Late summer foraging is an exciting time to find edible berries, flowers, mushrooms and more! Get started with this guide for beginners.

In the dog days of summer, it might be hard to imagine there are any edible things left growing that are worth foraging.

Around here in New England, lawns are parched and the air is humid. However, believe it or not, these are the conditions some late summer wild edibles show themselves if you know where to look!

Below I’ll share some of my favorite plants and mushrooms to forage in the late summer that are easy for beginners to identify after a few notes and a disclaimer:

Please use caution when foraging plants for consumption. Do not eat plants you are not comfortable with identifying. See my plant identification resource recommendations below.

Note: I am foraging in the Northeast of the United States. While many of the plants can be found all over the world, some of them are specific to this region!

Alright, let’s get into it!

Hi, I’m Leslie, Founder of PunkMed!

Thanks for stopping by the blog to learn about late summer foraging! I am the founder being PunkMed, where I love to write about foraging, gardening, urban homesteading and all things plants! If you have any questions feel free to DM me on Instagram @lesliepunkmed. I love to hear from my readers! Happy foraging!

This post is all about late summer foraging.

Late Summer Foraging Edible Plants

Black cherry (Prunus serotina)

Black cherries are much darker than the sweet cherry you may find in the grocery store, hence the name. Black cherries have been enjoyed by Native Americans for centuries, but are largely ignored by modern peoples.

How to Find: Prunus serotina is widespread across the midwest and eastern United States. The black cherry is a deciduous tree or shrub that can grow to 50 to 80 feet tall. However, a young black will be thin, with small lenticels (horizontal markings) on its bark resembling birch. The leaves are long, ovate, shiny dark green, with finely toothed margins. White, five petaled flowers give way to large, dark fruit widely spaced out on long racemes (4–6 in).

How to Eat: Black cherries, like many cherries, can be enjoyed raw, but also make excellent jams, jellies, juice, and fruit leather.

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)

Many might be hesitant to try a fruit with “choke” in the name. But, rest assured, chokecherry is completely edible and delicious!

How to Find: Chokecherries are highly related to the aforementioned black cherry–so much so that many don’t bother differentiating the two. However, chokecherries can be identified by their dull green broadly ovate laves with finely toothed margins and denser clusters of fruit–about 8-20 berries per raceme.

How to Eat: Wait until they are fully ripe and almost black before eating. The red berries can taste more astringent. Jelly and juice are probably the two most popular ways to enjoy chokecherry. To make a juice, place the berries in a pot with enough water just to cover and simmer until the berries soften. Strain and drink as-is or use for a jelly.

I have also used chokecherry juice to make a mead.

Elderberry (Sambucus spp.)

Elder (sometimes called elderflower or elderberry) are a common shrub or small tree found widely across the world. Most species (including the two found in North America, Sambucus canadensis and Sambucus nigra) have edible flower and berries, although the berries are only edible once cooked.

How to Find: Elder are common along roadsides and disturbed, sunny areas. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, pinnate with five to nine leaflets. In June, the shrub bears umbels of small, cream or white flowers that smell delicious and are edible. The flowers give way to dark purple to black berries in the late summer/early fall.

How to Eat: Elderberries are only edible once cooked. They make a nice syrup for ice creams and other desserts. Elderberry syrup is used in traditional medicine for colds and coughs. See my recipe for elderberry syrup.

Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)

While the name is slightly confusing, as this plant is definitely not an olive and can be found in the late summer, autumn olive is one of my favorite foraged fruits! It’s invasive to the United States, so don’t feel bad about harvesting abundantly.

How to Find: Autumn olive is a deciduous shrub or small tree that can be found throughout central and eastern United State. Also known as silverberry, the leaves of the autumn olive are covered in silvery scales that later fall off in the summer. However, the undersides of autumn olive leaves will still be quite silvery. The berry is small (1/4 -1/3 in), round, bright red and juicy, with silver or brown speckles. The skin of the autumn olive berry is quite thin, giving it almost a translucent appearance.

How to Eat: My favorite way to eat autumn olive fruit is out-of-hand. However, you can certainly use them to make jellies or jams. I’ve heard of autumn olive being used as a substitute for tomato, giving its sweet-tart taste and abundance of lycopene.

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)

Staghorn sumac is the species common in the eastern U.S., but sumac (Rhus spp.) is found all over the world. Sumac is a popular spice in Middle Eastern countries, and is an ingredient in the spice blend za’atar.

How to Find: Sumacs are an abundant shrub in the eastern U.S. They are perhaps most easily identified in the summer when their hairy red fruits ripen in dense clusters.

How to Eat: Sumac fruit has a tangy taste thanks to its high malic acid content. Sumac fruit can be dried and used as a lemony spice. Many also like to make “sumac lemonade” by steeping the fruit in cold water, straining, and sweetening with sugar or honey.

Giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea)

Giant puffballs are probably familiar to many as the alien soccer-ball sized fungus that they kicked around as a kid. But, giant puffballs are also edible and are a great source of protein!

How to Find: Giant puffballs can be found throughout temperature regions across the world, in fields, forests, and along foot trails. As the name suggests, giant puffballs can be huge–up to 8 to 20 inches to be exact. Puffballs are round to oval-shaped, completely solid, and lack gills.

How to Eat: Giant puffballs should only be eaten before they have matured and are still perfectly white. When harvesting a giant puffball cut through the mushroom where it was attached to the ground. If it is yellow or greenish, it is to old to consume.

Puffballs are commonly battered and fried, but they also make for a great meat replacement and can act a lot like tofu in vegan/vegetarian dishes.

Hen-of-the-woods or maitake (Grifola frondosa)

Hen-of-the-woods or maitake is a popular mushroom in the culinary world. Lucky for us, it can be foraged throughout much of the United States. It is especially common in the Northeast.

How to Find: Maitake is a polypore mushroom that grows at the based of old-growth trees like oak and maple. Hen-of-the-woods appears as a cluster of grayish-brown caps with wavy edges. Check the underside–polypores DO NOT have gills.

How to Eat: Maitake makes an excellent stir-fry mushroom.

Lobster mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum)

Lobster mushroom is neither a lobster or a mushroom, but rather a parasitic fungus that infects mushrooms and turns them its characteristic bright color. (And changes its shape and flavor!) Might not sound yummy, but give it a try!

How to Find: Lobster mushrooms are so named for their reddish orange color and shape that resembles a lobster’s tail.

How to Eat: Do not harvest old lobster mushrooms that have produced spores (looks like white powder) or have a strong fishy odor. Believe it or not, lobster mushrooms actually do have a mild seafood-y flavor. Their dense texture make them an excellent meat replacement.

This post was all about late summer foraging.

Other posts you may like:

• 17 BEST Gifts for Food Foragers | Gifts We Love!
• Spring Foraging Guide to Common Wild Edibles for Beginners
• How To Can Vegetables (12 Steps) | Your ULTIMATE Guide!
• What to Forage in July | 11 Summer Wild Edibles
• Complete Guide to Guerrilla Gardening

Summer foraging is one of my favorite activities as the weather heats up. There is an abundance of berries, flowers and mushrooms during this time that can’t be found the rest of the year. Read on for some of the easiest edibles to identify in the summer!

