The Fruit Forager's Companion

Using her book and those experiences as a place to start, we explore her interest in wild fruit and foods, including first falling in love with the paw paw, and about how shared experiences, in the forest or around the table, bring us together. You can find Sara on her website sausagetarian and her book at Chelsea Green. I also recommend following her on Instagram, if you’re on there, as she posts some really great pictures about food. Just as with her website, you’ll find her there as sausagetarian.

Talking with Sara, as you hear from the stories I shared today, reminded me of all the different connections I have with food from particular flavors like the applesauce, crafted through culinary means, to those moments that matter with my children. Standing by the trailside with my son picking berries, or sitting in the grass with my daughter munching on violets. Or now, in this moment, of when I was a child and would sit at the edge of my parent’s garden and pick strawberries. Food, whether foraged, gleaned, or purchased from farm or market, give us time with ourselves and others. Food is nourishment for our body, our spirit, and our community. Finding something to eat, whether simply untended or truly wild, weaves those threads with the wider world, as we taste the soil and season in what we gather.

What are you foraging for? What are your favorite fruits? What are your favorite fruit memories? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Resources
Sara Bir (sausagetarian.com)
Sara on Instagram
The Fruit Foragers Companion (Chelsea Green)