Foodways: Living Off the Land

LIVING OFF THE LAND
The Great Black Swamp region offered many natural resources to early settlers who hunted, fished, and gathered wild foods in order to survive. Today, these procurement practices have been preserved for sport or recreation rather than for necessity.

HUNTING
Local game such as dove, turkey, goose, duck, pheasant, rabbit, squirrel, and deer are still hunted and prepared for meals, but are no longer the primary source of food.

Trained in trap and skeet, actor Clark Gable often hunted pheasant in Wood County. His Ringneck Pheasant is on exhibit at the Wood County Historical Museum.

ABOVE: Pearl Staib Kapp shows off her hunt on the Zarges Farm outside of Tiffin, Ohio, circa 1910. Photo courtesy of Center for Archival Collections/Bowling Green State University.

FISHING
Northwest Ohio’s streams, rivers, and lakes are home to a wide variety of fish species. Pollutant-tolerant fish such as catfish, carp, and bluegill thrive in the lakes, while walleye, bass, and small salmon thrive in the Maumee River.

It is not uncommon for fisherman to keep and prepare their catches. Fish fries throughout Northwest Ohio are the focus of many community and family events.
GATHERING
Blackberries, black raspberries, serviceberries, and elderberries are common foraging foods in Northwest Ohio. Elderberry flowers are also edible - dip them in egg batter and fry them until golden.
Early sweetening agents were made from Maple or Elderberry sap, boiled down into syrup. (Elderberries pictured).
MOREL MUSHROOMS
In Northwest Ohio, a common “hunt” is for morel mushrooms. Found in wooded areas near downed trees and rotting logs, the best time to look for them is on a warm, moist spring morning. Although morels are a wonderful addition to dinner, make sure you have identified which mushrooms are edible and which are poisonous before ingesting your find.

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	LIVING OFF THE LAND The Great Black Swamp region offered many natural resources to early settlers who hunted, fished, and gathered wild foods in order to survive. Today, these procurement practices have been preserved for sport or recreation rather than for necessity.


HUNTING Local game such as dove, turkey, goose, duck, pheasant, rabbit, squirrel, and deer are still hunted and prepared for meals, but are no longer the primary source of food. Trained in trap and skeet, actor Clark Gable often hunted pheasant in Wood County. His Ringneck Pheasant is on exhibit at the Wood County Historical Museum. ABOVE: Pearl Staib Kapp shows off her hunt on the Zarges Farm outside of Tiffin, Ohio, circa 1910. Photo courtesy of Center for Archival Collections/Bowling Green State University.	FISHING Northwest Ohio’s streams, rivers, and lakes are home to a wide variety of fish species. Pollutant-tolerant fish such as catfish, carp, and bluegill thrive in the lakes, while walleye, bass, and small salmon thrive in the Maumee River. It is not uncommon for fisherman to keep and prepare their catches. Fish fries throughout Northwest Ohio are the focus of many community and family events.	GATHERING Blackberries, black raspberries, serviceberries, and elderberries are common foraging foods in Northwest Ohio. Elderberry flowers are also edible - dip them in egg batter and fry them until golden. Early sweetening agents were made from Maple or Elderberry sap, boiled down into syrup. (Elderberries pictured).	MOREL MUSHROOMS In Northwest Ohio, a common “hunt” is for morel mushrooms. Found in wooded areas near downed trees and rotting logs, the best time to look for them is on a warm, moist spring morning. Although morels are a wonderful addition to dinner, make sure you have identified which mushrooms are edible and which are poisonous before ingesting your find.