This post is all about summer foraging.

My favorite time of the year is here: summer foraging! If you are thinking of getting into foraging, now is the time to do it!

Many of the easiest plants and mushrooms to identify are available during this time. (For example all the grocery store berries available in the summer: raspberries, blackberries, blueberries etc.!) Plus, you’re probably going to be spending more time outside anyway–might as well look for some free food!

Before we get started with some common wild edibles for beginners, I want to share my top summer foraging tips.

Note: I am foraging in the Northeast of the United States. While many of the plants can be found all over the world, some of them are specific to this region!

Summer Foraging Tips

1. Wear insect repellant. The ticks and mosquitoes are out in full force in the summertime. It’s important to protect yourself, especially if you’re going to be wandering around in grassy areas. My favorite repellent is the REPEL Plant-Based Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent.
2. Wear sunscreen and sun protection. If you’re anything like me you could spend all day foraging! It’s easy to lose track of time and realize at the end of the day you’ve gotten a sun burn. That’s why I always recommend wearing a hat and reapplying sunscreen every few hours while you’re out foraging.
3. Wash off you foraged finds. Going back to my first tip, the summertime tends to be very buggy. Don’t be surprised to bring home a few friends with your foraged plants. I like to submerge my foraged finds in a basin of water and then rinse off to remove all insects and dirt.

This post was all about summer foraging.

Summer Wild Edible Plants

Summer Foraging | Edible Berries

Cherry (Prunus spp.)

Cherry trees can be found nearly everywhere! They are often planted as ornamentals in cities and suburbia, but there are a few species that are native to the Northeast and grow wild (like black cherry Prunus serotina, pin cherry Prunus pensylvanica, and chokecherry Prunus virginiana.)

How to Find: Cherries have alternate oval, lightly serrated leaves. Flowers typically have five petals and are white to light pink. Cherries are stone fruit, meaning the fleshy berries surround a single seed (the botanical name for this is “drupe”).

How to Eat: Cherries make excellent jams, jellies, juices, and fruit leathers.

Raspberry (Rubus strigosus)

Did you know this grocery store favorite can also be found wild in much of North America? That is, if you can get to them before the birds do!

How to Find: Rubus species are often called “brambles,” thorny thickets found at the edge of woods and yards. Raspberries have a deep red/purple round stem (called a “cane”). Their large, pinnate leaves (which can be used medicinally in teas) grow in leaflets of three to five. Raspberries are aggregate berries, meaning they are actually a cluster of numerous drupelets around a central seed.

How to Eat: I probably don’t need to tell you how to eat raspberries. They are probably best raw, eaten as a trail snack or atop yogurt and desserts. Freeze raspberries that you aren’t going to eat within three days for smoothies, etc.

Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis)

Blackberries are another supermarket favorite that can be found wild throughout North America, but the species likely to be found in the Northeast is Rubus allegheniensis.

How to Find: Blackberries look very similar to their raspberry cousins, but are distinct in a few key ways. Before berries appear in the summer, you can identify a blackberry cane because it will have one flat side (unlike the completely round raspberry canes.) Of course, the berry is a deep purple, but also when picking a blackberry the middle part of the berry (the “torus’) stays with the fruit. The torus stays on the plant when picking raspberries, and thus raspberries are hollow.

How to Eat: Blackberries are also best raw, eaten by the handful. I also particularly enjoy them in pies, like this Oregon blackberry pie.

Juneberry/Serviceberry/Saskatoon (Amalanchier spp.)

Juneberry is a fruit that goes by many names, but very few people have heard of these delicious berries! Severely underrated, juneberries look and taste a bit similar to blueberries, with a hint of almond. I find that “juneberry” is a bit of a misnomer, with fruit ripening closer to July-August where I live.

How to Find: Amalanchier species are shrubs or small trees that can be found across North America in sunny and well-drained areas, like at the edge of the woods or even along roadsides. Flowers have long, slender white petals that do not overlap. Berries are reddish-purple, about half an inch, and can range in shape from long and oval to round. Each berry contains several seeds that can be chewed and eaten (they have an almond-y flavor!)

How to Eat: Serviceberries are best fresh off the tree, but are also fantastic dried and enjoyed throughout the year!

Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium angustifolium)

Blueberries are another summer berry grown commercially, but can be found growing wild in their native Eastern U.S. and Canada habitat.

How to Find: “Highbush” blueberries are the taller version that are grown commercially, but they can be found around swamps or lakes. Highbush blueberries have much bigger berries than their “lowbush” counterparts, which are lying shrubs more likely to be found on a rocky hike.

How to Eat: Eat them by the handful on your next hike, or enjoy them as a jam, jelly, or in a pie!

Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)

Kousa dogwood is a common ornamental tree native to Eastern Asia found in front yards and public parks. It’s probably most recognizable for its funky fruit that most people do not realize are edible!

How to Find: The kousa dogwood is pretty conspicuous in spring when it blooms, putting out big flowers that appear to have four white petals which are actually leaves. The edible berries appear in the summer, and can be identified by their bright magenta color and distinct bumpy, alligator-like skin.

How to Eat: Kousa dogwood berries can be enjoyed eaten out-of-hand, or used to make a delicious wine.

Summer Foraging | Edible Mushrooms

Chicken-of-the-Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus)

Chicken-of-the-woods, AKA chicken mushroom, gets its name from its chicken-like flavor after cooking. That’s right–it tastes like chicken! Plus, it’s an easy beginner mushroom that can be harvested abundantly throughout the summer.

How to Find: Chicken-of-the-woods is also called “sulphur shelf” for its almost neon yellow-orange coloration and flat shelf-like structure. Chicken mushroom is a saprophyte, meaning it grows on dead and drying trees. Check the underside of the mushroom before harvesting–there should not be any gills.

How to Eat: Make sure to cook chicken-of-the-woods thoroughly, as it is possible to have an adverse reaction. Cook them in butter or your favorite oil. You can even batter and deep fry them like fried chicken!

Chanterelles (Cantharellus spp.)

Chanterelle mushrooms are a chef and foodie favorite due to their beauty, versatility, and delicate flavor.

How to Find: Chanterelles can be found all over the world! They are orange, yellow or white and trumpet or funnel-shaped. Most species have folds on the undersides that run from the cap to the stem. Chanterelles grow on the ground often in coniferous forests. Do not confuse them for their poisonous look-alike that grows on trees (sometimes buried wood) and glows in the dark, the aptly named Jack-o-Lantern mushroom.

How to Eat: Simply cook chanterelles in butter to experience them in their simplest form! They are traditionally served atop meat entrees.

Common Summer Wild Edibles

Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)

The black locust tree is actually a relative of the common pea, which is evident in the subtle pea-like flavor of the edible flowers. What makes the flowers stand out though, are their intoxicating aroma.

