Cambium bark as food

by Charles McKinney
(Indiana)

The cambium bark of the pines, poplar, aspen, willow, hickory, maple and the mulberry can be peeled during the months of May to the end of August. From September to the end of April you will probably have to beat the bark to loosen it before the cambium will come free of the wood.

The bark can sometimes be eaten raw depending on how tough it is. If too tough to eat raw it can be dried near the fire and then ground into powder and used as flour or as the base of soup.

The cambium can also be cut or torn into strips and boiled like spaghetti.

This is indeed lean cuisine for the lean times!