Learn how to forage for wild food?

[Samuel1988]

Morning all,

First post on the forum!

Was just wondering how can I learn how to forage for wild food?

If anyone could recommend any books I can carry to learn, any good blogs to read or youtube channels to follow that would be great!

Also any good sources of information which aids as a good seasonal calendar to carry would be top!

Thank you for your help,

Samuel

[okra]

Great one is by Collins Gem - Food for Free and can be picked up very cheaply on Amazon for about £3.

[Zech]

Hi Samuel, I like the River Cottage guides by John Wright. There are three - hedgerow, mushrooms, and seashore.

For a bit of shameless self promotion, you might be interested to read about my foraging challenge that I did last year: http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blo ... -page.html

[Niele da Kine]

If you know anyone who forages, ask if you can go along. Each geographic location will have it's own things to forage and a book may not cover all the ones in your area. But at least a book is a place to start.

[Kaiya]

I second both book recommendations above - Food For Free is brilliant, as is RC Hedgerow (I haven't read Mushrooms or Seashore yet as I don't live close enough to the sea and I need to work up to mushrooming).

In terms of where to start - blackberries, sloes, rosehips, elderberries, elderflowers, crab apples and hawthorne berries are very accessible starting foraging foods. All easily recognised, with little danger in confusing them with others - the most risky would be hawthornes as they are little reddish berries, but just remember that they are part of the apple family so share the star shaped bottom and the same pip shape.

Plus combine the lot with the Hedgerow Jelly recipe from RC Preserves and you've got yourself a result!

[jamesintayside]

If you know anyone who forages, ask if you can go along. Each geographic location will have it's own things to forage and a book may not cover all the ones in your area. But at least a book is a place to start.

That is good advice.

Maybe also try just having a look around and asking -