Harvesting wild herbes
Among meadows and alpine pastures
The harvesting of wild herbs for dietary, therapeutic and cosmetic purposes, is an anciet activity that originates from Trentino’s tradition which allows to produce valued products impregnated with the flavours, the essence and scents of our mountains.
The great variety of wild herbs in Trentino means, first and foremost, something: that the area is healthy. For a fact, there’s nothing better than certain plants to testify the salubrity of its terrain and waters. A region where terrain’s conditions, the quality of air and other factors like sun-rays exposition or subsoil humidity contribute simultaneously to a favourable maturation of wild herbs.
Small specialties that tell a tale about the region and the values of its harvesters: respect for nature, patient research, perseverance in difficult times, under pressure, and in bad weather.
But where does the journey-job of a wild herbs harvester start? A few steps away from the inhabited areas, in the meadows waiting to be mowed, where their attentive eyes identify nature’s first treasures: dandelion, catchfly, and burdock. Continuing a little farther along streams, cliffs, and escarpments, the ascent to higher ground begins. As you climb in altitude, the vegetation and air become rarefied: other types of wild herbs with different aromas, new shapes and colors dwell here. Up here, where the forest makes room for the alpine pastures where nettle and other alpine herbs, such as “buonenrico”, grow.
Every now and then small lakes and waterfalls appear, and at this altitude, semi-submerged in the fresh mountain waters the watercress is found, a true indicator of their purity. At this point, all that is missing are the high mountain wild herbs that bloom among glaciers and steep slopes, such as the coveted queen’s garlic and bear’s “radicchio”, the hardest to reach.
Other wild herbs and flowers encountered:
- Gentian
- Carlina acaulis
- Autumn colchicum
- Mount Baldo woundwort
- Golden button
- Alpine saffron
- Orchid maschia
- Biscutella montana
- Arnica
- Campanula glomerata
- Peony officinal
- Greater everlasting
- Martagon lily
- Koch’s gentian
In the last few years flowers and herbs have been widely employed also for cooking. More and more chefs and culinary professionals are claiming that wild and edible plants will be the food of the future: in fact, dishes prepared with these delicacies are increasingly esteemed and sought after on the Trentino culinary menu.
Some of these are also expertly used by dairymen throughout the region to flavor fresh or aged cheeses. Wild herbs confere that extra touch of flavor that, combined with high-quality milk, makes the difference.