How to Find: Black locust trees bloom in late spring/early summer. The white to cream flowers emerge in cascading racemes about four to eight inches long. The bark is gray and tinged with reddish orange, with deep grooves that often form a diamond pattern. The black locust tree is most easily identified by its leaves, which are compound with paired leaflets running down the stem.

How to Eat: The vanilla-y fragrance of black locust flowers lends them well to desserts. They can also be cooked an eaten as a vegetable as in this black locust salad. Please note, the only edible parts of the black locust tree are the flowers.

Pineappleweed or Wild Chamomile (Matricaria discoidea)

Pineappleweed is a staple of summer foraging. Also known as wild chamomile, pineappleweed is actually neither pineapple nor chamomile but certainly tastes like a blend of the two. Matricaria discoidea is actually a member of the daisy family.

How to Find: Pineappleweed is a low-lying weed that is commonly found in disturbed soils: in parks, along footpaths, etc. It flowers from May to September, so it’s a good failsafe if you are out foraging and otherwise strike out! The flowerheads are made of densely packed yellow-green corollas (little petals and reproductive organs) that conveniently look like mini pineapples! Crush a flower in between your fingers to release it’s pineapple-y scent.

How to Eat: The refreshing flavor of pineappleweed can be enjoyed fresh atop salads and desserts. Alternatively, many people enjoy pineappleweed steeped in a tea.

Elder (Sambucus spp.)

Elder (sometimes called elderflower or elderberry) are a common shrub or small tree found widely across the world. Most species (including the two found in North America, Sambucus canadensis and Sambucus nigra) have edible flower and berries, although the berries are only edible once cooked.

How to Find: Elder are common along roadsides and disturbed, sunny areas. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, pinnate with five to nine leaflets. In June, the shrub bears umbels of small, cream or white flowers that smell delicious and are edible. The flowers give way to dark purple to black berries in the late summer/early fall.

How to Eat: My favorite way to eat elderflowers is to make a simple syrup and make cocktails or mocktails. I so enjoy the fragrance of elderflowers I often use an umbel as a garnish in a drink. Later in the season, I used elderberries to make elderberry syrup.

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)

Staghorn sumac is the species common in the eastern U.S., but sumac (Rhus spp.) is found all over the world. Sumac is a popular spice in Middle Eastern countries, and is an ingredient in the spice blend za’atar.

How to Find: Sumacs are an abundant shrub in the eastern U.S. They are perhaps most easily identified in the summer when their hairy red fruits ripen in dense clusters.

How to Eat: Sumac fruit has a tangy taste thanks to its high malic acid content. Sumac fruit can be dried and used as a lemony spice. Many also like to make “sumac lemonade” by steeping the fruit in cold water, straining, and sweetening.

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

St. John’s Wort is a flowering herb that has been used in traditional herbal medicine practices for centuries.

How to Find: It seems like the sunny yellow flowers of St. John’s Wort are nearly ubiquitous. St. John’s Wort can be found in meadows and in urban and suburban areas with disturbed soil. Look for a bright yellow flower with black dots along the edges of the petals, and five leaf-like sepals below.

How to Eat: St. John’s Wort is typically dried and prepared as an herbal tea. However, check with your doctor before use, and St. John’s Wort has properties that can interact with certain medications.

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

Mullein is another summer edible that has been used in traditional medicine for millennia. It can be found across the world, including the U.S., where it has been cheekily nicknamed “cowboy toilet paper” for its soft, wide leaves.

How to Find: Mullein is pretty distinct for a few reasons. The first year plant lies close to the ground, with its characteristic silvery-fuzzy leaves growing in a rosette pattern. Second year plants send up a tall (sometimes over 6 feet!) stalk that will bloom into a cluster of yellow flowers.

How to Eat: Mullein is typically dried and enjoyed as an herbal tea.

Beach Rose (Rosa rugosa)

Beach rose is one of my favorite summer edible plants because it can be found at my favorite place–the beach!

How to Find: Beach rose is actually native to Asia, but was planted ornamentally in the U.S. and has since become invasive. You can find beach rose on beach coasts and sand dunes. Flowers are dark pink to white with five petals. Take a whiff–beach rose smells absolutely divine!

How to Eat: Petals can be collected and made into a fragrant tea, simple syrup, ice cream, or jelly. You can also use the rosehips (AKA the fleshy orange part of the rose flower just below the petals that contains the rose plant seed) to make a jam!

Foraging Resources

This is my favorite field guide to finding edible plants in the Northeast and Central U.S.

This book is one of my favorites to recommend to beginners, as it covers the common edibles you can find in your own backyard. You don’t have to go far to find edible plants!

Note: Please use caution when foraging plants for consumption. Do not eat plants you are not comfortable with identifying. See my plant identification resource recommendations below.

---

Other posts you may like:

• 17 BEST Gifts for Food Foragers | Gifts We Love!
• Spring Foraging Guide to Common Wild Edibles for Beginners
• How To Can Vegetables (12 Steps) | Your ULTIMATE Guide!

Learn how to make seed balls to throw in your backyard, abandoned lots, or anywhere that could use a splash of native wildflowers.

Seed balls are actually an ancient technology that combines water, clay and seeds, shaping the mixture into marble-sized balls that are allowed to dry and harden in the sun.

The portable seed balls are then thrown wherever you want to plant. The next rain melts the clay, releasing the seeds into the soil.

The same basic process for making seed balls still stands today. However, the practice has been taken up by so-called guerrilla gardeners, activists who are reclaiming neglected urban land through gardening. Seed balls offer a hands-off way to sow seeds from a distance (maybe even over a fence!)

Whether you want to use seed balls to plant in your own backyard, or to participate in some guerrilla gardening these seed balls are a fun and rewarding project! Making seed balls is an especially fun project to do with kids!

This post is all about how to make seed balls.

How to Make Seed Balls Easy

Before you get started, make sure you have all your materials to make seed balls ready:

Ingredients to Make Seed Balls

• 5 parts compost
• 3 parts red clay
• 1 part wildflower seeds
• Water

Where to Find Clay

You may be able to use local clay if you live in an area with clay soils. Otherwise, you can buy dry red clay online or from your local pottery studio. Please note: not all clays are created equal–it has to be dry red clay to be safe for the seeds!

Note About Seeds

If you plan on throwing seeds outside of your own garden, it’s important to choose plants that grow natively in your area. Ask at your local plant nursery for native seeds that grow well without human intervention.

Native plants will grow easily, as well as provide the best food and habitat for your local pollinators and other wildlife.

While we’re considering ecological implications, never throw seeds in wild areas (like forests, wetlands, and other natural ecosystems.) Disturbed areas would appreciate the addition of the native seeds, but the same seeds mights pose a risk to wild areas.

Materials to Make Seed Balls

• Mixing bowl
• Cookie sheet (or other surface to lay seed balls out to dry)
• Parchment paper (optional)

Steps to Make Seed Balls

Step#1

Mix together five parts compost, three parts dry red clay, and one part native wildflower seeds in a large bowl.

Step #2

Add water a splash at a time and combine with your hands until the mixture turns into a thick dough-like texture.

Step #3

Roll the dough into small balls between your palms. They should be about marble-sized, or up to as big as a peanut M&M.

