Your local forests and fields can seem like a wasteland in winter, with so many barren trees and frost-covered bushes.
It can feel disheartening for foragers who prioritize using wild foods, or beginners who are looking to learn.
But don’t let the biting cold put you off.
There are still plenty of surprising wild edibles that you can forage during winter months.
I manage to keep my cupboards well-stocked in this period – and so can you!
8 Beginner-Friendly Wild Edibles to Forage in Winter
It doesn’t take an expert to find these beginner-friendly wild edibles, no matter the weather.
Here are my eight favorite wild winter goods to forage from December to March.
1. Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)
The American black walnut is one of my favorite wild nut species, and I’m not the only one – this native nut is slowly becoming a staple for commercial and ornamental cultivation in the United States.
If you’re looking for wild food sources in winter and you live in the central and eastern US, black walnuts should be at the top of your list.
Ripe walnuts begin falling in September and October, so you’ll still find plenty in early winter – if the squirrels don’t get to them first!
Black walnuts are rich and aromatic, with a sharp earthy flavor. They have plenty of nutritional value too, being high in fiber, protein, and healthy fats. They can be incorporated easily into winter soups, stews, and baked goods.
The hulls of fully ripe nuts should be yellowish and tan. If they’ve turned black, the meat is probably rotten and best discarded.
2. Rosehips (Rosa spp.)
At the end of the year, these jewel-like red and orange fruits offer some of the brightest colors in the landscape.
While rosehips are pretty, people forget how flavorful and beneficial they can be as an edible food source.
Rosehips are the small fruits that emerge on rose bushes in late summer and remain on the branch through winter.
There are hundreds of species of rose bushes, both cultivated and wild, that produce edible rosehips, and their color, size, and shape vary between species.
Rosehips have a sweet-tart floral flavor and are most commonly used in jellies, syrups, and tea.
Their flavor can be made sweeter by frosts, making winter an ideal time to collect them. They are very healthy and packed with vitamins and antioxidants.
Pick your hips when their skin is smooth, firm, and brightly colored. Leave shriveled and shrunken rosehips for the birds.
These small fruits are full of hairy seeds that can irritate the skin and throat, so make sure to slice them in half and scoop out the seeds before using – and don’t forget to wear gloves!
3. Acorns
Yes, you read that right. Acorns aren’t just for arts and crafts – they are a surprisingly nutritious wild edible that can be foraged in abundance through winter and fall.
Those acorns piling up beneath your oak tree are high in vitamins and minerals including potassium, iron, and vitamin E, among others. Acorns also contain essential fatty acids.
Before you think of foraging acorns, keep in mind that processing these foraged nuts takes considerable work.
Acorns contain high levels of tannins which make them bitter, astringent, and even potentially toxic, so they have to be “leached” to reduce the amount of tannins and make them edible.
This process of soaking and boiling can sometimes take days at a time.
Once they are leached acorns are usually roasted to add flavor and ground down into flour. Acorn flour can be incorporated into breads, cakes, and stews, and even used in porridge and as a coffee substitute.
While you should only eat fully mature brown acorns, you can also store unripe green acorns in a dry place to give them time to ripen.
4. Dock Seeds (Rumex crispus)
Commonly known as yellow dock or sour dock, dock is a perennial plant in the buckwheat family. It grows in fields and farmlands and produces flowers on long stalks.
In fall the flower seeds turn a rusty reddish brown and will remain on the stalks in large clusters throughout winter.
Because dock plants grow so profusely and their color stands out in the winter landscape, foraging for dock seeds is relatively easy.
And since they’re considered an invasive weed, foraging them in large quantities is a net good for the environment!
Like acorns, most foragers use dock seeds to make a rudimentary wild flour. They are ground down and can be pre-roasted or left as they are.
Since dock seeds do not contain gluten, it is best to use them in conjunction with gluten flour when making bread and cakes.
Personally, my favorite way to use foraged dock flour is in wild seed crackers with plantain seeds, flax seeds, and wild fennel.
The density of the flour works well with these lighter seeds, and since dock seeds don’t have a strong flavor they can be mixed with many kinds of foraged edibles.
5. Hawthorn Berries (Crataegus)
Since it’s part of the rose family, you might consider the fruits of the hawthorn tree to be a cousin of rosehips.
