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| Frittata with Dandelion, Tomatoes, Chili, Feta and a Mint Dressing |
Introduction:
In this week’s Sites of Forage post,
we will be talking about economics – AKA the thing that makes the world go
round, according to economists. Regardless of that hyperbole, it turns out that
economics indeed holds significant influence on the production and
dissemination of knowledge about wild, foraged food (WFF).
Keeping economics in mind, this week’s
recipe is an egg dish that can be prepared inexpensively yet will satisfy any
taste no matter how thrifty you are – looking at you, fellow university students.
After all, wild foods are ideal for economical cooking because they’re
obviously totally free and even have the added bonus of being way more
nutritional than cheap, packaged, convenience foods – still looking at you,
fellow university students. This dish in particular features dandelion greens
whose earthy bitterness actually works great with eggs and in combination with
other bold flavors. So whether you’re a wealthy heiress who has just returned
to your summer home for tea time after a relaxing afternoon at the stables or
the squatter who sleeps in those stables when no one is looking, you will love
this tasty recipe that can be made on the cheap.
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Foraging:
As
for this week’s WFF, dandelion greens are one of those wild foods that grow so
abundantly, yet people rarely consider eating them. But in fact, they have been
cultivated as food for hundreds of years, and it is pretty easy to see why. Dandelions
are so ubiquitous that you probably already know how to identify it, and the
greens are truly delicious and very versatile in the kitchen.
Similar
to what we saw with stinging nettles, dandelion greens can be treated in the
same ways as spinach – raw in salads, boiled or steam, sautéed, etc. They do
tend to have a “greeny” bitterness to them and if that’s not necessarily your
thing, then use them in a cooked application and/or combine them with sour and
spicy flavors to counter the bitterness. This week’s recipe does exactly that
with a zingy, minty dressing and fresh red chilies.
As
for foraging for dandelions, there’s really not too much to say other than
avoid picking them from lawns or other manicured spaces that may be laced with
harmful chemicals. Also probably a better idea to avoid the ones growing out of
cracks in concrete or within very close proximity to where cars with their
exhaust drive by. Just to be safe and have the best quality, harvest dandelion
greens in non-manicured places away from super urban settings.
As
always, be sure to wash the greens very well before cooking with them.
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| Dandelion Greens (Taraxacum) |
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Economics and
WFF Knowledge:
In this section, we will now discuss
about how economics are an important local factor that affects WFF knowledge.
In order to do so, we will investigate how commercially valued WFF influences
foraging practices, how growing economies affect rural, foraging populations,
and lastly the role of markets in WFF knowledge dissemination. Upon doing so,
we will achieve a nuanced understanding of how economics has both a negative
and a positive impact on WFF knowledge.
Commercial
Value
To
begin, we will first look at how the commercial value of certain WFF influence
foraging practices and consequently affect knowledge about them. A study on
wild edible plant knowledge in Palestine remarks that the habitats of many wild
species are currently threatened, mostly due to agricultural expansion[1].
However, some farmers are foraging and selling certain commercially valuable
species[2].
From this, the researchers propose that the “economic benefits from species
might promote local people’s interest in conservation and maintenance of such
locally important and threatened species”[3]. In
this way, we see how commercial value may help incentivize locals’ foraging
practices and serve a larger, ecological cause. Such was also the case in a
study in Nepal, where researchers found that commercial value “could generate
incentives for biodiversity conservation and sustainable forestry”[4].
By incentivizing foraging practices
with economic benefits, a direct link with WFF knowledge reveals itself. Once
it becomes profitable to cultivate WFF, the knowledge about these species and
how to conserve and promote their habitats also becomes profitable. Thus,
commercial value not only influences foraging but also WFF knowledge of these
profitable species and the ecological sustainment of their habitats.
However, while commercial value can
potentially benefit locals and the environments in which they and their WFF
live, the same Nepalese study warns of the negative outcomes of incentivizing
foraging practices with economic benefit. According to the research, selling
WFF can provide valuable income for rural families with otherwise limited
economic opportunities[5].
