Edible Delights from the Forest

A long walk in the forest not only provides pure relaxation and renewed energy, it can also enrich your next meal. German forests are home to countless edible plants, and until you try them yourself, you won’t believe how flavorful some of them can be.

For example, the tender leaves of the linden tree are served in gourmet restaurants, and its blossoms are used to flavor a variety of dishes. The leaves have an almost creamy texture and are best harvested from young linden trees. Taste them on the spot—if the leaves are no longer juicy but feel more like paper, the harvesting season has ended. Linden leaves can be enjoyed as a salad base, on their own, mixed with other greens, or with a simple vinegar and oil dressing.

Almost a classic among edible plants is the stinging nettle. Of all wild herbs, it’s the richest in vitamins and minerals. While most people only use it for making tea, it's often overlooked that it pairs wonderfully with fruit salads.

When harvesting stinging nettle, make sure to pick only the upper shoots up to the second set of leaves. To remove the stinging hairs, you can either roll the leaves with a rolling pin or collect them in a bag and roll it up several times. Whether combined with strawberries, apples, or bananas—the leaves complement any fruit perfectly.

Lady’s mantle is also a popular wild edible. In the past, alchemists believed that the tiny dewdrops collected in its cup-shaped leaves each morning could be used to create gold. Today, it's known that the leaves of lady’s mantle not only add a delightful flavor to salads and soups, but also offer relief from various women’s health issues. The taste is slightly bitter, so it’s best used as an addition rather than the main ingredient in a dish. It can be harvested as early as April and is commonly found in meadows, pastures, and along forest edges. Its blooming season begins in May.

An absolute aromatic highlight for any salad is the young shoots of spruce, larch, and pine. Harvest the fresh, soft, and almost light green May shoots, which can still be found in June. Larch has a lemony, tangy flavor, while pine and spruce are more sweet and resinous.