Survival foods are not the most important thing in most emergency situations in the wilderness. You survive weeks without eating if you have to, so it is usually more important to find shelter, water, and stay uninjured and dry. On the other hand, just knowing you can find food out there, and having something in your stomach, can do wonders for your state of mind, which CAN be crucial to your survival.
What then, do you need to know about survival foods? I love learning about new edible plants, but very few of them provide enough calories to be worth the effort in a survival situation.
Survival Foods – The Animals
Fresh water fish in North America are all edible. Catching the fish is the difficult part, but they can be quickly and easily cooked over a fire.
North American birds are all edible, and their eggs are too. I’ve even eaten seagull eggs cooked on a hot rock, and they tasted fine.
Reptiles and amphibians are usually safe to eat – if you remove the skin. I have cooked snake in a stew and over a fire, and I recommend the latter.
Mammals in North America can all be eaten (except for the livers of some arctic mammals). Since many carry parasites, wash your hands after handling them, and cook the meat if possible.
Survival Foods – The Plants
The inner bark of pine trees is edible. It’s a good survival food to remember, because it is available year-round.
Edible berries can be a delicious and filling survival food in the right season. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and blackberries all have their wild forms. It’s safe to eat if it looks like the domestic one (usually smaller) and tastes and smells like it.
Cattail is one of the most calorie-rich and abundant foods in the wilderness. The white part of the stalk at the bottom, and the new shoots, can be eaten raw or cooked. Roots can be mashed in water to release the starch, which can be added to soups.
What then, do you need to know about survival foods? It’s a good survival food to remember, because it is available year-round. Edible berries can be a delicious and filling survival food in the right season.
Of course it’s fun to know which mushrooms you can eat, and even which flowers are edible, but both of these have almost no calories. To quickly learn what you need to survive, concentrate first on the common animals and the most calorie-rich and abundant edible plants. Those are the survival foods that will most likely save your life.
Survival foods are not the most important thing in most emergency situations in the wilderness. On the other hand, just knowing you can find food out there, and having something in your stomach, can do wonders for your state of mind, which CAN be crucial to your survival.
