Lichen

  Lichen    

      For most of us, the lichen is most valuable as an emergency food, especially in winter.

            Most northern lichens contain a bitter acid which can be very irritating to the human stomach; it can be removed by soaking or boiling. Soak, and drain several times, adding a tsp. of soda (if available) to the water each time, to neutralize the acid.

            Lichen can be dried in the sun or in an oven, and pounded into a powder. Add the powder to soups or stews, make it into a hot cereal, or use it as a substitute for half the flour in bread  or bannock  It is very nutritious as attested to by the caribou and some other animals of the arctic  that eat little else. Lichen was also a food staple for the Inuit , and many other peoples,of the Canadian Arctic; that are often thought of as being strictly meat eaters.
©Al (Ales,Alexander) D. Girvan