Gathering Edible Wild Plants in June – With 3 Recipes

June is an excellent month for foraging edible wild plants, offering a perfect opportunity to gather fresh, aromatic herbs for culinary use. These herbs can enhance salads, teas, herb butters, and homemade remedies.

Wild Herbs to Gather in June

• Ground Elder (Giersch):
  • Location: Forest edges, gardens, parks, and shady spots.
  • Use: Young leaves are suitable for salads, pesto, soups, or herb quark. Older leaves are best cooked.
• Nettle (Brennnessel):
  • Location: Roadside verges, embankments, damp meadows.
  • Use: Can be used as a spinach substitute, in smoothies, as tea, or dried for spice mixes. Blanching young leaves prevents stinging.
• Cleavers (Wiesenlabkraut):
  • Location: Meadows, sparse forests, field edges.
  • Use: Finely chopped in salads, as tea, or in herb butter. It has a delicate flavor.
• Plantain (Spitzwegerich):
  • Location: Meadows, roadside verges, gardens.
  • Use: Young leaves in salads; older leaves can be used for tea or as a traditional herbal remedy for coughs. The flower buds have a mild, mushroom-like flavor when fried.
• Yarrow (Schafgarbe):
  • Location: Dry meadows, roadside verges, embankments.
  • Use: The finely divided leaves are good as a salad seasoning, in tea, or to flavor herb butter. The flowers can be used for decoration and syrup.
• Ground Ivy (Gundermann):
  • Location: Damp, partially shaded areas, often in gardens or by walls.
  • Use: Adds a spicy, aromatic flavor to salads, butter, and spreads. Use sparingly due to its strong taste.
• Dandelion (Löwenzahn):
  • Location: Found almost everywhere – meadows, gardens, paths.
  • Use: Leaves are good for bitter salads; flowers can be used for jelly or syrup. Leaves are milder before flowering.
• Salad Burnet (Pimpinelle):
  • Location: Dry, sunny meadows, roadside or field edges.
  • Use: Traditionally used in Frankfurt Green Sauce, delicious in salads, quark, or with spaghetti. The small, serrated leaves have a mild, nutty, cucumber-like aroma and should be used fresh.
• Watercress (Brunnenkresse):
  • Location: In and along clear streams or spring edges, preferring clean, flowing water.
  • Use: Rich in vitamins and nutrients, it’s excellent fresh in salads, sandwiches, as a topping, or added to soups. Ensure it is collected from clean, uncontaminated water sources. It has long, hollow stems with round, juicy leaves, distinguishing it from bitter cuckoo flower which has solid stems.

3 Recipes for Wild Herbs in June

Wild Herb Salad with Dandelion

This salad is a concentrated source of free vitamins. Feel free to customize the wild herb selection to your preference; dandelion and daisy are a popular combination.

Ingredients:

• 2 handfuls young dandelion leaves
• 10 daisies
• 4-5 radishes
• Vinegar
• Pumpkin seed oil

Preparation:

1. Wash the dandelion leaves and tear them into a bowl.
2. Add the washed daisy flower heads.
3. Slice the washed radishes thinly and add them to the salad.
4. Dress with vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

Wild Herb Salt for Storage

Wild herb salt is a great way to preserve the flavors of summer for winter. It’s simple to make with your preferred wild herbs.

Ingredients:

• 75 g herbs
• 250 g salt

Preparation:

1. Wash and thoroughly dry the wild herbs.
2. Process the herbs by hand or in a food processor until a paste forms.
3. Add the salt and mix well.
4. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet to dry.
5. Once dry, store the wild herb salt in jars.

Spaghetti with Salad Burnet

Ingredients:

• 250 g spaghetti
• 1 handful salad burnet
• 4-5 sun-dried tomatoes
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Preparation:

1. Cook the spaghetti in salted water.
2. Finely chop the salad burnet and sun-dried tomatoes.
3. Toss the cooked spaghetti with the chopped herbs and tomatoes, olive oil, and season with salt as needed.

Tips for Herb Gathering

Prioritize safety when gathering wild herbs. Only collect plants that you can identify with certainty; if in doubt, leave them. A field guide can be helpful for identification.

Choose clean gathering locations, such as natural meadows, forest edges, or gardens away from busy roads or heavily fertilized agricultural land.

To keep herbs fresh, use a cotton bag or basket instead of a plastic bag to allow them to breathe.

Gather only what you need and leave some for others and for nature. If plants are abundant, it is fine to collect them, but be mindful of scarcity, especially in urban areas. Avoid uprooting entire plants to ensure they can regrow.

Consider growing wild herb seeds on your balcony or in your garden as an alternative, which also benefits insects.

Wild herb walks are highly recommended for learning more about foraging and preparation.