However, this led to “unfair/unhealthy competition” among foragers who began
unsustainably overharvesting these species, leading to habitat destruction[6]. In
addition to the ecological damage, such depletion and potential extinction of
these WFF could have disastrous consequences on the knowledge of these WFF as
become more and more scarce.
In this way, we begin to gain this
nuanced understanding of economics’ effects on WFF knowledge. Commercially
valuable wild species incentivize foraging practices and the conservation of
their habitats – consequently rendering knowledge about these WFF equally
valuable. However, this same economic motivation to forage for valuable wild
species can lead to their depletion via overharvesting and thus a gradual decline
in knowledge about them. In either case,
WFF knowledge is affected by this commercial incentive. Yet, we are now
presented with this paradox that economics benefit as well as hurt WFF
knowledge.
Growing
Economies and Rural Populations
We
will now further shed light on this paradox with the analysis of growing
economies’ effect on rural, foraging populations. As evident by the majority of
the ethnobotanical studies reviewed for Sites of Forage, foraging for WFF is a
practice largely exclusive to rural communities. However, what affect do
growing economies in urban areas have on these communities and their foraging
practices?
Signorini et al., the authors of an
ethnobotanical investigation in Sardinia, point out a wide-spread decrease in
WFF knowledge due to “current trends of economic globalization that promote
intensive agriculture, industrialization, and the migration of rural
populations to urban areas”[7]. One
of the most common demographics to migrate out of these rural areas is younger
people seeking educational and economic opportunities in more urban settings[8].
As we saw in the post “Age and Wild, Foraged Food Knowledge”, intergenerational
transmittance of WFF knowledge – or ‘vertical’ transmission – is one of the
most vital ways that WFF is disseminated. However, the migration of younger
people away from their rural homes and knowledgeable kin, like those in the
Yunnan province of China or Shiri, Dagestan, creates a disruption in this
passing down of WFF knowledge[9].
In this sense, growing economies
hinder the dissemination of WFF knowledge. With the migration of younger
generations to urban cities in search of better economic opportunities, older generations
have no recipients to pass down their knowledge of wild foods. As a result, the
passing away of these older populations may also spell the extinction of this
WFF knowledge. Thus, this serves as another example in which economics
negatively affect WFF knowledge.
Markets
Yet
as we have seen, economics can also positively affect WFF knowledge. A prime
example of this can be found upon analyzing markets as sites of knowledge
dissemination. In doing so, this will aid in reaching a more nuanced understanding
of the ambivalence that economics pose to WFF knowledge.
With specific regard to WFF, an
ethnobotanical study in Morocco noticed that “markets and economies can affect
the process of cultural transmission […] because economic interactions are
personal, strategic and durable connections among people whose identities
matter for the outcome”[10].
The researchers exemplified this by tracing WFF knowledge among users of the
same market. They found that there was a “greater overlap in knowledge among
villages using the same market”[11].
For example, although the names for certain species of WFF varied a great deal,
people using the same market showed consistency in the names they used for these
WFF[12].
Thus, the researchers were able to conclude that markets were valuable sites
where horizontal transmission of WFF knowledge – the sharing of knowledge
between individuals of the same generation – takes place, as opposed to
vertical transmission which depends on younger generations[13]. The
study in the Yunnan Province similarly concluded that markets satisfied a vital
role in securing the longevity of WFF knowledge with the ever continuous
migration of young people out of rural areas[14].
Contrary to the results of growing
urban economies’ effects on rural populations, here we see how economics in
fact aid in the dissemination and survival of WFF knowledge via the invaluable
medium of markets. They provide a unique space where consumers and vendors interact,
establish relationships, and execute purchases. Within these social and
commercial relations, knowledge exchanging networks open up to reveal a
horizontal transmission of WFF knowledge. In this manner, economics provide a
vital site of knowledge dissemination – contrary to the examples where
economics disrupt the vertical transmission of WFF knowledge – and help to
secure the longevity of this knowledge.
