30 replies to this topic

[itch22]

Is Ontario know for any paticular culinary herbs? Do any grow wild?

[Farmer Dave]

Ontario has a wide range of climate zones but a few herbs/culinary grow wild
throughout
5 that come to mind
Wild Ginger
Wild Leeks (ramps)
Bear garlic
Juniper Berries
Spruce Tips

In the southern section (Zone 5- 6b) almost all soft herbs grow well and many
hard herbs and tender perrenials with protection survive the winter.

Edited by Farmer Dave, 08 April 2004 - 05:23 AM.

[CompassRose]

Mint, of course, tons of mint. And I know a hillside that is entirely covered with low-growing thyme. Angelica, if you are in for old-fashioned fun and very careful not to get water hemlock. Sorrel will go wild if left; I've found patches of it in overgrown former houselots. Wintergreen.

[CaliPoutine]

Mint, of course, tons of mint. And I know a hillside that is entirely covered with low-growing thyme. Angelica, if you are in for old-fashioned fun and very careful not to get water hemlock. Sorrel will go wild if left; I've found patches of it in overgrown former houselots. Wintergreen.

What about Morels? Anywhere in Ontario?

[itch22]

Should be, at least in south western Ontario. Here is a web resource, though I don't know how accurate it is.

Beyond the Morel

[CompassRose]

Yep. In my brother-in-law's front yard in flocks, for one.

(Though don't imagine I'll tell you where he lives! )

I also once found a gigantic crop of morels in fresh mulch on the flower beds of a new Canadian Tire in my town. Boy, did I get looks as I squatted down and greedily harvested the lot into my bag of batteries or whatever it was.

[jayt90]

As soon as the snow melts, there will be lots of watercress, fresh and peppery, in thousands of Ontario streams.

[rgruby]

The next question is, are there any chefs here making use of this bounty?

Cheers,
Geoff Ruby

[chromedome]

Those little sour leaves of wild sorrel grow just about everywhere, usually in poor soil.

I'd be dubious about harvesting them for commercial use unless I was damned sure about the soil they grew in. Nothing like serving your customers fresh leaves from the 40-year-old toxic waste dump...

[Farmer Dave]

2 words rgruby:
Michael Stadtlander

[itch22]

2 words rgruby:
Michael Stadtlander

It's sad when people like Christina Cushing are more of a houshold name then those who'd rather cook then host a show such as Michael. Off topic, did anyone catch the interview with him on CBC Radio 1 a few months back? It was great to here him talk about how he arrived at his current farm/restaurant, his cooking experiences in Germany before moving to Canada, and when he acctually taught cooking here in Canada. I bet you those students had a leg up on Toronto's George Brown grads.

[Farmer Dave]

That hour of him walking around Eigensinn with the reporter in tow...?
Oh yea........a chef enroute somewhere called me at home when he heard it on the car radio.......it was very interesting......I think not only for people immersed in
the sustainable food part of the business but just anyone who cares how and where and why they put together either a menu or just a dinner for their family.

[itch22]

That's the one. Was it just me, or did that reporter sound a little out of shape at times?

[Farmer Dave]

Considering the height of Stadtlander....I would be out of breath keeping up with him....(picture Bilbo Baggins beside an elf......on horseback..!!)

[estufarian]

2 words rgruby:
Michael Stadtlander

Just a little caution - Michael (although a great chef) is NOT a qualified mushroom expert.
I speak as one who consumed (greedily) some of Michael's "hand gathered mushrooms" (direct quote before being served) - only to discover a few hours later that at least one was poisonous.
I won't gross you out with the details but, suffice it to say, it wasn't pretty.

[rgruby]

2 words rgruby:
Michael Stadtlander

Stadtlander is one, can anybody name another?

[Farmer Dave]

Aboriginal Chef David Wolfman

[jayt90]

That's the one.  Was it just me, or did that reporter sound a little out of shape at times?

I think it was Bernie St. Laurent (my spelling could be off); he's the breathless soft spoken guy who fills in for Tremonti and Rogers.

Wasn't there a mini-series or at least one TV show done at Eigensinn? I remember catching a few minutes of it; it was dull, gray, and a trifle boring, at the end of winter. I'd love to revisit it.

[jayt90]

Aboriginal Chef David Wolfman

Well, Geo Brown students at least have the Wolfman, if not Stadtlander.

[itch22]

Anyone know of a good source of Ontario grown juniper berries?

[Farmer Dave]

Probably Forbes Wild Foods on the Danforth.......a little goes a long way...
Best source is to go out and pick some.....you sure would appreciate why they cost so much........just look for the dark purple-black ones....the green and light blue ones are unripe....they take a couple years to ripen and each bush will have all stages going at once........

[itch22]

Now this is VERY important Dave, are there any berries out there that look very similar that are poisonous?

[jayt90]

Nothing in evergreens that I can think of. Just make sure your looking in a juniper bush; any good gardening or tree guide will help.
By the way, there are a lot of recipes in Elizabeth David's series of books using juniper berries in updated methods from 19th century ( and older) notions. I can usually get her books through interlibrary loans, as my Penguins haven't really lasted that well..

[itch22]

I need them because when cooking for my Czech in-laws I find anything that is "a la Alsacienne" goes over very well. For most of these dishes I need good juniper berries.

[itch22]

Does juniper naturally grow here in Ontario? I have googled extensively and all Canadian specific documents about juniper refer to the rocky mountain juniper in British Columbia and Alberta. There it grows extensively.

I did find one article about the Quarry Bay Nature Reserve here in Ontario that features juniper.

I live in Prince Edward county, in a paticularily rocky area with shallow, sandy soil. My property (several acres of forest) consists of oak, maple, ironwood, a variety of evergreen tree, and a WHOLE LOT OF BUCKTHORN!!! There is so much buckthorn you need armour to take a walk! There are a lot of evergreen shrubs but I never noticed if any resembled juniper.

Also, juniper and juniper sledge (carex juniperorum), are two different things right?

Edited by itch22, 01 February 2005 - 10:42 AM.

[Farmer Dave]

Juniper (there are several types) grow in most of the Northern Hemisphere..
Probably don't have to look much further than a sub-division as the older "foundation plantings" bear berries that are suitable...like spruce tips...check out the white spruce trees in April......in those same suburban lots...

[itch22]

You mean spruce tips are a suitable substitute for juniper, or they grow in the same area?

[Ben Hong]

None of the coniferous trees in Canada have anything poisonous about them. Juniper berries picked off your or your neighbour's ground cover juniper foundation plants would be as good as any you have to pay for. As someone just said, pick the real ripe ones. Some of my friends used to make spruce beer and they also produced a passable gin in their "back yard" using the same juniper berries to get that "gin" taste.

[Farmer Dave]

Sorry itch......a bit vague on that....juniper berries are the real deal....don't substitute on those....but they are easy to find...I went out and looked today and there are some here...that's how easy....same bush Paul Boehmer used on a venison dish in fact.......spruce tips are another easy to find spring time ingredient (another Boehmer in fact....but he was using Stadtlander's syrop recipe )
Amazing what is out there.....and what can be done with them once picked..

[itch22]

I found a cornucopia of juniper bushes. I picked only fully ripe berries, however they lacked both aroma and flavour.