I have recently been reading both a biography of and a book written by Patience Grey. A fascinating character and a wonderful food writer who lived much of her life in very remote and rural parts of Greece and southern Italy. Here she supplemented merger income with foraged plants from the immediate neighbourhood. She followed the traditions of the locals and spent much of the early spring months in the hills near her home searching for the years first growth in the form the bitter young leaves of dandelion, daisy and other local plants. Knowledge of theres plants was known by locals old and young alike and the distinct bitterness was much valued and appreciated as an antidote to a heavier winter diet.
This indeed reminded me of something that I had learned many years ago. In Chinese Medicine the seasons are divided much the same as they are in the West but each season is allocated different bodily organs, tastes, temperatures and emotions. These can contribute to both the assessment of a client and the to the treatment of ailments. The flavour of spring time is bitter and the organ the liver.
I know that somewhere in our own history must be something of their wisdoms. Something of an understanding that is bourn of a very deep contemplation of the aspects of the landscape that sustain and enhance ourselves throughout the year. What to pick when and why to pick particular plants. Folk knowledge is still with us but it is gradually fading into the background and further and further away from everyday life. Once people knew the names of all the plants trees and animals in their vicinity and they were treated with reverence and dignity and indeed their very essence was regarded as in some ways holy or sacred.
Its very easy for the contemporary mindset to dismiss all knowledge and beliefs from the past especially that which has drawn conclusion without reference or referral to science as whimsey or silly or old-fashioned and defiantly without value in our modern world. But this is also denying us of the ancient history and connection to our own land here and somehow this is a separation that has left us without knowing bewildered by and prone to the modern illusion of consumption and entertainment. To this there must be an antidote. But where do we find our bitter leaves and when do we pick them.