These red berries, also known as ‘haws,’ are a powerful health booster you can pluck right off the tree during the coldest months of the year.
Haws are usually made into tinctures and teas, or eaten raw straight from the tree. They are high in vitamin C and contain pectin, so they can also be added to mixed fruit jams and jellies.
While their culinary uses may seem limited, their health benefits certainly aren’t.
Modern research suggests that these berries could have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and could even be used in diabetes and heart treatments.
Hawthorn berries have a long history as a herbal remedy in Europe and North America, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center.
It can also cause sedative effects and low blood pressure in high doses, so its use is not recommended for children or pregnant women.
6. Chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa and A. arbutifolia)
These native North American berries are garnering a reputation as a wild “super fruit” in foraging communities and beyond. There are two edible chokeberry cultivars: the black chokeberry and the red chokeberry.
Chokeberry shrubs are native to eastern North America and are most often found growing along river banks and streams, and along forest edges. They can also be found in some parts of western and southern America.
While chokeberries are typically harvested from late summer through to fall, they often remain on shrubs until early winter, which means you can often find plenty to forage when other fruit is scarce.
The fruit itself is rich in fiber, vitamin C, and other vitamins and minerals. However, its astringent flavor and grainy texture can be off-putting to some foragers.
If you enjoy the fruit, use it in jams, jellies, and syrups, or consider turning it into wine for a boozy health boost.
One of the best benefits of chokeberry harvesting is that birds tend to leave them alone through the winter, favoring other sweeter species. This means you’ll likely find plenty of fruits to harvest when other fruit trees are bare.
7. Burdock (Arctium minus)
Common burdock is an introduced wildflower plant native to Europe and considered an invasive, noxious weed in the US – meaning it’s perfect for foraging in abundance!
The leaves, stalks, and roots of the burdock plant are all edible, but the starchy taproot is the only part still alive and edible in winter.
Burdock is a biennial plant, meaning each plant has a lifespan of just two years. This is important to know, as the first year is the best time to harvest burdock roots for both nutrition and taste.
If the plant has a tall stalk with purple flowers, it is in its second year and is best left alone as the roots will be dry, tough, and emptied of nutrients.
Whether you want to harvest burdock root in winter depends on your tastes, and your aims as a forager.
Some swear by digging up burdock roots after the first hard frost of winter, as this is when the burdock plant sends its energy and nutrients down into the roots.
By harvesting burdock root in late December, you’ll be able to enjoy its health benefits at their most potent. Other foragers prefer to harvest in the fall when the roots are still green, more tender, and less bitter in taste.
8. Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)
Foraged and enjoyed across the globe, watercress is an excellent wild edible to add to your winter diet. Watercress is a semi-aquatic perennial plant that can be found growing in streams and waterways in most states.
It is an introduced member of the mustard family with small oval-shaped green leaves and four-petaled white flowers.
Watercress has a light, peppery flavor that works well as a fresh leafy green in sandwiches and salads. My favorite way to use it is to beef up hearty winter soups. It’s a remarkably flexible wild green.
This plant is nutrient-dense but especially high in vitamin K, an essential vitamin in ensuring bone and heart health and preventing blood clots. One serving of watercress can provide your daily recommended intake of vitamin K!
Because it grows in waterways, watercress can be exposed to toxic growing conditions making it unsafe to eat. For example, untreated water can carry microscopic parasites like Giardia.
Make sure you are able to check the water quality before you forage from streams and avoid foraging in waterways close to livestock, farms, and other human activity.
Important Disclaimer: Safety and Responsibility in Foraging
Before heading out into the wintry winter landscape to find your wild goods, make sure you take all necessary precautions to forage safely.
The most important thing is understanding how to accurately identify plants to avoid the risk of consuming toxic lookalikes.
If you aren’t 100% certain, leave it behind!
Awareness of local ecosystems and environmental conditions is also important. Avoid foraging in public spaces where pesticides are heavily used, and along roadsides that are exposed to exhaust fumes and other pollutants.
You should be able to access local and regional services that provide information on pesticide usage, local water quality, and more.
Responsible foraging also includes an understanding of how your actions affect the environment. Always avoid disrupting local ecosystems, harvest in moderation, and don’t harvest endangered species.
