Page 154 - The Forager’s Guide to Wild Foods
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Grape (Wild/Muscadine),
Vitis rotundifolia (VITACEAE)
WILD GRAPE, Muscadine Grape or Southern Fox HOW TO HARVEST AND EAT: Harvest ripe grapes
Grape often grow in thickets, but are also found individually in August-September. Skin is tart like
in woodland and open forests in rich soil that is a plum, while the flesh inside is very sweet. Can be
free-draining. They prefer full sun and like other made into wine or desserts, or eaten straight from the
grapes, they grow on a deciduous climbing vine with vine. Leaves are often bitter but they can be eaten raw
alternately arranged branches. It can grow 60-100 ft. or cooked, as can the tendrils; they taste best cooked
(18-30m) in length. in a change of water.
FLOWER AND FRUIT: Fruits grow in bunches like MUSCADINE JELLY RECIPE: Ingredients: 2 cups of
table grapes, but often ripen one at a time. When wild grapes, 2 cups of water, 4 cups of sugar, 2 tsp. lem-
ripe, fruits have thick skins that range in color from on juice, 1 packet of pectin. Put grapes and water in a
bronze to dark purple. Fruits can grow over an inch pot of water and simmer for 30 min. Strain off seeds
(2.5cm) in diameter but are more often ½-1 inch in and skins and bring the juice to a boil. Add the sugar,
length (1.3-2.5cm). Inside are up to 5 seeds. Flowers stir, and allow to simmer until it slowly reaches 220°F
are clusters of tiny pale-yellow stamens sprouting out (105°C) (30 min. or so). Add the pectin and check the
of pale green buds. consistency before bottling into jars.
LEAF: Green leaves are similar to other grape leaves, POISONOUS LOOK-ALIKES: Canadian Moonseed, Me-
except that they have sharper serrated edges. The nispermum canadense - fruit and leaves are similar to
hairless lobed leaves are usually as wide as they are wild grapes’, but the leaves are not serrated and the
long, and they can grow to 4-6 inches (10-15cm). The fruit has a single, crescent-shaped seed inside. Vir-
underside of the leaf is yellow-green. A single leaf ginia Creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia - produces
grows from one side of the stem, while a simple un- poisonous dark purple berries similar to wild grapes,
forked tendril grows from the other. but their palmate compound leaves differ greatly.
EDIBLE PARTS: fruits, young tendrils, leaves
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