calorific content of wild foods?

[Man of Tanith]

Does anyone know of a resource that lists the calorific content of wild foods?
i know meat is high calorie and basics but i would be interested to see which foods provide the most calories.
this is mainly to satisfy my curiosity but it could also come in handy for when i am silly enough to go out with the intent of harvesting the majority of my food as i go
thanks in advance

 

[Corso]

content vs effort would be interesting too...

 

[Man of Tanith]

thats my next question although i think it would be influenced greatly by the calorific content to start with
another one is the processing effort included eg acorns take so long to leech tannins out but cats tails roots take much less but does the content of acorns outweigh the effort taken to process them

 

[rik_uk3]

Very little food value in a lot of 'wild food'. I suspect diet improved a lot with organised farming of hefty root vegetables like spuds, carrots, swede etc. Not much value in shell fish, obviously a lot more in fish. Someone here will have more details I'm sure.

 

[The Ratcatcher]

The nutritional value of wild foods is very variable.

It depends on soil type, water content and other factors related to the environment in which the plant is growing, and two apparently identical plants growing within a few metres of each other could be vastly different in nutritional content, for example in plant 'A' is nearer to a watercourse than plant 'B', then the water content of 'A' would be higher than 'B', producing a larger root than 'B', but with the same (or possibly less!) nutritional content.

In agriculture, plants are grown in an environment which is modified to provide relatively consistent conditions across a whole field, by irrigation, drainage and use of fertilisers, thus producing equally consistent crops. (Look how consistent in size, colour and quality vegetables in your local supermarket are.)

Th only real discussion I've found on the use of wild foods for effective nutrition is the "Ray Mears Wild Food" DVD and book combination. There are some other sources in scientific papers but they tend to be rather technical.

Hope this helps.

Alan

 

[Man of Tanith]

Very little food value in a lot of 'wild food'. I suspect diet improved a lot with organised farming of hefty root vegetables like spuds, carrots, swede etc. Not much value in shell fish, obviously a lot more in fish. Someone here will have more details I'm sure.

i reckoned that myself

 

[Man of Tanith]

The nutritional value of wild foods is very variable.

It depends on soil type, water content and other factors related to the environment in which the plant is growing, and two apparently identical plants growing within a few metres of each other could be vastly different in nutritional content, for example in plant 'A' is nearer to a watercourse than plant 'B', then the water content of 'A' would be higher than 'B', producing a larger root than 'B', but with the same (or possibly less!) nutritional content.

In agriculture, plants are grown in an environment which is modified to provide relatively consistent conditions across a whole field, by irrigation, drainage and use of fertilisers, thus producing equally consistent crops. (Look how consistent in size, colour and quality vegetables in your local supermarket are.)

Th only real discussion I've found on the use of wild foods for effective nutrition is the "Ray Mears Wild Food" DVD and book combination. There are some other sources in scientific papers but they tend to be rather technical.

Hope this helps.

Alan

Thanks for that
i figured there would be a dry and dusty technical science paper i suppose i shall have to look into those too
the wild food series and book are good

 

[Bushwhacker]

I've asked that question several times and have always been stonewalled.
I'll keep tabs on this thread just in case.

 

[Andy BB]

The "ease of harvesting" is a very valid point. Whilst shellfish aren't as protein-packed as red meat for example, its relatively easy to harvest kilos of mussels and/or limpets, and a doddle to cook. Fish-traps - once made - do all the hard work for you, and produce a very useful bundle of calories and proteins, along with good stuff like Omega 3 etc. There is a reason why so many primitive tribes lived close to the sea!

 

[Mr Cake]

Info on nutritional values for some wild foods can be found at the links below:

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Capsella+bursa-pastoris

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2441/2

http://www.motherearthnews.com/uploadedImages/articles/issues/1986-07-01/100-082-01tab.jpg

Can't vouch for the accuracy of the figures given obviously

 

[Martti]

Some figures from a Finnish Defence Forces study of boreal organisms, all per 100 grams of substance. Mouse testing suggested that many of these organisms could be used in survival situation but not for long period of time.

- Calla (Calla palustris), dried roots - 278 kcal.
- Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), dried roots - 212 kcal.
- Yellow water-lily (Nuphar lutea), dried roots - 191 kcal.
- White water-lily (Nymphaea alba), dried roots - 113 kcal.
- Birch (Betula spp.), fresh leaves - 56 kcal.
- Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), fresh leaves - 51 kcal.
- Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), fresh leaves - 47 kcal.
- Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica), dried - 44 kcal.
- Sorrel (Rumex acetosa), fresh leaves - 28 kcal.

 

[Shewie]

Some useful info on this thread Sam

 

[Man of Tanith]

thanks everyone