Estimated reading time: 17 minutes
There is food all around us and no we’re not talking about all the restaurants, eateries, and grocery stores that occupy every corner of every street. If you look beyond the urban establishments, you will see Mother Nature's grocery store that is filled with a limitless supply of natural wild edibles.
There is hardly an environment in the world that doesn’t have some sort of wild edible that can be harvested and consumed. That’s why educating yourself about wild edibles, especially those that grow in the region where you live, is such a valuable skill to have.
If you haven’t started learning about the wonderful world of wild edibles, don’t worry because in this article we will get you started. Today we will be talking about just some of the plants that can be harvested and turned into flour for cooking or baking.
Flour is a great ingredient to stockpile or to know how to make because it has a decent shelf life, depending on the source it will add various nutrients to your diet, it can be used to make bread cakes, or cookies, and flour can be used to help stretch your main rations so that your food supply lasts longer.
To that end, we’ve put together a quick list of some common plants that can be turned into flour for cooking or baking.
Want to save this post for later? Click Here to Pin It On Pinterest!
30 Plant Options For Making Your Own Flour
1. Acorn Flour
Acorns are an incredibly abundant and popular nut that is produced by the mighty oak tree, which can be found growing throughout the world. While the nuts are easy to harvest, processing them does take a bit of effort as the tannins in the meat need to be removed first, otherwise, they are much too bitter.
To learn more about making acorn flour, check out this video.
2. Almond Flour
Almonds are another very popular nut that is produced by the almond tree, which is typically found in its native land of the Mediterranean. Almonds are easy to collect and processing them into delicious flour doesn’t take as much effort as making acorn flour
To learn more about making almond flour, check out this video.
3. Apple Flour
To make apple flour, you first need a good source of apples, which of course comes from apple trees. Generally, the juice is first squeezed out of the apple and saved for another use, while the leftover pulp, skin, and minimal leftovers are dried and ground into usable flour.
To learn more about making apple flour, check out this video.
4. Arrowroot Flour
Arrowroot is a tuber that looks very similar to a potato and it can be found growing underground in the tropics of Indonesia. Once the tuber is extracted and dried, it can be ground up into a usable powder or flour.
To learn more about making arrowroot flour, check out this video.
5. Beech-Nut Flour
Beech nuts are the seeds of the Beech tree, which is primarily found in North America. Its nuts fall to the ground later in the year, around autumn, where they can be easily collected and processed into flour.
6. Birch Bark Flour
Believe it or not, there are many accounts of different cultures eating the “wood” of certain trees throughout history. While this could be done during normal times, it was thought to be done more during times of famine.
Bark bread, as it is sometimes called, is usually derived from the cambium, the inner, white, flexible wood just under the bark. This material would be harvested, dried, and ground into a usable powder or flour for cooking. In this case, the Birch tree, which is native to northern, temperate climates.
To learn more about making birch bark flour, check out this video.
7. Burdock Root Flour
Burdock root, which looks a bit like a brown carrot, is native to Europe but can also be found in North America. This root has many health benefits and grows in abundance in many areas. Some even look at it as an invasive species. It's easy to harvest and process into usable flour.
To learn more about making burdock root flour, check out this video.
8. Cattail Pollen Flour
Cattails, sometimes called “hot dog sticks,” can typically be found throughout the world in and around marshes or other types of wetlands. These easy-to-identify plants shed their pollen every summer, which can be collected by using a simple bag placed over the top.
To learn more about making cattail pollen flour, check out this video.
9. Cashew Flour
The cashew nut comes from the cashew tree which nowadays is primarily grown in India and its native country, Brazil. However, it can be found around the world growing in temperate climates.
To learn more about making cashew flour, check out this video.
10. Cassava Flour
This flour is derived by grinding and drying the root of the Cassava plant, which can be found growing in West Africa, Southeast Asia, The Congo, and areas in South America. The cassava plant doesn’t do well in cooler climates, especially those that experience frost.
To learn more about making cassava flour, check out this video.
11. Cereal Wheat Flour
Cereal can be classified as any grass that is harvested for the grain it produces, such as wheat grass. Due to their abundance, cereals provide some of the most high-energy foods in the world. Examples of cereal include maize, oats, wheat, rye, barley, millet, and sorghum, just to name a few.
To learn more about making wheat flour, check out this video.
12. Chestnut Flour
Chestnuts come from the chestnut tree which is part of the beech family. This tree can be found growing in Europe, the Mediterranean, North America, and China. Chestnuts can be collected for processing during the fall, around September or October.
To learn more about making chestnut flour, check out this video.
13. Chickpea Flour
Chickpeas, also sometimes called garbanzo beans, come from a plant that can be found growing in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, America, and India.
To learn more about making chickpea flour, check out this video.
14. Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is made from the white meat of the coconut produced by the coconut tree, which can be found growing in tropical regions. Due to the color of the meat, the coconut flour will be almost as white as all-purpose flour. But unlike many popular flours, coconut flour doesn’t contain any gluten, which may be more suitable for some people’s diets.
To learn more about making coconut flour, check out this video.
