Foraging for food has fallen on hard times

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"Not so many people forage for food anymore, Marilyn Kluger, author of 'The Wild Flavor,' who grew up in Southern Indiana, reflects on the changing rhythms of life that prevent us from foraging.

"In her book, she recalls that while the males of her extended family clan would tramp off to hunt quail, the females and youngsters would head for the fence rows and woods to collect persimmons and nuts.

Today, she comments, agribusiness has cleared many fields and eliminated a lot of the fence rows where persimmon trees grow, and people 'are not connected to nature the way they used to.' "There's something else - the McDonaldization of America - that trains us to expect that uniform flavor and texture are the best qualities you can expect from food. We've learned to dread surprises, and we prefer a bland but predictable Delicious apple over a more risky McIntosh or Gala." "Though Sharron Barker is an enthusiastic and experimental cook, she was naturally disappointed when a batch of persimmon coffeecake - modified from a pumpkin recipe - turned too astringent to eat, at least around the edge. Strangely, an inch or so into the cake, everything was fine, the taste delicious.

"As a cook, Barker was uncomfortable with her final product; who wouldn't be. Baking takes time and money. Nobody wants a failure.

"On the other hand, it was intriguing. Barker had made so many other dishes from the same batch of persimmon pulp: bread, cookies, butter and pudding. Why weren't they astringent?" "The answer's to be found in the chapter 'Persimmons Unpuckered' from Harold McGee's book 'The Curious Cook.' McGee quotes a 1915 Farmers' Bulletin by W.F. Fletcher:

"'Since heat makes the astringency of the persimmon more apparent, it is always well to add one-half teaspoonful of baking soda to each cupful of persimmon pulp in all recipes where the fruit is subjected to heat. Although it has been proved by experiment that the soda may be omitted if the fruit is entirely free from astringency, it is better to use it until one is sure of the quality of the persimmon pulp.'

"The edges of the persimmon coffeecake became hotter than the interior of the cake, which explains why they became astringent. Cut away the sides, and the coffeecake was perfect. Virtually all recipes for persimmons that require heating also call for baking soda."

"McGee's research discovered other ways to counteract the astringency, including heating Saran Wrapped-persimmons at about 100 degrees for several hours. Of course, gathering ultraripe persimmons, or soft fruits after the frost, will guarantee sweet fruit.

"These techniques help novices who might otherwise be reluctant to gather food without an assurance that every bite will be exactly the same."

From Food Editor Sarah Fritschner's 10/12/94"Foraging for Food Has Fallen on Hard Times" article in "The (Louisville, KY) Courier-Journal." Pg. C6. Posted by Cathy Harned.

Submitted By CATHY HARNED On 10-24-94

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