White Spruce (Picea glauca)

White Spruce trees are one of the most widespread conifer trees in Alberta’s boreal forest. They grow in well-drained, moist soils and can be found throughout western, central, and northern Alberta. This evergreen tree is a common winter food source for many birds and mammals - especially squirrels, who rely on their cones as a primary food source!

White Spruce trees also have a variety of uses for people. The branches have been used to make lean-to shelters and wind barriers, and larger wood pieces, once dried, act as good canoe frames, paddles, and snowshoes! The needles or tips are stiff and have a bright green colour, and add a citrusy flavor to salt and sugar.

Before foraging for the required ingredients, we recommend taking a look at our Sustainable Foraging Guide!

Culture Connection

Nehiyawewin (Cree):ᓯᐦᑕ Sihta

When Jacques Cartier and his men first landed in Canada they were plagued with scurvy, a vitamin c deficiency. They landed in Quebec in the territory of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), during the winter. The Haudenosaunee treated the men by giving them tea made from the bark and needles of a conifer, likely a white spruce tree.

But the high vitamin C content isn’t the only benefit that spruce needles are known for. The Nlaka'pamux (formerly called Thompson) of southern B.C. used a mixture of spruce needles and resin as a cancer treatment. The Anishnaabe (Ojibway) used dried spruce needles to disinfect the air. Other parts of the spruce tree were used including the roots, inner bark and resin. Many different nations used the pitch of spruce trees as a dermatological aid for cuts, burns, rashes, sores, dry skin including the Nîhithaw and Nehiyawak (Woodlands and Plains Cree people), many Inuuk (Inuit cultures) and the Xa’islak’ala (Haisla). Spruce resin was used by many different nations across Canada and the U.S. as chewing gum.

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Collect your spruce tips in the spring when the brown sheaths that cover the new tips are still loosely attached to the end. White spruce trees are ideal, but black spruce or pine can also be used.

Ingredients

• Spruce tips

• White sea salt or kosher salt

Method

• Use a 1:1 ratio of spruce tips and salt.

• Rinse and clean the spruce tips of any remaining bracts or debris and food process until fine. Add the salt and food process again until combined.

• Spread the salt mixture evenly on a tray lined with wax paper and leave until dry - this may take several days.

• Store in your pantry and add to fish, eggs, vegetables, or anywhere else you’d like a natural, lemony flavour.

Tip: Try making spruce tip sugar in the same way by starting with a ratio of 1:2 tips to sugar. Use this for the spruce tip shortbread recipe!

Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca)

The flowers of the Early Blue Violet range from blue to deep violet in colour, and appear during the early spring (May to June). These colourful blooms attract pollinators and are a common identifier of this perennial. The plant can be found in meadows, open woods, and thickets. Early Blue Violets blooms are often used to decorate and add colour to cakes and salads. However, they offer more value than just beauty - they are rich in both vitamin A and C!

Before foraging for the required ingredients, we recommend taking a look at our Sustainable Foraging Guide!

Culture Connection

ᒣᐦᑲᐧᑲᓇᐢᑯᐢ Mêhkwakanaskos

Violets have many different traditional uses - they were used to help with a variety of different ailments as well as to make simple dyes.

The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) used violets for a variety of purposes. They used it as a poultice to apply to flesh wounds, an eye wash, a cure-all, and as a veterinary aid as well. They would also make a poultice of mashed violet roots to treat their horse’s boils.

The Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) used violet roots and leaves to treat sore and inflamed joints as well as pediatric asthma. They would also use violets as dye to turn their arrows blue. The Anishnaabe (Ojibway) made a decoction of the roots for bladder pain.

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Ingredients

• Early blue violets

• Water

• White granulated sugar

• Lemon juice

Method

• Put your violets in a glass jar or containers, and fill the container with boiling water. Let the flowers steep for 18-24 hours. The water will appear blue or greenish in colour at this stage.

• Strain the flowers from the infused water and discard the flowers. Strain the water to ensure no debris remains.

• Add equal parts violet water and sugar to a saucepan and heat until all sugar has dissolved.

• Slowly add small amounts of lemon juice until the desired colour is reached, being careful not to add too much to overpower the delicate violet flavour.

• Bring the mixture to a low boil, and turn the heat down to simmer for 2-3 minutes or until desired consistency is reached, stirring often.

• Keep the syrup in a cool place or in the fridge for up to 3 months.

• Add to your favourite cocktails and desserts.

Plantain (Plantago major)

Plantain is a stemless perennial that returns in the spring after remaining dormant during the winter. It is commonly found in waste areas, roadsides, disturbed areas, and even your own lawn! For this reason, make sure that you collect from unsprayed areas. The leaves of the plantain are rich in vitamins A, C, and K, making them a great healthy snack. 

Before foraging for the required ingredients, we recommend taking a look at our Sustainable Foraging Guide!

Culture Connection

Nehiyawewin (Cree): ᔪᐢᑭᐯᒼ yoskipem

Plantain is an invasive plant that was introduced to the Americas with colonization. It was brought over by Europeans as an important medicinal plant. It has been referred to as “White man’s footprint” by a variety of Indigenous Peoples since it seemed to follow the footsteps of the Europeans. This can be attributed to the fact that it thrives in disturbed soils, such as the soil that surrounded European settlements.

Plantain has a variety of medicinal uses. Once Plantain became established in Canada, many Indigenous Peoples incorporated it into regular use. The Nêhiyawak (Cree) would use a spit poultice of the leaves to treat burns. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) had many different uses for the common plantain. They used a decoction of the roots to help treat nervous breakdowns. A decoction of the whole plant was also said to strengthen athletes and runners. They also used the plant as a remedy for burns, cuts, spider bites, arthritis, stomach pain, diarrhea, and fevers among other ailments.

