It seems that European populations have traditionally made use of endless wild products, mostly various types of edible berries.
Civilization’s advance sometimes produces effects that aren’t always desirable. Thus, in Europe, the Romans brought with them the cerealization of food. The need to feed armies caused people to concentrate on raising crops, when harvesting in the forests, a few livestock and small gardens had been more than enough.
Forgotten until now but making a strong comeback in the heat of fashionable ecological trends, is something as wild and natural as berries.
Goji berries, of Asian origin, have only recently become known in the Western world. Their nutritional and medicinal properties have made them the latest fashionable foodstuff. They are highly valued for their colour and flavour, and can easily be grown at home.
Almost 2,000 years ago, goji berries were used as food and also therapeutically in traditional Chinese medicine. They are mentioned in a medical treatise of the 7th century Tang dynasty and in a Compendium of Medical Terms by Li Shizhen of the Ming dynasty, published in the 16th century. Their use is also widespread in traditional medicine in Korea, Japan, and Tibet. They taste slightly sweet, like dates, with a hint of something like tomato. They can be eaten raw, but it is considered healthier to use them in juice, marinated in wine, as an infusion or tincture. Goji berries belong to two shrub species of the family Solanaceae that are very close together: Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense. Their exact origin is unknown, but it seems that they spread from southeast Europe to southwest Asia. These days, they grow in many regions of the world, especially in the British Isles, where they were introduced in the 18th century. Although they can be grown easily, even at home, and a single plant can produce more than one kilo of berries in its second year, China is the only country in which they are cultivated on a massive scale for commercial purposes. Since the beginning of the 21st century, goji berries have been introduced into Western markets, where until recently they were virtually unknown, becoming a trendy product praised by creative chefs and dietitians.
And in some ways, as it has been rightly said, behind the current culinary trends is ‘a desire for the wild, to ingest the nature that was here before culture’.