Step #4

Place the seed balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in a well-ventilated area to dry. I leave mine out on the porch in the sun.

Step #5

The seed balls should be dry within a few days. You are ready to throw your seed balls!

How to Plant Seed Balls

Plant seed balls at the rate of about ten balls per square yard of ground.

Remember, do not plant seed balls in wild areas!

---

Hi, I’m Leslie, the founder of PunkMed

Hey friend! I’m so glad that you stopped by the blog today to learn how to make seed balls. Let me know how it goes!

If you’re into gardening, urban homesteading, or living a more sustainable life–stick around! There are a good number of resources on my blog, and I always love to hear from my readers (that’s you!) Feel free to send me a DM on Instagram!

This post was all about how to make seed balls.

---

What to Read Next:

• Complete Guide to Guerrilla Gardening 2024
• 21 Excellent Vegetable Garden Ideas
• Beginners Guide to Apartment Composting

Looking to start your foraging journey this summer but don’t know what to forage in July? Start with these common wild edibles.

Foraging in July is an exciting time, especially where I live in the Northeast United States. Summer is in full swing, and berries, wildflowers, and certain edible mushrooms start to appear. Nature’s bounty is certainly on full display in July!

Please note that most of my recommendations for what to forage in July are best suited for the Eastern United States and Canada. However, I will include where you can find each plant and note where there are exceptions.

Foraging in the Summer

Before we dive in the common wild edibles to find in July, I want to offer my top tips for foraging in the summer:

• Things move fast in the summer. The warmer temperatures mean things mature and decay faster. The mushroom you see today may be not-so-delicious tomorrow.
• Check for bugs. insects are at peak activity during this time. Thoroughly check your foraging finds for bugs, even rinsing off or soaking what you can. Also, check yourself! Daily tick checks are a necessity in the summer.
• Be prepared to forage. The nice weather in the summer usually means more outdoors activities, and therefore more opportunities for foraging. You don’t want to be caught empty handed on an after dinner stroll when you come upon a prime specimen! I try to keep a knife and bag on me during most outdoor activities for this reason.
• Protect yourself. Outdoor time in the summer comes with unique potential risks. Remember what I said about summer insect activity? Protect yourself from mosquitoes and ticks by using insect repellant and wearing long-sleeved clothing. Also, wear your sunscreen!

Note: Please use caution when foraging plants for consumption. Do not eat foods you are not comfortable with identifying. See my plant identification resource recommendations below.

Alright, with that disclaimer aside, let’s get into it!

This post is all about what to forage in July.

What to Forage in July

Edible Berries

Cherry (Prunus spp.)

Cherry trees can be found nearly everywhere! They are often planted as ornamentals in cities and suburbia, but there are a few species that are native to the Northeast and grow wild (like black cherry Prunus serotina, pin cherry Prunus pensylvanica, and chokecherry Prunus virginiana.)

How to Find: Cherries have alternate oval, lightly serrated leaves. Flowers typically have five petals and are white to light pink. Cherries are stone fruit, meaning the fleshy berries surround a single seed (the botanical name for this is “drupe”).

How to Eat: Cherries make excellent jams, jellies, juices, and fruit leathers.

Raspberry (Rubus strigosus)

Did you know this grocery store favorite can also be found wild in much of North America? That is, if you can get to them before the birds do!

How to Find: Rubus species are often called “brambles,” thorny thickets found at the edge of woods and yards. Raspberries have a deep red/purple round stem (called a “cane”). Their large, pinnate leaves (which can be used medicinally in teas) grow in leaflets of three to five. Raspberries are aggregate berries, meaning they are actually a cluster of numerous drupelets around a central seed.

How to Eat: I probably don’t need to tell you how to eat raspberries. They are probably best raw, eaten as a trail snack or atop yogurt and desserts. Freeze raspberries that you aren’t going to eat within three days for smoothies, etc.

Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis)

Blackberries are another supermarket favorite that can be found wild throughout North America, but the species likely to be found in the Northeast is Rubus allegheniensis.

How to Find: Blackberries look very similar to their raspberry cousins, but are distinct in a few key ways. Before berries appear in the summer, you can identify a blackberry cane because it will have one flat side (unlike the completely round raspberry canes.) Of course, the berry is a deep purple, but also when picking a blackberry the middle part of the berry (the “torus’) stays with the fruit. The torus stays on the plant when picking raspberries, and thus raspberries are hollow.

How to Eat: Blackberries are also best raw, eaten by the handful. I also particularly enjoy them in pies, like this Oregon blackberry pie.

Juneberry/Serviceberry/Saskatoon (Amalanchier spp.)

Juneberry is a fruit that goes by many names, but very few people have heard of these delicious berries! Severely underrated, juneberries look and taste a bit similar to blueberries, with a hint of almond. I find that “juneberry” is a bit of a misnomer, with fruit ripening closer to July-August where I live.

How to Find: Amalanchier species are shrubs or small trees that can be found across North America in sunny and well-drained areas, like at the edge of the woods or even along roadsides. Flowers have long, slender white petals that do not overlap. Berries are reddish-purple, about half an inch, and can range in shape from long and oval to round. Each berry contains several seeds that can be chewed and eaten (they have an almond-y flavor!)

How to Eat: Serviceberries are best fresh off the tree, but are also fantastic dried and enjoyed throughout the year!

Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium angustifolium)

Blueberries are another summer berry grown commercially, but can be found growing wild in their native Eastern U.S. and Canada habitat.

How to Find: “Highbush” blueberries are the taller version that are grown commercially, but they can be found around swamps or lakes. Highbush blueberries have much bigger berries than their “lowbush” counterparts, which are lying shrubs more likely to be found on a rocky hike.

How to Eat: Eat them by the handful on your next hike, or enjoy them as a jam, jelly, or in a pie!

Edible Mushrooms

Chicken-of-the-Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus)

Chicken-of-the-woods, AKA chicken mushroom, gets its name from its chicken-like flavor after cooking. That’s right–it tastes like chicken! Plus, it’s an easy beginner mushroom that can be harvested abundantly throughout the summer.

How to Find: Chicken-of-the-woods is also called “sulphur shelf” for its almost neon yellow-orange coloration and flat shelf-like structure. Chicken mushroom is a saprophyte, meaning it grows on dead and drying trees. Check the underside of the mushroom before harvesting–there should not be any gills.

How to Eat: Make sure to cook chicken-of-the-woods thoroughly, as it is possible to have an adverse reaction. Cook them in butter or your favorite oil. You can even batter and deep fry them like fried chicken!

Chanterelles (Cantharellus spp.)

Chanterelle mushrooms are a chef and foodie favorite due to their beauty, versatility, and delicate flavor.

How to Find: Chanterelles can be found all over the world! They are orange, yellow or white and trumpet or funnel-shaped. Most species have folds on the undersides that run from the cap to the stem. Chanterelles grow on the ground often in coniferous forests. Do not confuse them for their poisonous look-alike that grows on trees (sometimes buried wood) and glows in the dark, the aptly named Jack-o-Lantern mushroom.