Conclusion
In this discussion, we
saw how economics play a very ambivalent role with regards to its effect on WFF
knowledge. Commercially valuable wild species present us with this paradox
which incentivizes and gives value to knowledge of these species and their
protection yet at the same time leads to overharvesting and a gradual decline
of WFF knowledge with the depletion of these species. The negative side of this
paradox is elaborated upon with the effects of growing economies in urban areas
attracting younger generations away from their rural homes and disrupting the
vertical transmission of WFF knowledge from their kin. Meanwhile, the positive
side of this paradox is further revealed with the inclusion of local markets as
valuable social and economic spaces where WFF knowledge can be widely
disseminated horizontally as opposed to vertically.
With these examples, we are provided with a more nuanced understanding of
how economics are an influential local factor which affects the dissemination
of WFF knowledge both positively and negatively. In other words, economic
factors in specific locales help to disseminate and preserve WFF knowledge but may
also restrict its dissemination and lead to its decline. This reveals the
importance of analyzing the social contexts of specific sites that determine in
which direction WFF knowledge goes in the hands of economics. WFF knowledge in
certain places, such as those villages sharing a market in Morocco, may see a
more secure longevity thanks to economics; on the other hand, places like
Shiri, Dagestan might very well experience a decline in WFF knowledge because
of its own economic situation. Thus, this nuanced understanding of the
ambivalent role of economics reveals the importance of local contexts when
examining how WFF knowledge circulates.
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Sites of Forage
Recipe:
Frittata with
Dandelion, Tomatoes, Chili, Feta, and a Mint Dressing
So
here’s the thing: I know this isn’t really a frittata, but I don’t know what
else to call it. Perhaps “egg-loaf” is more accurate, but I’m not going to go
through the effort of foraging, cooking, taking photos, and writing a blog post
only to call this recipe “egg-loaf”. The fact of the matter is that I had
thrifty college students with questionable cooking skills in mind when drafting
this economical recipe, and so it makes more sense to dump all the ingredients
into a dish and bake it in the oven than to go through the motions of making a
proper frittata or, God forbid, an omelette. So, we’re just going to go ahead
and call this baked egg dish a frittata. For any of you traditionalists out
there who are upset by that, here is the link to my other website where I have
taken the time to write out a formal apology: www.findsomethingelsetocareabout.com/frittata_egg-loaf?
As
for the frittata itself, you could of course use whatever ingredients you want
to customize it to your liking. What I have listed here are just inexpensive
options with bold flavors that counter really well the bitterness of the dandelion
greens. Also, these are all ingredients that I cook with frequently and always
have on hand. So the idea of this recipe is that it is inexpensive, simple to
prepare, and can be made spontaneously. That being said, I encourage you to use
bold, flavorful ingredients that you personally always have stocked in your
kitchen.
Ingredients:
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 red spur chili, thinly sliced
1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 eggs
1 big handful of dandelion greens,
roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
50 g feta cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Mint
Dressing:
1 handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 tsp sugar
juice of half a lemon
2 tsp vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method:
Mix
tomatoes, chili, thyme, salt, pepper, and 1 Tbsp olive oil directly in a loaf pan,
place into the oven, and preheat the oven to 200°C so that the ingredients can
roast a bit as the oven is preheating. Meanwhile, in a pan over medium heat,
add the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil and garlic. Gently fry the garlic for no
more than 30 seconds, being careful not to burn it, and add the dandelion
greens. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the dandelion greens just
wilt.
Remove the pan from the oven and transfer
the dandelion greens and garlic to it. In a separate bowl, scramble the eggs
with some salt and pepper. Pour the eggs into the pan and crumble in the feta
as well. Bake until golden on top and frittata is just set and no longer
jiggles in the middle. Meanwhile, make the mint dressing.
