Pascal Baudar, originally from Belgium, is one of many around Los Angeles supplying fresh produce to the sprawling urban center. He is a leading foraging and wild food expert in Southern California and frequently hosts foraging courses, educating the public about eating and enjoying wild food. 

Bauder recently held a course introducing the crowd to Lerp Sugar, a scaly insect excretion from Eucalyptus Trees on his property, used in everything from desserts to wild beers. 

Foraging

Lerp Sugar is one of Bauder’s favorite foraging ingredients, and he has written four wild-food guides focusing on wildcrafted cuisine, vinegar, brewing, and fermentation. Foraging might seem rare in undeveloped places like Los Angeles, but Baudar and other foragers say it is a highly accessible hobby. 

Bauder’s Fall foraging courses occur in Southern California’s driest season, and he says, “We still find something every 10 yards. “ 

There is a surprising amount of wild food along sidewalks, in vacant lots, and tucked into the edges of city parks, and a growing movement of people is discovering how to find it. 

One of Baudar’s classes took the group toward a roadside section of yellow grass covering much of California’s hillsides and road shoulders. Bauder mentions that he has found over 100 edible grains in the surrounding LA area, many of which are available right on the side of the road. 

He says, “Grocery stores might only offer a small variety of things, but natural abundance is much more.”

Pascal Baudar Wildfood Offerings

In his courses, Baudar offers tastes of Great Brome, a torque rice-like grain extracted from yellow stalks of grass, and California Buckwheat, which he mixes with small, crunchy brown seeds into bread. The forager has found over 14 varieties of wild mustards, tiny red seeds from golden grass shaken through a sieve. Baudar is also adept at making acorn flour.

Acorns are abundant in the fall and were traditionally a primary food source for many of California’s Indigenous people. Baudar uses them for baking; when mixed with sugar, the finished product has a molasses and cinnamon flavor.

Foraging Course

A typical Baudar course lasts two hours. During this time, the group stays within a 200-yard radius that contains over 10 different edible foods. 

Baudar said, “I can spend two hours in this exact spot,” standing in an unassuming brushy area surrounded by sagebrush, yucca, mustard plants, and wild grains. “Every plant can be used.”

Douglas Kent

Doug Kent, author, activist, educator, and specialist in ecological land management, agrees that the ability to forage is not limited to rustic areas. Foraging can easily be done in large metropolises like Los Angeles. 

He says, “I always recommend foraging residential neighborhoods, public parks, greenbelts, right-of-ways, [and] easements. Black mustard, fennel, dandelion, plantain, goosefoot, lamb’s quarters, purslane. All these plants can grow in the cracks of every sidewalk.”

Foraging is not limited to edible foods. Baudar shows students how to forage for mugwort, which helps with poison oak rashes and can be brewed in tea for vivid dreams. 

Kent doubles this sentiment by saying, “We foragers accept what it is. We don’t classify plants as native or not, ornamental or spontaneous. We view it all as a gift from our earth, our mother.”