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The Forgotten Foods Series is a page dedicated to rediscovering the forgotten powers of plants. We explore ancient growing methods, rare plants with hidden uses, and the ecological secrets that once shaped human thriving and wellbeing. Each plant featured here will be considered a top priority for a place in our beloved plant archive.
What you will find here:
🌱 Lost techniques that regenerate soil and restore fertility.
🌿 Plants that were once used for healing, building, and survival.
🍄 Wild foods with surprising nutritional value.
📜 Ancient agricultural knowledge preserved through generations.
🐝 The hidden role of insects and organisms in thriving ecosystems.
🌍 Simple ways to revive damaged land and grow resilient gardens.
Forgotten Food #1: Groundnut (Apios americana)
This is a gut-punch of a tale—equal parts inspiring resilience and infuriating erasure. It’s a microcosm of how colonialism didn’t just steal land but systematically dismantled Indigenous food sovereignty, replacing regenerative systems (like nitrogen-fixing perennials in polycultures) with extractive ones that lock us into chemical dependency. The 1654 law? Straight-up resource piracy, dressed as “progress,” ensured Natives couldn’t sustain themselves on stolen soil. And the Irish Famine rejection? A tragic irony—Europeans tested a famine-proof crop but bailed because it empowered self-sufficiency over endless markets. Industrial ag’s allergy to perennials isn’t incompetence; it’s design. Why sell seeds/fertilizers yearly if a plant…
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Forgotten Food #2: Acorns
Earliest Evidence: The oldest known food-processing tool in Europe is a 32,000-year-old grinding stone from Grotta Paglicci cave in Italy, used for acorns. In Morocco’s Taforalt caves (around 12,000 BC), acorn shells were so abundant that they were deemed a year-round staple. This predates the domestication of cereals, with acorn use traced back to 700,000 years ago in Paleolithic sites.
Ancient Civilizations: In Ancient Greece, acorns were called the “food of invincible men” and were a dietary staple for the lower classes. Romans roasted acorns during the Bronze Age. In Japan during the Jōmon period (14,000–300 BC), acorns were a…
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