How to Eat: Simply cook chanterelles in butter to experience them in their simplest form! They are traditionally served atop meat entrees.

Common Wild Edibles in July

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)

Staghorn sumac is the species common in the eastern U.S., but sumac (Rhus spp.) is found all over the world. Sumac is a popular spice in Middle Eastern countries, and is an ingredient in the spice blend za’atar.

How to Find: Sumacs are an abundant shrub in the eastern U.S. They are perhaps most easily identified in the summer when their hairy red fruits ripen in dense clusters.

How to Eat: Sumac fruit has a tangy taste thanks to its high malic acid content. Sumac fruit can be dried and used as a lemony spice. Many also like to make “sumac lemonade” by steeping the fruit in cold water, straining, and sweetening.

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

St. John’s Wort is a flowering herb that has been used in traditional herbal medicine practices for centuries.

How to Find: It seems like the sunny yellow flowers of St. John’s Wort are nearly ubiquitous. St. John’s Wort can be found in meadows and in urban and suburban areas with disturbed soil. Look for a bright yellow flower with black dots along the edges of the petals, and five leaf-like sepals below.

How to Eat: St. John’s Wort is typically dried and prepared as an herbal tea. However, check with your doctor before use, and St. John’s Wort has properties that can interact with certain medications.

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

Mullein is another summer edible that has been used in traditional medicine for millennia. It can be found across the world, including the U.S., where it has been cheekily nicknamed “cowboy toilet paper” for its soft, wide leaves.

How to Find: Mullein is pretty distinct for a few reasons. The first year plant lies close to the ground, with its characteristic silvery-fuzzy leaves growing in a rosette pattern. Second year plants send up a tall (sometimes over 6 feet!) stalk that will bloom into a cluster of yellow flowers.

How to Eat: Mullein is typically dried and enjoyed as an herbal tea.

Beach Rose (Rosa rugosa)

Beach rose is one of my favorite summer edible plants because it can be found at my favorite place–the beach!

How to Find: Beach rose is actually native to Asia, but was planted ornamentally in the U.S. and has since become invasive. You can find beach rose on beach coasts and sand dunes. Flowers are dark pink to white with five petals. Take a whiff–beach rose smells absolutely divine!

How to Eat: Petals can be collected and made into a fragrant tea, simple syrup, ice cream, or jelly. You can also use the rosehips (AKA the fleshy orange part of the rose flower just below the petals that contains the rose plant seed) to make a jam!

Foraging Resources

This is my favorite field guide to finding edible plants in the Northeast and Central U.S.

Hi, I’m Leslie, the founder of PunkMed

Hey friend! I’m so glad that you stopped by the blog today to learn about what to forage in July. Let me know what you find this summer!

If you’re into wild food foraging, urban homesteading, or living a more sustainable life–stick around! There are a good number of resources on my blog, and I always love to hear from my readers (that’s you!) Feel free to send me a DM on Instagram!

This post was all about what to forage in July.

---

Other posts you may like:

• 17 BEST Gifts for Food Foragers | Gifts We Love!
• Everything You Need to Start Making Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide
• How To Can Vegetables (12 Steps) | Your ULTIMATE Guide!

Spring foraging season is an exciting time of year, as there are many buds, shoots, flowers, tender greens, and even mushrooms to find–and eat. Read one for some of my favoring common wild edibles to forage during this time of year.

Spring is my favorite time of year. Here in the Northeast, longer and warmer days are a welcome change after a long winter.

Of course, its during this time that greenery and evidence of new plant life almost suddenly springs up around us. If we look closer, a good number of the tender shoots and greens of spring are edible.

Spring is an exciting time to forage because many plants are only edible for a short window of time, and will grow too fibrous and woody to eat later in the year. Other plants are at their tenderest and tastiest during the spring. Finally, many edible flowers and mushrooms are only available in the spring.

Spring foraging can be a whirlwind, but this guide will help you identify, forage and prepare a few key common wild edibles available during this time to get you started. Let’s get into it!

This post is all about spring foraging.

Note: Please use caution when foraging plants for consumption. Do not eat foods you are not comfortable with identifying.

Spring Foraging Plants

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Dandelion are an excellent foraging find for beginners. Almost everyone can identify a dandelion! Dandelions are so named for their jagged, lions’ teeth leaves.

How to find: Early in the spring, dandelions can be identified by their leaves, which will be growing in a rosette shape low to the ground. The leaves look like arrow heads pointing away from the center of the rosette. Dandelion’s characteristic sunny flower shows later throughout the spring.

How to eat: Dandelion leaves are at their most delicious in the early spring, and can be eaten raw as a salad green. Eat them before the flower stalk comes up! However, all parts of the dandelion are edible, with the flower and root having medicinal properties. Try making a dandelion wine with the flowers.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica)

Stinging nettle gets its name from its fine, hair-like structures that contain irritants that burn or sting when touched. However, the early spring is the perfect time to collect stinging nettle because these hairs are not fully developed and you can harvest barehanded!

How to find: Why would you want to harvest such a feisty plant? Well, stinging nettle is chock full vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. As such, stinging nettle has been a staple health tonic in many ancient herbal medicine practices.

How to eat: The stinging hairs can be deactivated by cooking or drying. I like to drink nettle as a tea, and dry bunches of it in my dehydrator every spring. Stinging nettle can also be used as a replacement for spinach. Blanching is the ideal cooking method for stinging nettle. Blanch nettle by boiling in hot water for three minutes and cooling in an ice water bath.

Purple dead nettle (Lamium purpureum)

Dead nettle is so named because of its supposed resemblance to stinging nettle, but without the risk of getting stung (hence “dead.”) While dead nettle is not actually related to stinging nettle, it is quite common.

How to Find: Purple dead nettle is often considered a weed and can be found in lawns, urban areas, and disturbed soils all over the United States and Canada. Purple dead nettle often grows low to the ground (up to 7-8 inches) and has softly fuzzy leaves that are a gradient of green to purple to from the base to the top. Flowers are bright purple.

How to Eat: Purple dead nettle is completely edible. The tops of the young plants are especially tasty as a garnish or ingredient in salad. Use purple dead nettle anywhere you would use any other fresh green, keeping in mind the fuzzy leaves can be texturally off-putting for some.

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

Garlic mustard is invasive to North America. I would encourage you to pull the entire plant out of the ground when harvesting to do your part in controlling this pervasive plant!

How to find: Once you learn to identify garlic mustard, you will see it everywhere. Leaves are heart-shaped and broadly toothed. First-year plants grow in small rosettes close to the ground. These plants will become mature, flowering second-year plants the following season. However, garlic mustard is perhaps best identified by ripping a leaf off and giving it a whiff–it will smell like garlic!

How to eat: I recommend eating second-year plants, as they are bigger, leafier, and tastier. Garlic mustard is an excellent addition in garlicky and green recipes like pesto.

Fiddlehead ferns, or the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)

Fiddlehead ferns are the poster child of spring foraging. So called ‘fiddleheads’ are actually the immature fronds of the ostrich fern.

