that it only gets easier. With some of the children, we could see the transformation bloom across their face. It was dramatic: at first, they were shy or skeptical or disgusted – but within half … Read more

Wild Edible Plants – an Overview

By Rachele Ellena Since June, Nordic Food Lab has been systematically researching and cataloguing the uses of edible plants in the Nordic region, starting our efforts locally in the Copenhagen area. We set out initially to understand the culture surrounding wild plants in the Nordic context, with a focus on current uses and historical background. In dialogue with Nordic wild flora experts and ethnobotanists, an interesting picture began to emerge.  From wild plants expert and consultant Søren Espersen, we learned that the tradition of consuming wild plants in Denmark almost completely ended in the eighteenth century. Ethnobotanist Ingvar Svanberg also suggested to us that due to a general access to both public and private land in Sweden, it is more common to gather wild plants there, but he believes that all Scandinavian countries belong to the herbophobic part of Europe (herbo: herbs and phobia: fear) – a term used by Polish ethnobotanist … Read more

Guidelines for Sustainable Foraging

by Ulla Kaja Radeloff There is edible stuff growing all around us, and we believe in exploring it fully. But free resources tend to be abused – so we wanted to create some guidelines to ensure these plants continue to flourish and so we can all enjoy the foraged harvest for years to come. Respect nature and always act with care. Take only as much as you are able to use. Nothing goes to waste. Many countries have national foraging laws to prevent overharvesting , defining where, what, and how much is legal to take. For example, the same species might be legal to pick in one country and endangered in another. Make sure you know the law before you go. Always pay attention to and respect local conditions. A plant may be legal to forage, and abundant in some areas, but rare in others. Think like a steward. Ask … Read more