Some of these roots are safe to eat raw, but they’ll taste very bitter. Identify hickory trees by their long leaves and bark. Identify the other leaves by the nuts growing from their branches. [3] X Research source Since hickory, walnut, and pecan are trees, they have thick roots. If you have a heavy shovel or pickaxe, you can break up the thick portions. Otherwise, follow the roots until they start getting thinner and easier to break.
Work on a flat surface so you don’t lose any roots after you cut them up. Cut as much as you can fit into the pot you boil the water in. There isn’t a huge amount of salt in the plants, so you’ll need a lot of root to get a good serving.
You can do this on a stove, barbeque, or over a campfire. Always be careful when using flames outdoors. Don’t put hot objects down on dry surfaces, or you risk starting a fire.
The time this takes depends on the root size. Smaller roots may only take 8-10 minutes. Larger ones take over 10 minutes. Monitor the water to see when the best time to remove the roots is. Be careful removing the root pieces. Remember that the water is boiling. Don’t touch the pot or water directly.
Depending on how much water you used, it could take 20 minutes or more for it to evaporate completely.
The substance is not harmful if you eat it plain, but it may taste bitter. Mix it with food to avoid the bitterness. This substance may start rotting in a few days, so use it quickly.
Leaves from this plant are particularly high in salt. If there are dandelions and coltsfoot in the same area, distinguish between the plants by the coltsfoot’s distinctive leaves. Also, the flowers on coltsfoot have slightly red tips, unlike dandelions which are all yellow. Coltsfoot only produces flowers in the spring, so if no flowers are present, look for the leaves.
Coltsfoot usually grows in clusters, so there should be plenty of leaves around to use.
This process may take up to 3 days. You can make the process faster by finding leaves that are already dried out. Look around the coltsfoot plants for leaves that have fallen off and started drying out.
The leaves will be brittle if they’re very dry, so roll carefully. Don’t lose big chunks of the leaves.
Blow on the flame lightly to feed oxygen into the fire.
Do this somewhere you’re shielded from the wind. A good gust could scatter all your ashes and you’ll have to start all over again.
Note that the coltsfoot ashes don’t taste especially salty. They aren’t meant to add salt flavoring to food, but rather to provide you with a source of sodium in the wild. Since this substance is burned, you can store it in a container for several weeks.