How to find: Mature ostrich ferns can be identified by their ostrich-feather appearance. The edible immature fronds have papery brown scales that can be scraped off before cooking.

How to eat: Do not eat fiddlehead ferns raw! Fiddlehead ferns need to be cooked before eating, as they contain a small amount of toxin that is removed by the cooking process. Fiddlehead ferns are an extremely tasty vegetable side that taste almost like asparagus.

Wild violet (Viola sororia)

Many know violets by their cultivars available in garden shops across the country. However, there is a wild violet (known as common blue violet) that is native to the eastern half of North America.

Wild violets are truly one of my favorite edible flowers to work with–they are so pretty and have some really interesting properties.

How to find: Wild violets are probably most recognizable by their purple, three-petaled flowers that droop slightly from the stem. (Some wild violets are white with purple streaking.) Wild violets have heart shaped leaves.

How to eat: Both the leaves and flowers of the wild violet are edible. Wild violet flowers are pretty, making them a natural candidate for desserts and garnishes. I often freeze violet flowers in ice cubes for a eye-catching addition to beverages.

Violets also make a stunning blue tea or simple syrup. Add an acid like lemon juice to the brew, and a chemical reaction will magically change the color of the brew from blue to pink.

Hemlock varnish shelf (Ganoderma tsugae)

You may have heard of reishi mushroom, due to its popularity in the Western health food scene in recent years. However, reishi (Ganoderma sichuanense) has been used in traditional Asian medicine for millennia. Reishi’s relative Hemlock varnish shelf (Ganoderma tsugae) grows on hemlock trees.

How to find: Hemlock varnish shelf can be found on conifers, but especially hemlocks. I have found Hemlock varnish shelf on eastern Hemlocks throughout the New England area in May and June. Hemlock varnish shelf is kidney shaped, and a shiny maroon color with yellow/white margins.

How to eat: Hemlock varnish shelf can be prepared for traditional medicinal purposes as you would with reishi. It’s too woody to be edible outright. I slice and dehydrate hemlock varnish shelf to be used in decoctions, like this mushroom chai tea.

Foraging Resources

This is my favorite field guide to finding edible plants in the eastern half of the United States.

Hi, I’m Leslie, the founder of PunkMed

Hello friend! I’m so glad that you stopped by my blog today. I had a blast sharing my favorite spring foraging finds. If you’re into foraging, urban homesteading, or living a more sustainable life–stick around! Be sure to join my email list, or come hang out on Instagram! 

This post was all about spring foraging.

---

Other posts you may like:

• 17 BEST Gifts for Food Foragers | Gifts We Love!
• How to Make Maple Syrup | The Complete Guide
• How To Can Vegetables (12 Steps) | Your ULTIMATE Guide!

Early spring foraging is one of the best times to find tasty common wild edibles in the Northeast. This is the complete guide to finding and eating some of my favorites.

Early spring is an exciting to get outside and forage for wild edibles in the Northeast. Mother Nature is just starting to awaken–days get longer, the temperatures rise, and trees start to bud.

It also happens to be a time when many edible plants plants are at their tastiest. In the early spring, you can forage shoots, tender greens, and immature fronds. Some plants’ roots and greens are tenderized by “overwintering,” AKA freezing over the winter and thawing in the spring.

Many of these same plants will become too fibrous or even dangerous to eat in later seasons.

Early spring foraging season is ephemeral. I encourage you to get out there and make the most of early spring foraging with my guide to some of my favorite edibles below!

This post is all about early spring foraging.

Note: Please use caution when foraging plants for consumption. Do not eat foods you are not comfortable with identifying.

Early Spring Foraging Edible Plants

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Dandelion are an excellent foraging find for beginners. Dandelions are so named for their jagged, lions’ teeth leaves.

How to find: In the early spring, dandelions won’t have put out their easily-identifiable yellow flowers. However, around this time dandelions can be identified by their leaves, which will be growing in a rosette shape low to the ground. The leaves look like arrow heads pointing away from the center of the rosette.

How to eat: Dandelion leaves are at their most delicious in the early spring, and can be eaten raw as a salad green. Eat them before the flower stalk comes up! However, all parts of the dandelion are edible, with the flower and root having medicinal properties.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica)

Stinging nettle gets its name from its fine, hair-like structures that contain irritants that burn or sting when touched. However, the early spring is the perfect time to collect stinging nettle because these hairs are not fully developed and you can harvest barehanded!

How to find: Why would you want to harvest such a feisty plant? Well, stinging nettle is chock full vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. As such, stinging nettle has been a staple health tonic in many ancient herbal medicine practices.

How to eat: The stinging hairs can be deactivated by cooking or drying. I like to drink nettle as a tea, and dry bunches of it in my dehydrator every spring. Stinging nettle can also be used as a replacement for spinach. Blanching is the ideal cooking method for stinging nettle. Blanch nettle by boiling in hot water for three minutes and cooling in an ice water bath.

Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica)

Japanese knotweed is a pernicious plant that is invasive to North America. Luckily, it is tasty and we can do our part to control populations by harvesting the shoots!

How to find: Edible Japanese knotweed shoots are available in early spring. They look sort of look like alien asparagus. Japanese knotweed shoots are green with red splotches, and will typically be thicker than commercial asparagus.

How to eat: Japanese knotweed can be enjoyed in savory and sweet applications. It is especially good pickled or used as a replacement for rhubarb in strawberry rhubarb pie. Check out Forager Chef’s guide to cooking with Japanese knotweed.

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

Garlic mustard is invasive to North America. I would encourage you to pull the entire plant out of the ground when harvesting to do your part in controlling this pervasive plant!

How to find: Once you learn to identify garlic mustard, you will see it everywhere. Leaves are heart-shaped and broadly toothed. First-year plants grow in small rosettes close to the ground. These plants will become mature, flowering second-year plants the following season. However, garlic mustard is perhaps best identified by ripping a leaf off and giving it a whiff–it will smell like garlic!

How to eat: I recommend eating second-year plants, as they are bigger, leafier, and tastier. Garlic mustard is an excellent addition in garlicky and green recipes like pesto.

Wild garlic/onion grass (Allium vineale)

Wild garlic (also known colloquially as onion grass) is another invasive plant to North America that can be pulled from the ground entirely.

How to find: Wild garlic is fairly easy to identify in the early spring, as it will appear in tufts that are taller and greener than any surrounding true grass. Upon closer inspection, you’ll see that wild garlic leaves are hollow. Wild garlic is easily identified by smell. Tear a leaf and give it a whiff–it will smell like garlic!

How to eat: Wild garlic bulbs are excellent cooked anywhere you might use garlic–maybe sautéed with a steak for example. On the other hand, wild garlic leaves can be used as a replacement for chives in omelettes, dressings, etc.

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Horsetail is a prehistoric plant that first appeared during the Jurassic period. Today, it is native to nearly every place on earth, excluding Australia, New Zealand, and Antartica.

How to find: Horsetail gets its name from it long, hair-like whorls of branches that resemble a horse’s tail. (To me they look more like a scared cat’s tail or pipe cleaner!) The edible fertile shoot is striped in appearance.

