Alternative Food Sources

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Marc

The flesh of the snail is somewhat insipid, and the final result depends of each own recipe, that normally implies the boiling of the snails (with their shells).

Sticky like peanut butter, but nowhere near as tasty...

[Mohoender]

Marc, unlike you, I could eat snails by the ton. However, I agree that the final result depends of the recipe. One main difference nowadays, in France, is that we have to buy them. Catching them is now forbidden (some people still do but less than before). The last time I came out to get some was a little over 25 years. The downside of having to buy them is that they are mostly frozen snails which is a process that makes them watery and gives them a rubber-like texture. As a result, finding good snails is increasingly difficult.

An other possible use of snails (especially as kid) is snail race.

Then another type of food in my area is wild mushrooms. That would be fun to imagine that in a T2K scenario as people are actively defending their mushroom secret spots. That level of secrecy goes so high that in my wife's school, four years old kids refused to reveal the location. Actually, my wife's parents had brought my 4 years old daughter to get mushrooms last fall and she refuses to reveal their secret location. Actually, a local novelist has writen a book were people are getting killed over that issue.

[jturfitt]

When I was in the Phillipines in 77 & 78 rats were used as food in the countryside. They held rat drives around the grain fields every year. Beaters would surround three sides of the field while a group would would down the field. As the rats ran out they would kill them with clubs. They only used the grain fed rats from the fields, not rats that had fed on garbage.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

Then another type of food in my area is wild mushrooms.

Hmm. Best to know what you are doing. If you don't you might end up with a good meal, a surprise psychadelic experience or a nasty case of death.

[jester]

Mushrooms,

Well I once saw on one of the documentaries that alot of old fortifications from the Maginot Line and the Atlantic Wall have been converted into mushroom growing facilities.

Further, I knoww several places where one can order the spore plugs to drill and insert into wooden logs oak is preferable to grow your own mushrooms, as well as another type that one would grow in boxes, of old straw and horse manure. You can get get several batches about three if I recall with eath batch getting less and less productive until you have to replenish your boxes and add some new spores.

So with that said, I can see in the T2K world where people start growing mushrooms in their basements and dugouts and old caves, mines and even bunkers.

[Webstral]

Varmint surprise.

Webstral

P.S. I've grown fond of dandelion greens, too. They aren't available all year long, but I hear they can be canned like other greens. (Obviously, "canned" is generic term for container preserving) Canning reduces the nutritional value, but better reduced value than no value.

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by Targan

Hmm. Best to know what you are doing. If you don't you might end up with a good meal, a surprise psychadelic experience or a nasty case of death.

You are right but people around here know. Moreover, they don't pick mushrooms they don't know. In T2K, you can use some slaves for tasting if you like.

The psychadelic experience would be fun to some and you forgot two things: an absolutely disgusting meal leaving you with a bad taste in mouth and just a few days of sickness without even the surprising psychadelic experience.

The worse with mushrooms is that they are tricky. Aminata Phalloides (the most deadly of all) is very similar to an edible type. Hopefully, it has some very distinctive features. Among them a ring. Saddly it is a delicacy to snails and slugs. Finally, snails are getting their revenge. Without that ring it is easily confused with the other one.

I found that picture on wiki Targan.

[Mohoender]

One piece of advice with death cap. Think twice before following the call advice on that sign. There is no antidote to this day and if you don't die, you'll end up as a mushroom in a wheel chair . I don't think there is any healthy survivor to date.

You are right Jest. They can grow in most humid caves with a fresh temperature (Champignon de Paris, I don't know the english name). Some wild species exist and the funny thing is that they look like amanita. I love mushrooms.

[jester]

Another thing is algae and kelp. Both are used as food already for specialty products. But, in the T2K world, I can see algae being harvested and raised in ponds. I also once saw a recipe for moss jelly or jam. So that is also a possibilitty.

[General Pain]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

One piece of advice with death cap. Think twice before following the call advice on that sign. There is no antidote to this day and if you don't die, you'll end up as a mushroom in a wheel chair . I don't think there is any healthy survivor to date.

You are right Jest. They can grow in most humid caves with a fresh temperature (Champignon de Paris, I don't know the english name). Some wild species exist and the funny thing is that they look like amanita. I love mushrooms.

a little trick when "identifing" plants in let's say french wikipedia - use the Latin name and we can google it for proper translation

[Mohoender]

Right General.

Champignon de paris = Agaricus bisporus

[General Pain]

Originally Posted by Targan

Hmm. Best to know what you are doing. If you don't you might end up with a good meal, a surprise psychadelic experience or a nasty case of death.

I like those odds

[Marc]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

Marc, unlike you, I could eat snails by the ton. However, I agree that the final result depends of the recipe. One main difference nowadays, in France, is that we have to buy them. Catching them is now forbidden (some people still do but less than before). The last time I came out to get some was a little over 25 years. The downside of having to buy them is that they are mostly frozen snails which is a process that makes them watery and gives them a rubber-like texture. As a result, finding good snails is increasingly difficult.

An other possible use of snails (especially as kid) is snail race.

Then another type of food in my area is wild mushrooms. That would be fun to imagine that in a T2K scenario as people are actively defending their mushroom secret spots. That level of secrecy goes so high that in my wife's school, four years old kids refused to reveal the location. Actually, my wife's parents had brought my 4 years old daughter to get mushrooms last fall and she refuses to reveal their secret location. Actually, a local novelist has writen a book were people are getting killed over that issue.

In Catalonia the search of mushrooms is a true passion, too. And, as you say, the people who practice it know very well what they are doing. The "secret places", the myriad of proverbs, the traditional equipment (walking stick, wicker basket and small knife) and familiar techniques have deserved a weekly TV program in a good humorous tone in one of the catalan channels. The title "Caçadors de Bolets", literally "Mushroom hunters" .

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by Marc

In Catalonia the search of mushrooms is a true passion, too. And, as you say, the people who practice it know very well what they are doing. The "secret places", the myriad of proverbs, the traditional equipment (walking stick, wicker basket and small knife) and familiar techniques have deserved a weekly TV program in a good humorous tone in one of the catalan channels. The title "Caçadors de Bolets", literally "Mushroom hunters" .

Funny, I have the feeling that it would translate differently in french to "Chasseur de Bolets". Is Bolet a type of mushroom in Catalan (as in french)?

[Marc]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

Funny, I have the feeling that it would translate differently in french to "Chasseur de Bolets". Is Bolet a type of mushroom in Catalan (as in french)?

"Bolet" ("seta" in Spanish) is the Catalan term for mushroom. "Caçador", "Chasseur" or hunter is not the proper term to define someone who picks mushrooms, but it fits better in the epic of the program . Basically in each program a camera follows the steps of a different group of "Mushroom Hunters" (a group of friends or a family, picked due to their passion and knowledge about mushrooms) with an ironic voice talking about their shames and glories and accurately describing the properties of each type of mushroom they found. Different film soundtracks help to create ominous atmospheres when the found mushroom has any harmful properties (BSO from "Jaws" is recurrently used).

[Mohoender]

Very interesting.

We use the same term of hunter than you do. However, the Bolet is a special type of mushroom (not the generic name). Hé hé, we are getting Off-topic here.

That one: