Cliff Erich is a culinary provocateur. While I know little of the Vineyard Haven resident, I am inspired by his fruitful foraging and gastronomic ingenuity. Adoringly preparing food for his family, Cliff documents his adventures in collecting wild ingredients and preparing dishes with wonderful wordsmithing and fabulous photos on the Facebook group Cooking on the Vineyard. devoted to Island cooking. 

In a recent post, Cliff enthuses about a family breakfast: “This is why I went through all that trouble hiking out to my shagbark hickory grove...Shagbark hickory syrup goes perfectly with authentic, overnight cold-proofed Belgian waffles...topped with that woodsy, earthy and almost a toasted vanilla-like syrup, chocolate syrups and made with Belgian beer and the dregs of the unpasteurized wild yeast in the bottom of the bottle...these suckers are mind-blowingly good and worth the effort.” 

While there is a lot to unpack there, it was the shagbark hickory mention that got my attention. About a month ago, on a trip to visit family in New Jersey, I noticed the prevalence of shagbark hickories and observed suburban grounds littered with a hearty crop of nuts. I was jealous: I had not seen such a nutty profusion or, in fact, any shagbark hickory trees on the Island.  

With Cliff’s mention of shagbark syrup, my curiosity (and research) of the tree was reignited. Shagbark hickory is not native to the Island, though is here in limited amounts. It has possibly become naturalized after having been likely planted as an ornamental. Of course, there is a specimen at Polly Hill, a few trees along North Road and a sizeable population on the Frances Newhall Woods Preserve in Chilmark. 

Shagbark hickory — carya ovata — is in the walnut family and has been revered for its many merits. Indigenous people, including the Chippewa, Delaware, Ontario and Iroquois, used it for health. Its various parts were employed as an analgesic, for intestinal worms, as a women’s tonic, for arthritis and the nutmeat oil was used for hair care. 

Wood of the tree was known for its hardness and was a popular source for tool handles. Its value as firewood was second only to locust, which has a higher fuel value. A cord of shagbark hickory is equal in thermal units to a ton of anthracite coal. 

Even with those impressive characteristics, I still return to focus on its food value. Syrup is not derived by tapping the tree as with maple or other tree syrups. The bark, with its signature peeling nature, is used to create that syrup about which Cliff boasted. Collect, cook, cool and strain bark collected from the tree (or the ground below the tree), no tapping required. The wood is also good for smoking meat and seafood. 

And don’t forget the nuts, which can be enjoyed in many ways even if there is competition to collect them. Squirrels, mice, raccoon, chipmunks, insects, birds and rabbits are just a few of the wildlife that also harvest and enjoy the nuts. As with many species, there are good years, called a mast year, and bad ones. Be patient, too, as a tree needs more than 40 years to put out a crop of nuts. 

This tree may be elusive on the Island, though it’s clearly worth the effort if you believe Cliff. And if you don’t have a source, an understanding or ability to find and use it, perhaps you can try for the next best thing: an invite to breakfast with the Erichs.   

Suzan Bellincampi is islands director for Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown and the Nantucket Wildlife Sanctuaries. She is also the author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature and The Nature of Martha’s Vineyard.