How to eat: Horsetail shoots can be cooked and eaten like green beans.

Cattail shoots (Typha spp.)

Cattails are a plant familiar to many worldwide. However, the plant is known by many names across the globe. There are several species native to North America.

How to find: If you’ve visited a wetland, you’ve likely seen the corndog-like cluster of the female flower atop a tall reed. Cattails can be found at the edge of lakes, swamps, marshes, streams, and other wet areas. However, the edible shoots are only available in the early spring.

How to eat: Cattail shoots can be eaten raw or cooked. When processing cattail shoots to eat, it helps to think of them like leeks (they certainly look like leeks!) I like this video from Forager Chef about processing cattail shoots.

Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)

You may have heard of evening primrose via the popular evening primrose oil health supplements, made from the seed oil that is rich in omega-6 fatty acids. However, I like evening primrose for its tastier parts!

How to find: Evening primrose is native to North America, and is considered a common weed that likes disturbed environments. As such, evening primrose is easily forage-able in urban and suburban areas!

How to eat: In the early spring, the young leaves can be eaten raw as a salad green. However, the tastiest part of the plant is my opinion is actually the root, which can be cooked and eaten like potatoes.

Fiddlehead ferns, or the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)

Fiddlehead ferns are the poster child of spring foraging. So called ‘fiddleheads’ are actually the immature fronds of the ostrich fern.

How to find: Mature ostrich ferns can be identified by their ostrich-feather appearance when they are mature and unfurled. The edible immature fronds have papery brown scales that can be scraped off before cooking. They also have a distinct U-shaped indent on the side of the stem.

How to eat: Do not eat fiddlehead ferns raw! Fiddlehead ferns need to be cooked before eating, as they contain a small amount of toxin that is removed by the cooking process. Fiddlehead ferns are an extremely tasty vegetable side that taste almost like asparagus.

Ramps (Allium tricoccum) 

Ramps have become very popular among foodies in recent years for their garlicky flavor. However, they’ve been eaten for many centuries by Native Americans across the eastern United States and Canada.

How to find: Ramps typically grow in clusters of about 5-6 bulbs and have broad, smooth light green leaves.

How to eat: Ramps have been over-harvested in recent years. While technically you can eat both the bulb and the leaf, it is recommended to take one leaf from a cluster in an effort to conserve the ramp population. Ramps can be compounded into butter, incorporated into dressings, soups, and omelettes–basically use anywhere you would use garlic!

White pine (Pinus strobus)

Pine is the quintessential evergreen of the Northeast. But, did you know, pine needles are actually a very useful plant in the home and the kitchen?

Pine needles are purported for their high levels of vitamin C–up to three times the amount found in oranges. 

How to find: Be careful identifying this one as some conifers are known to be toxic. There are some concerns around certain varieties of pine (Ponderosa pine, for example). Stick with Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) if you have concerns. White pine has five soft needles in a leaf packet.

How to eat: Pine needle tea is a traditional preparation to extract pine’s healthy goodness. Just collect, chop and steep a couple of tablespoons of pine needles in water for at least 5 minutes, like you would tea.

Another fun culinary use is to make pine sugar. Blend up equal parts pine needles and sugar until the needles are incorporated and the mixture is uniformly green. This is excellent in holiday cookies or as the sugar rim for festive cocktails.

Maple sap (Acer spp.)

Making maple syrup is a fun late winter/early spring tradition. You can tap any maple tree that grows in the Eastern United States and Canada for sap, but sugar maples (Acer saccharinum) have the sweet sap. Maple trees are ready to tap when the overnight temperatures are below freezing and the daytime temperatures are around 40-45°F.

How to find: Maple tree leaves are lobed, with veins originating from the center to each point (usually 3-9 lobes depending on the species). Leaves turn brilliant colors (yellow, orange and red depending on the species) in the fall.

How to eat: Perhaps the most telling characteristic of the maple tree is it’s fruit. Often called “helicopters” or “whirlybirds,” the maple fruit has two wings attached that spin as they fall.

Read more in my guide on how to make maple syrup.

Birch sap (Betula spp.)

Why let maple syrup get all the fame? Just like maple syrup is the boiled down product, so too can you reduce birch sap into a sweet syrup. Birch sap runs a little later than maple sap, making this the perfect early spring foraging project. Birch sap season lasts until green leaves appear on the trees, usually sometime in April.

How to find: Birch trees are marked with long, horizontal “lenticels” that look like scars across the tree.

How to eat: Find a healthy tree that is at least 8 inches in diameter around the base. To tap a birch tree, drill a small hole slightly upwards a few centimeters into the tree. Insert a pipe or straw that fits the hole you created. The pipe should direct sap into a collection vessel secured below.

Boil sap over a flame outside (there will be a lot of evaporation) until it reduces to a brown, sweet liquid. Bring indoors to finish boiling on the stovetop until it reaches a syrupy consistency.

Birch syrup has more of a complex flavor compared to maple syrup. Enjoy birch syrup in ice cream, sodas, or even as in savory dishes as a sauce or glaze.

Hi, I’m Leslie, the founder of PunkMed

Hey friend! I’m so glad that you stopped by the blog today to learn about early spring foraging. Let me know what you find!

If you’re into wild food foraging, urban homesteading, or living a more sustainable life–stick around! There are a good number of resources on my blog, and I always love to hear from my readers (that’s you!) Feel free to send me a DM on Instagram!

Foraging Resources

This is my favorite field guide to finding edible plants in the Northeast and Central U.S.

This post is was all about early spring foraging.

---

Other posts you may like:

• 17 BEST Gifts for Food Foragers | Gifts We Love!
• How to Make Maple Syrup | The Complete Guide
• Everything You Need to Start Making Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

This is the complete guide on how to make maple syrup. Learn the process step-by-step, from identifying and tapping the trees, to boiling the sap.

Growing up in New England, maple syrup was part of the culture. Of course we enjoyed maple syrup on our pancakes like many Americans, but I was even lucky enough to visit multiple “maple sugaring” events and tours held at local farms.

Maple syrup is made commercially throughout the Eastern United States and Canada. These areas are home to the sugar maple (Acer saccharum), the tree supplying most commercial maple syrup production.

Despite my upbringing, it wasn’t until a few years ago when my dad retired that we began our own maple sugaring adventure at home. Since then, I have learned the entire process of making maple syrup at home from him.

If you have access to a few maple trees, I highly recommend learning how to make maple syrup. It’s a rewarding hobby that yields one of nature’s most delicious products.

Plus, maple sap is one of the only forage-able items at the end of winter/early spring in the Northeast. For me, maple sugaring is always welcome sign of spring!

This post is all about how to make maple syrup.

How is Maple Syrup Made?

Sap is a liquid inside trees that is responsible for transporting nutrients throughout the tree. Think of sap as like the trees’ blood! Sap is mostly made of water, but it contains a small amount of sugar, mostly in the form of sucrose.

Maple syrup is made by boiling maple sap. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind the sugars to create a concentrated sweet syrup.