15. Crabgrass Flour
Many people in the Western world view crabgrass as an invasive weed that must be eradicated. However, crabgrass is a staple food source in other parts of the world, and its seeds are used to make flour.
To learn more about cooking with crabgrass, check out this video.
16. Curly Dock Flour
Curly dock can be found growing in wet areas, especially lowlands, and is easily found and harvested during fall time. Its seeds can be used to make flour that is gluten-free and the plant is in the same family as buckwheat.
To learn more about making curly dock flour, check out this video.
17. Hazelnut Flour
Hazelnuts are the seeds of the hazel tree, which can be found growing in much of the Midwest and eastern part of North America. Harvesting the nuts can be done in the fall, around September or October.
To learn more about making hazelnut flour, check out this video.
18. Lamb’s Quarters Flour
Lamb’s Quarters is a plant that can be found growing in most places throughout the North American Continent, although it prefers highly nutrient soils. To make this, the seeds of the plant are collected, dried, and ground up to produce a dark-colored, versatile flour.
To learn more about making lamb’s quarters flour, check out this video.
19. Millet Flour
Millet flour is made from the small seeds harvested from the grass it grows from. It can grow in regions throughout Asia, Africa, and India as it is a prevalent cereal grain grown for both people and animals.
To learn more about making millet flour, check out this video.
20. Pecan Flour
The pecan nut is derived from the pecan tree which is native to the continent of North America. The nuts can be harvested after dropping to the ground in late fall between September and November. Pecan flour is easy to make and it is a great gluten-free option.
To learn more about making nut flours, check out this video.
21. Pine Bark Flour
Like Birch Bark flour, Pine Bark flour is another type of flour that can be made by harvesting the inner, supple park of the pine tree. Tree bark flours do require a bit more work in harvesting and preparation, especially if you want to harvest sustainably without killing the tree, but in times of need, this famine food will keep you going.
To learn more about making pine bark flour, check out this video.
22. Potato Flour
Potato flour is derived from tubers of the potato plant, which is native to the Andes in South America but can now be found growing in many parts of the world. Learning how to make potato flour is probably one of the best options for many people because growing potatoes quickly and in abundance is relatively easy due to the rise of potato container gardening.
To learn more about making potato flour at home, check out this video.
23. Reindeer Moss Flour
Reindeer moss is a type of lichen that is lightly colored and resembles a piece of sponge or coral. It can be found in many different environments around the world and from one extreme to another, such as in Florida and Texas or even in the Arctic. Once collected, the moss is thoroughly dried and ground into a powder.
To learn more about some of the wonderful uses of reindeer moss, check out this video.
24. Sunflower Flour
The sunflower plant is native to Mexico and North America but can now be found growing in various places around the world. The sunflower plant provides two options for making flour. It can either be made from the seeds of the plant or from the plant itself.
To learn more about making sunflower flour from seeds, check out this video. To learn about making flour from the stalks, check out this video.
25. Tapioca Flour
This type of flour is derived by separating the starch from the tuber, or root, of the cassava plant, which is native to the South American Continent. The roots can take anywhere from six months to almost two years to mature but once they do they can be harvested to make flour for cooking and baking purposes.
To learn more about making tapioca flour, check out the following video.
26. Tigernut Flour
The tiger nut is a small root or tuber and not actually a nut, that is native to the regions of Northern Africa. Like most tubers, it grows underground and after harvesting, the tubers are cleaned, their skins removed, dried, and ground into a powder to be used for cooking or baking.
To learn more about tiger nut flour, check out this video.
27. Walnut Flour
Walnut flour is derived from the nuts of the walnut tree, which is native to the continent of North America. Walnuts can be harvested in the fall, September to November, when the outer shells have begun to split or they have fallen to the ground. Like many nut flours, the oil must first be pressed from the nut before the leftover meat can be turned into flour.
To learn more about making walnut flour, check out this video.
28. Wild Parsnip Flour
Wild parsnip is a small flowering plant that can be found growing throughout the United States and Eurasia. Wild parsnip flour is made from the roots of the plant but caution should be used when harvesting as contact with this plant can cause health issues such as burns, rashes, and blisters.
To learn how to safely harvest wild parsnip, check out this video.
29. Wild Rice Flour
Although it is grown in many parts of the world today wild rice is native to various regions in China. Rice flour is often substituted for the more commonly used wheat flour and it can be used in both baking and as a thickening powder in many recipes.
To learn more about making rice flour at home, check out this video.
30. Wild Rye Flour
Rye is a kind of cereal grain that can be found growing throughout the world but it is native to the country of Turkey. Rye flour is made from the harvesting, drying, and grinding of the berries that grow on the rye plant which will produce a flour similar to wheat flour, though darker and heavier.
To learn more about rye flour, check out this video.
Conclusion
Once you’ve found the wild edibles you want to make into flour, grab yourself a few tools and supplies to make the process a bit easier. Items like a grinder, nut grinder, blender, food processor, dehydrator, mortar and pestle, flour sifter, and airtight containers to store the finished product in. Good luck and happy foraging and grinding!
P.S. If you want to see more of an overview of grinding your own various flours at home, check out this video.
Like this post? Don't Forget to Pin It On Pinterest!
