Wild, foraged foods are more nutritious. So interesting that this is the next food rule I read after taking over a month to post again since Rule #30! I've gone to 2 dinners in the last week that featured foraged ingredients. Morels & ramps, in several forms. Delicious! One dinner (a preview of an up-and-coming underground dinner club) was prepared by a chef who foraged and grew several ingredients herself. And there are even full-time foragers who supply to restaurants!
Another point Pollan makes pertaining to this rule? The plants we as a modern society have omitted from our diets are mostly the bitter ones, containing higher omega-3 fatty acids, which make them less shelf-stable, turning rancid more quickly. Salad in a bag...great invention or our trying to feel like we are getting our RDA of veggies? Omnivore's Dilemma talks about how these 'mixed field green salads' in a plastic, compostable container are even sprayed with a type of gas that allows them to hold up longer, while in transport from California to our bellies here in Chicago. Mike Roper spoke this week at a "Locavore Dinner" I attended and said his restaurant, the Hopleaf, doesn't feature a "spring greens" salad on their menu in January, because there simply aren't any greens in the midwest at that time of year! And I still stand by my claim that nothing beats a salad of greens picked that day - buttery, tender and available soon at a farmer's market near you. (FULL DISCLOSURE: we do carry Earthbound Organics' salad mixes at our shops...yes, because they sell, but we also want to round out our offerings so that you can create an entire meal from what we stock. We have decided, though to at least carry organic produce whereever local/sustainable/seasonal are not possible.)
So to get back to the point about bitter greens, I'll share one last tidbit of information: when our bodies taste bitter substances (like radicchio, dandelion, mizuna & other bitter greens & foods...even bitters!) our livers instantly begins a cleanse. My friends over at Merz Apothecary preach the "bitters" gospel...their clientele includes many Eastern-European born folks in their 70s and 80s that swear by their twice-daily German or Swedish bitter shots for sickness-free living. All that aside, what about the argument that bitter is one of the primary components of a well-rounded dish or cocktail? Bitter, sour, sweet, salty (am I forgetting umami?)...each flavor dynamic contributes to a successful, balanced plate or drink.
The bitter truth...
