Snowdrops and primroses, catkins and violets

The blooming, growing new spring always reminds us of what we didn’t forget, but just didn’t know. That is why you should look around you and let me tell you about what we ate, when we weren’t even born yet. Something wild, that’s for sure. Something that doesn’t run away, like plants, because they are more accessible that things that can run away from us. Some of those things may even squirm or crawl around and it would be for dinner whenever it would come around or when we bowed down and picked it up. All these things were accessible to eat, when we were in the prime age of working with stone (or even made sharp tools out of stone, for that matter). Overall we ate anything and everything, all the plants, but some of them also weren’t so good for eating. At least 200 of 3500 plants that grow in our region, can be somewhat used for eating and in our diets; if that means anything to you.

Well, we won’t be eating any snowdrops really, because they are a little poisonous. Another useful fact, more or less, is that they are also psychoactive. The galantamine, one of the alkaloids which is present in the bub as well as in the flower itself, proved itself to be useful in treating Alzheimer’s disease, which therefore has to do something with changing our dopamine level in our brain. But at this point, we are only interested in the fact, that when the bubs are boiled or grilled in smaller quantities, they can be eaten. Primroses and violets are a whole different story. We can add them into salads and many more dishes. What about catkin? Are we really going to eat catkin? (Warning: they are psychoactive!)

It is completely unknown that catkin has a strong effect on our psychical and physical worldview. They are grouped in the plant family of teachers; but in a bit different role. We can learn a lot of things from catkin. Amongst other things that nothing is what it seems at first, at least what seems first for food. Catkin is not only edible, but also, at least some sorts of them, also delicious and untypically aromatic. They have a healing effect, especially the willow, poplar and walnut type. Not to forget hazels, alders (their edible season is already over and will start again at the next beginning of spring) and birch catkins.

They signify their edibility by simply closing up and we eat the catkins by gringing them with our teeth, almost like sawing them in tiny bits. And if we put something fatty with it, because they are more or less pretty sour, but full of proteins, they taste even better. We can fry them, grill them, cook them, add them to salad, pickle them with vinegar, dry them and use them in cake and pancake batter and make something psychoactive along with it. With the necessary hunger and with a nice wild meal of catkins along, we can not only freshen up our view on food, but also our view of our world around us.