Wild Food Guide — 'N'

Welcome to the Celtnet guide to wild foods. As this recipe site has grown it has become obvious that to allow people to replicate some of the more ancient recipes on this site (especially from the Ancient, Roman and Medieval periods it is necessary to list modern alternatives but also to produce a guide so that the curious can find the original (often wild) ingredients for themselves. These pages are an attempt at bringing all these potentially useful and often forgotten wild foods together into one place. To use this guide simply click on the first letter of your term above or below. Alternativey why not just browse through the terms. You may well find something that surprises you!

This page covers wild foods beginning with the letter 'N' and includes both common and scientific names.

Nanohana	Nasturtium nasturtium-aquaticum	Nasturtium officinale
Naughty Man	Navelwort	Navew
Nepeta glechoma Benth	Nepeta hederacea (L.) Trevir	Nettles (Stinging)
Nipplewort	Nori	Nosebleed plant

Example Entry

Below, you will find an example wild food entry produced randomly from our database:

Wild Food Entry For: Wild Marjoram

This is the description page for Wild Marjoram (Origanum vulgare) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the wild foodstuff: Wild Marjoram.

Wild Marjoram, Origanum vulgare, is actually oregano and is a member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. It is a perennial plant that is small and compact in its wild form, rarely growing above 20cm in height. Its name derives from the Greek origanon [ὀρίγανον]: oros [ὄρος] 'mountain' + the verb ganousthai [γανοῦσθαι] 'delight in' which refers to the appearance of the plant spreading across mountainsides.

Wild marjoram is somewhat milder in flavour than the modern cultivar 'oregano' though in aspect it grows almost as tall and bears pale pink flowers at the top of the stem. In terms of flavour it is more similar to dwarf marjoram (compactum) which is easily grown in any garden and is very drought resistant. However, true wild marjoram has a woody stem. It's best gathered just as the flower heads are developing — simply strip the leaves and flower heads off the wild marjoram before use.

I would suggest that instead of going foraging for wild marjoram you grow dwarf marjoram in your garden. This makes an excellent pot herb and also lends colour to a rockery.

Recipes Utilizing Wild Marjoram

Marjoram Jelly
Wild Marjoram Scones
Nipplewort and Green Spelt Soup

You can also use the search box below to find the wild food of your choice. You can use the common name or the scientific name or any text you choose:

If you're looking for a particular recipe, or a recipe using a particular ingredient or set of ingredients, why not try my recipe search facility. You can even use a combination of period and ingredient such as 'Elizabethan Lamb' or 'medieval eggs'.