May 14, 2013
Truth be told, my stomach for green things had a threshold sitting somewhere below sea level until I was into my early twenties. Shameful, I know. Since then, I’ve been anxious to at least try new vegetation (I didn’t say I’d like it), and fiddleheads—the furled fronds of young ferns—are high on my list. There are some caveats to harvesting these adolescent springtime delicacies yourself, up to and including potential food poisoning and natural toxins if you don’t know your way around a woodland harvest. But one of our own experts, John Mickel (NYBG senior curator emeritus, fern expert, and secretary of the New York Fern Society for decades) was on hand to put at least one concern to rest in this quick rundown of the latest trend in foraged food. As always, don’t eat anything wild without knowing what you’re doing. And be sure to have a thorough understanding of your area’s collection laws; if you don’t know the status of what you’re picking, and it’s not your land, best to leave it alone. Click through for the fiddlehead rundown, complete with preparation tips. —MN

Truth be told, my stomach for green things had a threshold sitting somewhere below sea level until I was into my early twenties. Shameful, I know. Since then, I’ve been anxious to at least try new vegetation (I didn’t say I’d like it), and fiddleheads—the furled fronds of young ferns—are high on my list.

There are some caveats to harvesting these adolescent springtime delicacies yourself, up to and including potential food poisoning and natural toxins if you don’t know your way around a woodland harvest. But one of our own experts, John Mickel (NYBG senior curator emeritus, fern expert, and secretary of the New York Fern Society for decades) was on hand to put at least one concern to rest in this quick rundown of the latest trend in foraged food.

As always, don’t eat anything wild without knowing what you’re doing. And be sure to have a thorough understanding of your area’s collection laws; if you don’t know the status of what you’re picking, and it’s not your land, best to leave it alone. Click through for the fiddlehead rundown, complete with preparation tips. —MN

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(Notes: 34)
  
Filed under: fiddleheads ferns plants food eating John Mickel 
April 12, 2013

Malaysian artist Hong Yi set out with one goal—to play with her food in ways not seen since Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Though, admittedly, her methods are a bit more nuanced than those of Richard Dreyfuss.

With spring’s gardening soon to begin, this pared portraiture seemed apt! Click through for more from this tasty collection. —MN

(Source: nprfreshair)

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(Notes: 326)
  
Filed under: Hong Yi food art vegetables spring 
April 2, 2013

Entirely edible, pickle-able, and marmalade-able, the finger lime has seen some culinary success down under in the last decade. Each globe of the finger lime’s “caviar” is actually a vesicle filled with juice. And that sounds kind of strange up until you realize how well this would work as a topping for fruit salad, frozen yogurt, certain cocktails… Australia, how do you feel about exporting samples to a certain set of citrus-starved New Yorkers? —MN

plant-a-day:

Photos courtesy of Green Life Studios, idtools, and garden at heart.

Citrus australasica aka Australian Finger Lime and Caviar Lime.

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(Notes: 399)
  
Filed under: Citrus australasica Australian Australia Finger Lime Caviar Lime fruit food plants botany tree citrus 
January 31, 2013
Pandanus tectorius, a.k.a. the thatch screwpine. This is one of those economic boon plants useful for so many things. The fruit is edible raw, and the leaves can be used for flavoring, sweetening, or fashioning all sorts of stuff. Warranted you’re on a Pacific island like those of Hawaii and Micronesia, you might even get to try out this vegetal supernova yourself! —MN karaokay: Fruit of the Hala or Puhala Tree seed pod WOW

Pandanus tectorius, a.k.a. the thatch screwpine. This is one of those economic boon plants useful for so many things. The fruit is edible raw, and the leaves can be used for flavoring, sweetening, or fashioning all sorts of stuff.

Warranted you’re on a Pacific island like those of Hawaii and Micronesia, you might even get to try out this vegetal supernova yourself! —MN

karaokay:

Fruit of the Hala or Puhala Tree seed pod

WOW

(Source: your-maj3sty)

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(Notes: 9,063)
  
Filed under: screwpine hala puhala fruit plants botany Hawaii Micronesia food 
October 5, 2012
My brain says “tomato,” but my heart says “candy-coated gummy confection of fantastical provenance.” —MN flowerfood: A Green Zebra tomato that I cut in half and marveled at a couple of nights ago.

My brain says “tomato,” but my heart says “candy-coated gummy confection of fantastical provenance.” —MN

flowerfood:

A Green Zebra tomato that I cut in half and marveled at a couple of nights ago.

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(Notes: 143)
  
Filed under: tomatoes Green Zebra plants food 
August 22, 2012
Peaches, Beautiful and Fleeting, Thanks to Fuzzy Thin Skin Finding a good apple at any time of year is about as easy as opening your mailbox. I’m pretty sure they stuff them in with the junk mail. But getting your mitts on a decent post-summer peach is more like finding the holy grail; I’m not saying you need Harrison Ford and Sean Connery to make it happen, but you might have to travel some. So why, in our age of speedy international trade and worldwide harvests, is it so hard to pin down a bushel of peaches some seasons when so much produce is available year round? Well, when it comes to this particular hand fruit, thin skin means more than just hurt feelings. —MN

Peaches, Beautiful and Fleeting, Thanks to Fuzzy Thin Skin

Finding a good apple at any time of year is about as easy as opening your mailbox. I’m pretty sure they stuff them in with the junk mail. But getting your mitts on a decent post-summer peach is more like finding the holy grail; I’m not saying you need Harrison Ford and Sean Connery to make it happen, but you might have to travel some.

So why, in our age of speedy international trade and worldwide harvests, is it so hard to pin down a bushel of peaches some seasons when so much produce is available year round? Well, when it comes to this particular hand fruit, thin skin means more than just hurt feelings. —MN

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(Notes: 39)
  
Filed under: Peaches plants food 
August 9, 2012
"It’s important to bring your kids into the kitchen. When they’re part of the process, they are never fearful of ingredients."

—

Mario Batali on Botanical Dinners, Michigan Love and Duck Testicles | New York City

“Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens” are part of The Edible Garden a celebration of families and food in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.

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(Notes: 15)
  
Filed under: Mario Batali The New York Botanical Garden Kids Food Cooking Gardening The Edible Garden Mario Batali's Kitchen Gardens 
July 27, 2012
thedirtexperiment: These tomatoes are so pretty, they have this neat starburst pattern on their tops. Sometimes the #gardening tag dredges up some weird undertakings. This is not one of those times. These gem-like black plum tomatoes snugly fit the bill for our ongoing summer crush on the fruit, and, true to my most recent fixation, they’re an heirloom variety. Russian, in fact! In hot weather, they have a tendency to take on an almost black color, hence the name. Their flavor is often described as smoky, spicy, and sweet, all at once. —MN

thedirtexperiment:

These tomatoes are so pretty, they have this neat starburst pattern on their tops.

Sometimes the #gardening tag dredges up some weird undertakings. This is not one of those times. These gem-like black plum tomatoes snugly fit the bill for our ongoing summer crush on the fruit, and, true to my most recent fixation, they’re an heirloom variety. Russian, in fact!

In hot weather, they have a tendency to take on an almost black color, hence the name. Their flavor is often described as smoky, spicy, and sweet, all at once. —MN

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(Notes: 29)
  
Filed under: tomato gardening food black plum tomato heirloom 
July 24, 2012
everybodyhasatheory: Freeze and preserve fresh herbs in olive oil - brilliant! My first thought: “HERBAL CHEESE?” Yeah, no, not even close. But this is a clever means of preserving those “hard” herbs you might buy fresh, like thyme, rosemary, sage, and oregano. More importantly, I’m left wondering how these might fare, taste-wise, as ice cubes in a Bloody Mary. Is drinking frigid olive oil taboo by foodie standards? —MN

everybodyhasatheory:

Freeze and preserve fresh herbs in olive oil - brilliant!

My first thought: “HERBAL CHEESE?” Yeah, no, not even close. But this is a clever means of preserving those “hard” herbs you might buy fresh, like thyme, rosemary, sage, and oregano. More importantly, I’m left wondering how these might fare, taste-wise, as ice cubes in a Bloody Mary. Is drinking frigid olive oil taboo by foodie standards? —MN

(Source: )

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(Notes: 100)
  
Filed under: food herbs preservation plants vegetarian 
June 21, 2012
Wow, does anyone have any thoughts on what has made the price of peppers skyrocket over the last 30 years? Yet another great reason to grow your own! Also, you should take a look at this charticle documenting the change in what Americans eat over that same time period. I’m actually quite surprised by the drop in dairy consumption, but am not surprised in the least by the rise in processed foods and sweets.  What America Spends On Groceries : Planet Money : NPR via Bon Appetit. ~AR

Wow, does anyone have any thoughts on what has made the price of peppers skyrocket over the last 30 years? Yet another great reason to grow your own!

Also, you should take a look at this charticle documenting the change in what Americans eat over that same time period. I’m actually quite surprised by the drop in dairy consumption, but am not surprised in the least by the rise in processed foods and sweets.  What America Spends On Groceries : Planet Money : NPR via Bon Appetit. ~AR

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(Notes: 16)
  
Filed under: Food Produce Food Prices America What We Eat Food Politics 
June 19, 2012
From Garden Weeds, Unexpected Meals We occasionally call on field foraging expert and botanist of many talents Daniel Atha to provide insight into the seldom-explored world of edible weeds. There’s so much culinary potential growing right in front of us, it’s completely baffling that so few have picked up on it. Worse yet, that so many pick and toss the good stuff. The New York Times recently threw up a handy primer on unknown edibles in the form of a slideshow. From Jersey, of all places. Just know before you hit up the ditch on the side of the turnpike that foraging only works out when you know what you’re eating. And when it’s done intelligently and legally, for that matter. —MN

From Garden Weeds, Unexpected Meals

We occasionally call on field foraging expert and botanist of many talents Daniel Atha to provide insight into the seldom-explored world of edible weeds. There’s so much culinary potential growing right in front of us, it’s completely baffling that so few have picked up on it. Worse yet, that so many pick and toss the good stuff.

The New York Times recently threw up a handy primer on unknown edibles in the form of a slideshow. From Jersey, of all places. Just know before you hit up the ditch on the side of the turnpike that foraging only works out when you know what you’re eating. And when it’s done intelligently and legally, for that matter. —MN

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(Notes: 53)
  
Filed under: foraging weeds wild plants edibles food vegetables 
April 12, 2012
tmagazine: With a little imagination, you can have your dress and eat it, too. Wow! Food, fashion, and gardening collide in a truly surreal nod to Arcimboldo courtesy of T Magazine. ~AR

tmagazine:

With a little imagination, you can have your dress and eat it, too.

Wow! Food, fashion, and gardening collide in a truly surreal nod to Arcimboldo courtesy of T Magazine. ~AR

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(Notes: 198)
  
Filed under: Arcimboldo Food Fashion Vegetables 
September 13, 2011
Food: the Universal Communicator

NYBG AVP for Children’s and Public Education wrote this great piece on the intersection of food, museums, and community for the Center for the Future of Museums.

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(Notes: 29)
  
Filed under: Food Museums The New York Botanical Garden Education Communities 
May 12, 2011
Bronx Charter Makes Eating Well Part of Its Philosophy

One New York City charter school took the health of its students (and teachers) by working to emulate the way private schools handle lunches. The result? Healthier, happier students, and lower food costs.

(Source: foodnewsjournal.com)

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(Notes: 5)
  
Filed under: School Lunches Healthy Kids Food Food Politics 
April 14, 2011
When scientists bake for another scientist’s birthday, they make deliciously nerdy cookies like these featuring bacteria colonies (streaks and colonies!), DNA gels, and … cows. The cookies were baked in honor of Director of Plant Genomics and Cullman Curator, Amy Litt (last seen over on the NYBG Blog talking about her windowsill garden).

When scientists bake for another scientist’s birthday, they make deliciously nerdy cookies like these featuring bacteria colonies (streaks and colonies!), DNA gels, and … cows. The cookies were baked in honor of Director of Plant Genomics and Cullman Curator, Amy Litt (last seen over on the NYBG Blog talking about her windowsill garden).

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(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: Food Science Geekery When Scientists Bake Cookies Genetics The New York Botanical Garden 
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