In a mortar and pestle, grind the mint with
salt, pepper, and sugar until a fine paste. Add remaining ingredients and mix
until the mixture becomes homogenous. Alternatively, finely chop the mint and
simply mix in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Serve drizzled over cooked
frittata.
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Sources
Ali-Shtayeh, M.
S., R. M. Jamous, J. H. Al-Shafie, W. A. Elgharabah, F. A. Kherfan, K. H.
Qarariah, I. S. Khdair, et al.
"Traditional Knowledge of Wild Edible Plants Used in Palestine (Northern
West Bank): A Comparative Study." Journal
of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 4 (May 12 2008): 13.
Geng,
Yanfei, Yu Zhang, Sailesh Ranjitkar, Huyin Huai, and Yuhua Wang.
"Traditional Knowledge and Its Transmission of Wild Edibles Used by the
Naxi in Baidi Village, Northwest Yunnan Province." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 12 (February 05 2016):
10.
Kaliszewska,
Iwona, and Iwona Kolodziejska-Degorska. "The Social Context of Wild Leafy
Vegetables Uses in Shiri, Daghestan." Journal
of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 11 (August 11 2015): 63.
Powell,
Bronwen, Abderrahim Ouarghidi, Timothy Johns, Mohamed Ibn Tattou, and Pablo
Eyzaguirre. "Wild Leafy Vegetable Use and Knowledge across Multiple Sites
in Morocco: A Case Study for Transmission of Local Knowledge?". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 10:34
(2014).
Signorini,
Maria Adele, Maddalena Piredda, and Piero Bruschi. "Plants and Traditional
Knowledge: An Ethnobotanical Investigation on Monte Ortobene (Nuoro,
Sardinia)." Journal of Ethnobiology
and Ethnomedicine 5 (Feb 10 2009).
Uprety,
Yadav, Ram C. Poudel, Krishna K. Shrestha, Sangeeta Rajbhandary, Tiwar N.
Narednra, Uttam B. Shrestha, and Hugo Asselin. "Diversity of Use and Local
Knowledge of Wild Edible Plant Resources in Nepal." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 8:16 (2012).
[1] M. S. Ali-Shtayeh et al., "Traditional Knowledge of Wild Edible
Plants Used in Palestine (Northern West Bank): A Comparative Study," Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
4 (2008).
[2] Ibid.
[3]
Ibid.
[4] Yadav Uprety et al., "Diversity of Use and Local Knowledge of Wild
Edible Plant Resources in Nepal," Journal
of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 8:16 (2012).
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Maria Adele Signorini, Maddalena Piredda, and Piero Bruschi, "Plants
and Traditional Knowledge: An Ethnobotanical Investigation on Monte Ortobene
(Nuoro, Sardinia)," Journal of
Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 5 (2009).
[8]
For more information, see:
Yanfei Geng et al., "Traditional Knowledge and Its Transmission of
Wild Edibles Used by the Naxi in Baidi Village, Northwest Yunnan
Province," ibid.12 (2016).
Iwona Kaliszewska and Iwona Kolodziejska-Degorska, "The Social
Context of Wild Leafy Vegetables Uses in Shiri, Daghestan," ibid.11 (2015).
[9] Yanfei Geng et al., "Traditional Knowledge and Its Transmission of
Wild Edibles Used by the Naxi in Baidi Village, Northwest Yunnan
Province," ibid.12 (2016).
Iwona Kaliszewska and Iwona Kolodziejska-Degorska, "The Social
Context of Wild Leafy Vegetables Uses in Shiri, Daghestan," ibid.11
(2015).
[10] Bronwen Powell et al., "Wild Leafy Vegetable Use and Knowledge across
Multiple Sites in Morocco: A Case Study for Transmission of Local
Knowledge?," ibid.10:34 (2014).
[11] Ibid.
[12]
Ibid.
[13]
Ibid.
[14] Geng et al.
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