Native Americans made maple syrup for a long time before colonial settlers came and adopted the practice. Today, maple syrup is a big industry, especially in Canada. However, it is possible to make your own maple syrup at home if you have access to maple trees.

How to Identify Maple Trees

It’s probably easiest to identify maple trees before they shed their leaves in the fall. I recommend scouting for maples to tap in the spring, summer and fall when they can be more easily identified for tapping (which happens in the winter).

Maple tree leaves are lobed, with veins originating from the center to each point (usually 3-9 lobes depending on the species). Leaves turn brilliant colors (yellow, orange and red depending on the speciies) in the fall. Maple trees are deciduous, meaning they drop their leaves in the fall.

Perhaps the most telling characteristic of the maple tree is it’s fruit. Often called “helicopters” or “whirlybirds,” the maple fruit has two wings attached that spin as they fall.

Maple Tree Species for Making Maple Syrup

While you can tap any maple tree that grows in the Eastern United States and Canada, there are only a couple species that produce enough sap with enough sugar to be considered for making maple syrup. However, I encourage you to experiment with any of the maples below!

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) – The sugar maple is the primary tree used in commercial maple syrup making because it produces the most sap with the highest sugar content. Sugar maples are long lived and can grow taller than other maples. Their bark has a white-washed, craggy appearance. Most notably, the leaves are 5-lobed with rounded edges between lobes (other maple leaves have angular inner lobes).

Black maple (Acer nigrum) – Black maple is the second favorite of the maple sugaring industry, as it is actually closely related to the sugar maple. The main distinguishing feature is that the black maple has a three-lobed leaf (as opposed to the five lobes of the sugar maple).

Red maple (Acer rubrum) – Red maple gets its name from it’s red leaves in the fall and round, red buds in the spring. The red maple leaf has five sharply-toothed lobes. I personally have not had much luck collecting sap from red maples, but you should give it a try!

Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) – Also known as the “swamp maple”, this is the most common maple in the wetlands behind my parents’ home where we tap. Silver maple can often be found in wet areas. The silver maple leaf have 5 deep, angular lobes with jagged tips. The leaf stalk and underside is silvery.

When to Tap Maple Trees

Maple trees are ready to tap in the late winter to early spring when the overnight temperatures are below freezing and the daytime temperatures are around 40-45°F. The temperature fluctuations build pressure, allowing sap to flow from taps.

The typical maple sugaring season lasts four to six weeks. Remove your taps when the tree starts to bud.

Also, it’s worth noting that climate change is pushing maple tapping season earlier in the year.

How to Tap Maple Trees

Maple Tapping Equipment

• Cordless drill
• Maple tapping drill bit*
• Spiles or spouts*
• Mallet
• Sap collection container with lid
• Tubing [optional]

I like this complete maple tapping kit.

*Note: The spile diameter should match the drill bit, so check these sizes before purchasing. I use 5/16 drill bit and spouts.

1. Choose your tree. The maple tree should be at least 10-12″ in diameter. Otherwise, you risk harming the tree.
2. Drill a hole. Using a cordless drill and a maple tapping drill bit that is the same size as your spiles, drill a 1.5-2″ deep hole at a convenient height.
3. Insert spile/spout. Place your spile or spout in the hole. Use a mallet to gently tap the spile into place.
4. Set up sap collection container. Many spiles come with hooks to hang a bucket or other sap collection container below the spout. I use 5/16 tubing that connects to old plastic milk gallon jugs that are placed on the ground. Either way, sap should drop into the container via gravity. Make sure your sap collection container is enclosed or has a lid to keep out bugs!
5. Check containers daily. Make it a habit to check our containers at least daily. When the sap is flowing, you may be surprised by how quickly the containers can fill!
6. Remove spiles/spouts at the end of the season. Remember to remove your spiles and spouts at the end of maple sugaring season. No need to plug the holes–the tree will heal itself so long as you don’t tap the same hole next year!

How to Make Maple Syrup | Step-by-Step Instructions

Equipment to Make Maple Syrup

• 6″ deep stainless steel restaurant warming trays
• Over-fire grate or other structure to hold trays
• Fire starting materials
• Cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer
• Candy thermometer
• Stockpot
• Containers to store syrup

How Much Sap Do You Need to Make Maple Syrup?

Conventional wisdom says that the ratio of maple sap to syrup is about 40:1. That is, you’ll need 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup! However, I’ve learned to expect a ratio more like 60:1 for less productive species (or those with less sugar in their sap) than the sugar maple, like the silver maple I typically tap.

Steps to Make Maple Syrup

#1 Collect the sap.

Collect the sap you’ll need to make your desired amount of maple syrup. Note that boiling sap can take all day, so it is unlikely you’ll be able to boil a whole gallon of syrup in a day. Most people work in batches over the course of the maple sugaring season. I recommend planning on boiling up to a quart of syrup a day at maximum (10-15 gallons of sap).

#2 Build a fire outside.

Sap boiling needs to happen outside, as sap is mostly water and the moisture released will steam up your whole house.

#3 Place heat-proof grate over fire.

The grate will hold your sap over the flame. Keep your grate about 3-4″ above the flame. You don’t want to burn the sap!

#4 Place restaurant warming tray(s) on top of grate.

The restaurant warming trays will hold your sap. I like to have at least two trays going at one time.

#5 Fill tray(s) with sap.

Each tray should hold about two gallons of sap.

#6 Let it boil!

Bring sap to boil over an open flame. I recommend starting this process in the morning as it can take all day! Keep the fire stoked during this time. Continually add sap as it boils down. Also, make sure to skim off any foam that forms at the surface of the sap as it boils. Otherwise, the foam can burn. I use a soup ladle to do this.

#7 Strain at pre-syrup stage.

Move the sap from the outdoor fire to be finished indoors on the stovetop at the pre-syrup stage. Identifying the pre-syrup stage is more of an art than a science. Look for a rich brown color, sweet smell, and a slightly more viscous consistency. Strain the pre-syrup through a cheesecloth or other fine mesh strainer and transport inside.

#8 Finish syrup indoors.

Place the pre-syrup in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Let it come to a boil and reduce by about half. However, it’s important to monitor the pre-syrup with a candy thermometer during this time to know exactly when to take the syrup off the heat. The syrup is ready when it reaches 219°F, is a golden brown, and viscous.

#9 Store your maple syrup and enjoy!

Store maple syrup in a cool, dry place. Once opened, maple syrup needs to be stored in the refrigerator. Maple syrup will last about a year.

Hi, I’m Leslie, the founder of PunkMed

Hey friend! I’m so glad that you stopped by the blog today to learn how to make maple syrup. Let me know how it goes!

If you’re into wild food foraging, urban homesteading, or living a more sustainable life–stick around! There are a good number of resources on my blog, and I always love to hear from my readers (that’s you!) Feel free to send me a DM on Instagram!

This post was about how to make maple syrup.

---

Other posts you may like:

• 17 BEST Gifts for Food Foragers | Gifts We Love!
• Early Spring Foraging Guide for the Northeast
• Everything You Need to Start Making Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide