ultimate resource

[lofthouse31]

I wanted to start a thread about foraging that hopefully will sprout, into a kind of ultimate foragers list.
The idea being that we all list one species/type per reply and the ways we know how to cook, pick, use said species.
Things to include could identification tips, locations best found, flavours, processing, bits of plant or animal to discard, edible parts, inedible parts, how to tell a goodun from a baddun, best times of year, any new edible discoveries etc.
With the vast collective knowledge of the visitors to this site, the tome of information would be quite outstanding, and usefull to all.
No exclusions, if its fit for the belly and on british soil please include, plants, tubers, leafs, weeds, flowers, insect cuisine, game, fish, shellfish, sea weeds, seeds, nuts, legumes.
No limits.
Thanks for any input and i hope this thread proves usefull.

 

[xylaria]

Japanese knotweed is an invasive foreign plant, that is highly resistant to herbicides, and illegal to allow to good your land. It reproduces by small fragments of roots getting caught on boots and tyres. It cannot reproduce by seed in britain. Extreme caution is required when harvesting knotweed that none of the root material can leave the infected area. I change footwear

Knotweed crumble
April: Harvest 4lb/2kg of knee height knotweed shoots.
Without moving out side of infected area remove all leaves and tough parts, discard into infected area.
In a kitchen cut up stalks to about a 1 inch in lenghts. All discarded parts at this stage have to be burned.
Cover pan with water and 1lb/500gms sugar.
Simmer until soft green sludge. Test for stringyness and sweetness.
This sauce will keep for a few days in fridge. It is environmentally safe when cooked and can be eaten outside at this stage.
Stir fry 300gms of digestive biscuits in butter .
Serve crumble on top of the hot knotweed sauce.

Return to harvested patch every few weeks to harvest more shoots. If the shoots are too mature they become stringy, the succulent stalks break cleanly with a pop noise when harvesting. The pleasant rhubarb flavour disappears after a few harvests.

The flowers taste like they have a potential for food as well.

 

[loz.]

Nasturtions are a great addition to the salad, with a very nice slightly peppery taste,

Although I'm yet to find them in the wild !

 

[xylaria]

Nasturtions are a great addition to the salad, with a very nice slightly peppery taste,

Although I'm yet to find them in the wild !

Try bittercress instead in grows anywhere and everywhere.
There also sorrel which is just starting to sweeten up for that hegde saled.

Come on lofthouse wheres your tasty natural treats?

 

[loz.]

Try bittercress instead in grows anywhere and everywhere.
There also sorrel which is just starting to sweeten up for that hegde saled.

Come on lofthouse wheres your tasty natural treats?

Thanks !...

 

[lofthouse31]

good point xylaria,

i will put one on a day

Marsh samphire to start cos its my favourite,
Saddly i dont live near the sea so its a bit of a treat when im on my travels.

Found on salt marshes and depending where you go it can be very prolific, im not sure about its nutritional content, but i do get the inner feeling when im eating some that its sure to put lead in the pencil.

looks like a very tiny cactus in appearance about 5 to 6 inch tall, depending where you go for it be carefull of the tides, they come in really quickly in places.

can be eaten raw if you like but better cooked

they are full of moisture, and a good way to take on salt.

to cook boil in some water,
accompanys meat very well.

I have put it a fishes cavity with herbs before cooking and that worked well too.

Ive read it can be pickled, but pickleing is still on my list of things to learn so not sure how best to do it.

not to be confused with rock samphire which is a wholey different plant (looks totally different)

young fresh specimens are best but older ones are good eating, but best to squeeze the flesh out of the skin with the teeth whilst eating.

 

[lofthouse31]

another of my favourites and very local to me,

The young leaves in the springtime are very nice eating, older leaves later on are still edible but take a bit more tooth work, and with the hight of summer other tastier things come into abundance, but for a couple of months the hawthorn leafs make an nice and easily available/gatherable resource.

Ive not much knowledge of nutritional contents of plants

The berry comes in autumn ie is ready (though the seasons are not set in stone these days)
berries are bunched and dark red (always be sure where berries are concerned if you are just starting out, double check with a feild guide book, safety first)

hawthorn jelly is very nice, and works well with many foods,

 

[lofthouse31]

heather is a very locally common plant, most people are familiar with its appearance, but if not its like a long grass with lightish purpleish flowers, google it for a picture,

Its one of my faves cos im a brewer, and heather tops make an excellant beer ingredient yum yum hiccup

The dried flowerheads can also be used to make tea

 

[xylaria]

heather is a very locally common plant, most people are familiar with its appearance, but if not its like a long grass with lightish purpleish flowers, google it for a picture,

Its one of my faves cos im a brewer, and heather tops make an excellant beer ingredient yum yum hiccup

The dried flowerheads can also be used to make tea

YOU KNOW THE SECRET OF HEATHER BEER!!!!!!!

