Central Park, always a great park for foraging, is spectacular in early summer. The fruits alone make the park worth visiting. Two species of mulberries, red and white, and their pink hybrid, drop berries everywhere. You only need to position a drop cloth under a branch and shake, to harvest a year's supply. These berries are perfect in any fruit recipe. They make great jam, and they freeze well too. When the bushes get full sunlight, the juneberries (serviceberries) are also spectacular. With a sweet flavor like blueberries, apples, and almonds, it's a testament to our disregard for nature that no one has ever cultivated this top-notch fruit. Wild herbs and vegetables thrive throughout the park. You'll be looking for poor man's pepper, sheep sorrel, wood sorrel, lamb's-quarters, wild ginger, greenbrier, lady's thumb, purslane, and Asiatic dayflower. Epazote is one of the park's best culinary herbs. A mainstay in Mexican cuisine, it's great in guacamole, salsa, and bean dishes. The tour will last for about 4 hours.
New York City, NY; NYC