what do you forage?

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what do you forage?

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Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9894
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 25 10:13 am Post subject: what do you forage?

I've met a few earnest foragers in my time and I have concluded that most of them don't have taste buds. Whilst there are a lot of things you can forage to eat.. mostly I think I would rather not. eg hawthorn leaves... and all the multitude of things that people say taste like spinach that actually don't - you know what tastes the most like spinach? spinach. There is a reason why we have developed these plants for food.... and I definitely don't know enough about fungi to try it..

So I would say I don't forage.
But then I do, I just think these things are worth it: I've recently harvested my first wild garlic of the year - ( cheese and WG scones yum!) and of course there will be blackberries, sloes, wild raspberries, young nettle tips, elderflower, chestnuts...

interested in what other people bother to forage?

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6643
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 25 11:18 am Post subject:

I agree with you on the spinach things. I've often said, yes you can eat that as a green, but why?
That said, I do enjoy munching on purslane occasionally! Very young beech leaves are also a pleasant addition to a salad, surprisingly enough, and not something I would think of as needing to be foraged, so much as just harvested when walking by in the early spring.

In the past I've collected ramps (wild leeks, not present in the UK, sorry for you)
Most commonly I only put in the effort for things I put higher value on: hedgehog mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, black trumpets, chicken of the woods, pigs ears mushrooms, lions mane, chaga

I also am fortunate enough to have lots of wild blueberries growing around me.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45715
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 25 2:35 pm Post subject:
Fat hen is a quite good spinach replacement (cooked, not raw). Not much else really

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9894
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 25 3:03 pm Post subject:
oh yes, I pick wild blueberries too, on the moors - known as windberries locally.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46394
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 25 3:39 pm Post subject:

i dont get out much but in the past

whatever is near and ready and palatable if im sure of the id etc

things worth going specifically to collect include the extra delicious and have short season in specific places, bilberry especially the larger sweeter strain is one i used to seek as a purpose to be somewhere

go to forage a landscape used to include fresh shore fish and seafoods, maybe not too wise around the uk at the mo

seeds for relocation to new suitable places if they are plentiful or at risk where they are

i might look for a something in that sort of place at this time

mostly it would be graze while passing by

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35093
Location: Devon

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 25 4:35 pm Post subject:
Similar. Will be getting some WG before long. Blackberries, etc Ceps and chantarelles if we're lucky.

frewen

Joined: 08 Sep 2005
Posts: 11417

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 25 9:59 pm Post subject:
Blackberries for jam, sloes for gin, some crabapple for jelly, young nettle tips for soup, elderflower and elderberries for cordials (or wine) sweet chestnuts - I could do hips and haws for vitamin cordial and good King Henry for wilted greens. I don't trust myself with mushrooms and I'm not keen on wild garlic as I ate too much one year and it disagreed with me

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6643
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 25 12:00 am Post subject:
Yeah, with mushrooms it's always good to start with harder to mess up species, like hedgehogs or chicken of the woods

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16129

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 25 8:57 am Post subject:

In the UK lions mane is protected as not very common. We had some grow one year, but the tree collapsed and haven't seen it since. I don't forage mushrooms for the same reason others don't; not too good on ID.

I do pick blackberries, wild raspberries, wild garlic, but not often, or any other wild fruit I can be sure of. If I get to the wild strawberries before other creatures I get some of them too, but they are usually a graze as you go or share with family only quantity.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9894
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 25 11:39 am Post subject:
oh I had forgotten about wild strawberries, yes I pick them too, although the birds enjoy most of them.

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