What wild and homegrown herbs can we substitute for our store-bought spice cabinet?

Ever heard of the Forager Chef? He uses woodruff in place of vanilla:

https://foragerchef.com/wild-vanilla-extract/

Not native, but it grows here in the US, even naturalized in many places. Sweet woodruff (galium odorata) is hardy down to zone 4 and its cousin galium triflorum is hardy down to zone 3.

So says the Internet.

I can confirm that Galium Odorata & Galium Triflorum - types of common ‘weed’ you might know as cleavers, make a lovely vanilla replacement.

Possibly even lovelier than vanilla itself, if they grow in your forest as they do in mine. The flavor is a combination of sweet hay and vanilla. Like the Forager Chef article mentions above, your home will be absolutely invaded by olfactory awesomeness as it dries.

Not all cleavers are Galium Odorata or Triflorum. I can identify the sweet ones now from the smell and number of leaves (6).  Also of note: there is some debate about coumarins contained in these plants and possible toxicity - as always, do your own research. For my part I am comfortable using them, and have noticed no ill effects.

So many wonderful flavors in the wilds. Happy exploring!

I am surprised no one mentioned fig leaves for vanilla flavor. Dried fig leaves, made into tea, have a lovely coconut and vanilla flavor. Not sure if you could use that in cookies, but it seems worth a try. I know this thread is old, but thanks for all the ideas for spices you can grow or forage locally. Love this group!

Hi, Ella! Welcome to permies! I didn't know that, about the fig leaves! I'll have to go out and grab a couple, to try it. Thank you for the tip!

boiling rice with fresh fig leaves gives the rice a nice coconut vibe, for sure.

greg mosser wrote:boiling rice with fresh fig leaves gives the rice a nice coconut vibe, for sure.

Ooh, great idea to use fig leaves to make coconut rice! I can see that being really yummy.