Nature's Noodles

The aspen-family of useful wild trees produce an inner bark that can be used to create noodles. Tear the inner bark into strips and drop into boiling water. Boil until tender. In the winter, you’ll be vying with the local deer and elk for the bark as it is a favorite when their normal forage is covered in snow.

Below is a list of more trees and how they can be used to stave off survival hunger. For the most part, the preparation process can be time-consuming, but well worth it.

Useful Wild Trees

The Edible Portions

Beech –

Nuts - roasted as a coffee substitute
Inner bark – ground into flour substitute, used in making bread

Chestnut –

Nuts – for oil and flour

Oak –

Acorns – as coffee substitute and flour

Poplar (aspens, cottonwood) –

Inner bark – eaten fresh, brewed into tea, cooked like noodles, flour

Pine –

Inner bark and seeds – processed properly can be used to make edible cakes

Hemlock –

Inner bark – pressed into cakes or bread

Larch –

Inner bark – boiled into broth

Ponderosa pine –

Nuts – raw or ground into meal for bread

Sweet Birch –

Buds and twigs – edible as snack
Twigs and root bark – boiled into tea
Sap – drink as is, hot or cold
Inner bark – starch and sugar, chewed like gum

Useful Wild Trees - Processing and Preparation

oak-leavesacorns Acorns and other nuts from useful wild trees which contain tannin will require processing to leech out the bitterness. Crush the nuts, place in a porous material (tee-shirt) and pour in water. Allow the water to drain out and refill. Do this for approximately two hours to leech out the tannin.

Tannin is a naturally occuring substance that gives that astringent, "puckery" taste often associated with under ripe fruit, some tree barks, seeds and grape stems.

To create flour or meal, crush the nuts, etc and then allow to dry. Afterward grind into powder and mix with water, press into cakes and bake. It won’t be Betty Crocker brownies, but it will fill your belly and keep you from starving. Edible parts of the most useful wild trees can be used to create a variety of food options.

Suggestion: Mix a few berries into the meal before cooking, it'll add a little sweetness and flavor

coffeepot To make a coffee substitute, grind the nuts or roots into a course meal. Roast the meal by cooking it in an ungreased pan, stirring frequently (continuously). Again, it won’t be Folgers, but it will be hot and maybe taste better than water…or not.

If you find yourself facing a survival hunger situation, just remember that there are a number of useful wild trees.