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Ingredients

• Young plantain leaves

• Olive oil

• Seasoned salt

Method

• Wash and dry the plantain leaves and transfer to a baking sheet

• Spray or rub olive oil on the leaves and season with a seasoning salt or mix of your choice

• Bake at 350 degrees until crispy

Rose Hips

Rose hips are the fruits on rose plants, including Alberta’s Provincial flower - the prickly wild rose. These shrubs can be found in open forests, thickets, river banks and clearings. The rose hips can be identified by their spherical or pear shape and bright red to plum colouration. They stay on the plant throughout the winter, which makes them a great food source for birds and mammals who don’t migrate south for the winter. Despite their prickles and thorns, rose plants are actually very palatable for a lot of wildlife - they don’t seem to mind!

While they are rich in vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, they should be eaten in moderation as overconsumption may cause some unwanted symptoms… It is also important to make sure that you do not eat the rose hip seeds inside, as they are covered with tiny hairs that can irritate the digestive tract and cause ‘itchy bum.’

Did you know? Rose hips are said to contain as much vitamin C as a whole orange!

Before foraging for the required ingredients, we recommend taking a look at our Sustainable Foraging Guide!

Culture Connection

ᑲᒥᓇᑲᓭ kâminakasê

Rose hips were important to many nations for medicine, sustenance and crafting. Rose hips were made into jellies, juice and ice-cream by the Iñupiat. The Nîhithaw (Woodland Cree) strung rose hips into necklaces. The Anishnaabe (Ojibway) would use rose hip skins for stomach troubles and indigestion.

Other parts of the rose plant were important for medicine as well. The Nîhithaw used a decoction of prickly rose roots to help treat coughs and an infusion of the roots to treat sore eyes. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) mixed together rose leaves and bark into an infusion to make eye drops to help treat some types of blindness.

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Rose hips are best foraged after the first frost

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of rose hips to make 4 cups of rose hip juice

• 7 1/2 cups sugar

• 1 box (2 pouches) liquid pectin (6 ounces)

Method

• First, make your rosehip juice.

  • Harvest the rose hips after the first frost for the best ripeness and flavour. Remove the stems and blossom remnants and wash the hips in cool water.

  • In a small saucepan, add your rosehips and enough water to cover them. You will need 4 cups of juice for the recipe, so add a little more to account for evaporation. Two pounds of rose hips should yield approximately 4 cups of juice.

  • Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the rose hips are soft.

  • Cool the mixture and strain through a fine cheesecloth. Make sure the strainer or cloth is small enough so no little hairs get through.

• Add the 4 cups of juice to a large pot and stir in the sugar. Bring to a full, rolling boil.

• Add the liquid pectin and heat until boiling. Once it has reached a full boil, boil for exactly one minute.

• Remove from heat and skim off any foam off the top.

• Pour the jelly into hot, sterilized canning half-pint jars to 1/4 inch from the top. Seal with two-piece canning lids.

• Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Note that this time is for Edmonton, and processing times vary by altitude.

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Stinging Nettle is a perennial weed that returns each year after remaining dormant during the winter. It is fairly easy to find as it grows in moist woodlands, thickets, open areas, streambanks, and disturbed areas.

The leaves are covered with tiny, hollow, pointed hairs that contain small amounts of formic acid which can cause itching and burning if touched. For this reason we recommend using gloves or tongs when collecting and working with raw stinging nettle.

But don’t let that deter you! Heating or drying the leaves makes them perfectly safe to touch and delicious to eat! Stinging nettle has a mild taste quite similar to spinach, but without an iron flavour.

It is best harvested in the spring, before the plant starts flowering. New, younger leaves are better in taste, as the leaves can become quite bitter once the plant has started flowering Try it in soup, pesto, tea, or just sauteed.

Before foraging, take a look at our Sustainable Foraging Guide!

Culture Connection

ᒪᓵᐣ Masân

Although stinging nettle is often seen as something to avoid, many nations learned how to cook it and use it as medicine. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) boiled it to use for a seasoned vegetable dish.

The Nîhithaw (Woodland Cree) also boiled the plant and used it as an aid in childbirth recovery. Members of Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux) used the roots as a diuretic, and the Anishnaabe (Ojibway) would soak the leaves and use them as a treatment for heat rash.

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Ingredients

• ~ 10 cups of young stinging nettle leaves

• 2 cups cottage cheese

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese + 1 tbsp

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

• 1 tsp butter

• 1 tsp olive oil

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

• 1 cup sliced mushrooms

• Dill and thyme

• Single pie crust shell

• 1/4 cup pine nuts

• Salt and pepper

Method

• Collect young nettle leaves in the spring before the plant has flowered. The new leaves that are close to the top of the plant are best. Make sure to wear gloves when you collect them to avoid a sting!

• Using kitchen tongs, rinse the leaves in a sink of cold water, swishing them around to get any debris off

• Blanch the nettles in a pot of clean boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute, or until bright green in colour. Drain and immediately transfer the leaves to a bowl of cold water.

• Dry the leaves very well. You can use a salad spinner or paper towel for this.

• Combine the cottage cheese, lemon zest, fresh nutmeg, parmesan cheese, egg, feta cheese, and salt and pepper in a food processor. Mix until creamy.

• In a medium skillet, heat the butter and oil. Saute the chopped onion and garlic until fragrant and softened, about 2 minutes, and add the mushrooms. After the mushrooms have browned, add the dill and thyme to taste.

• Remove from heat and add the nettles and cottage cheese mixture.

• Pour into a greased pie shells and top with the pine nuts and 1 tbsp of parmesan cheese

• Bake at 375 F for about 45 minutes or until everything is set.

• Let cool for 10 minutes before serving

View a more detailed account of making this recipe here.