The Vikings when they turned up in Ireland in about 900AD, they didn't really do much in the way of pillaging. They more sort of they came, they saw, they got drunk, they fell over. When the aching of their pancreases from Irish hospitality laws became too much to bare, they thought it good to return the favour. So they built ports and breweries. They specialised in brewing heather beer, but they wouldn't tell the Irish how. So the high king of a bit of all ireland king Brian, declared war on the newcomers for not sharing good beer (which was capitol offence). king Brian routed every viking from the isle except the brewer of cork and his son. They tortured them both to death but they refused to give up the secret of heather beer.

[unlike other Irish authors I make no claims of this being in anyway historically accurate]

 

[lofthouse31]

recipe for heather beer, ( a large quantity recipe change amounts for smaller or larger amounts, effects vary but giddyness is asured as the poor quality of my spelling)

six litres of heather tops (takes a fair bit of gathering, but its a good days work when you get the result)

3lb of malt extract

2 1/2 lb of sugar

10 litres of water.

If i have some on the go next year in time for bushmoot will bring a load, if its up to scratch.

 

[lofthouse31]

I get quite a bit of this one near me, and in think its quite commen country wide

google it for a picture its a hard one to discribe with any clarity (my english tut)

When it flowers in the summer, can cut taken, boiled and eaten, has a strong flavour, which my wifes not too keen on but i quite like it, so depends on the palate.

centurys ago it was cultivated but has since disappeared from the kitchens in favour of more commericial crops, shame imo

 

[RobertRogers]

perhaps my favorite is eating cattail shoots raw in the spring, so very tasty and so very easy to harvest!

In my humble opinion the common cattail is one of the best plants of all time in terms of food value and general usefulness.

 

[lofthouse31]

(google for a pic)

Goosegrass, it is a very common plant, (not sure if its classed as a weed or not)
its a sticky plant that im sure most of us has had cause to brush bits of it off our clothes in there time.
this is a good plant cos of its yearly shelf life, it appears , early springish and can hang about for good eating until late autumn, a little later the seeds of this plant can be dry roasted and eaten too,
too cook boil for about 8 to 10 mins.
a good plate full can be gathered very quickly for very little energy used in gathering and processing.
a good staple if out and about

 

[lofthouse31]

i thought id add this one aswell (i know 99 percent of us are aware of the wheres and hows, but theres people just starting bushcraft all the time)

we all know what it looks like, and for me its a fabulouse and abundant resource,

best picked march to august, young leaves (use gloves unless your a hard nut)

very high in vits a and c
has high protein for what it is.

always wash before cooking (good practice plus dog pee lol)

as many recipes for nettle as there are flaws in the legal system

boil or as rm did hold over flame to wilt a bit (cooking,heat destroys sting)

a truly brilliant weed

 

[xylaria]

Cattails : I made cookies last winter with cattail root. I boiled them whole, then split them and then combed the starch out of the string. Mixed the starch with some maple syrup and then baked until firm. Very nice, but alot of work.

RR you are right there is allot you do with cattails.

 

[Matt Weir]

i thought id add this one aswell (i know 99 percent of us are aware of the wheres and hows, but theres people just starting bushcraft all the time)

we all know what it looks like, and for me its a fabulouse and abundant resource,

best picked march to august, young leaves (use gloves unless your a hard nut)

very high in vits a and c
has high protein for what it is.

always wash before cooking (good practice plus dog pee lol)

as many recipes for nettle as there are flaws in the legal system

boil or as rm did hold over flame to wilt a bit (cooking,heat destroys sting)

a truly brilliant weed

Here is the recipe I tried making nettle beer

 

[lofthouse31]

cheers matt, a beer recipe to me is priceless, i forgot to mention the nettle stem layers and there useage for making cord, most of us know that, but i bet theres atleast one who doesnt.

Keep em coming gang and we can save new guys and each other a small fortune in books and courses.

 

[loz.]

boil or as rm did hold over flame to wilt a bit (cooking,heat destroys sting)

You can also eat raw leaves - if you pinch from underside, to avoid sting, then fold and roll in your fingers, the nettles own juices dissipate the sting.

then just pop in the mouth !

Trust me !

 

[lofthouse31]

one of our more common wild plants and one which when picked and processed into horseradish sauce fresh on the day beats the shop bought jars hands down black and blue.
(google for a pick)
it has very small white flowers and a broadish green leaf if unsure you can tear and crush the leaf, give it a sniff and you should be able to detect the smell of horseradish.

It requires a bit of digging, and the roots can be massive, a spade or digging stick is essential,

A good chunck can go a long way, peel and chop or grate, (tears are likely its like an onion times three)

dont just confine it to a beef garnish,
a bit of grated horseradish in the pot can add flavour and fire to the most meagre of forageings.
its also good cooked in a fishes cavity, particularly good if youve caught a mucky bottom feeding fish that wont taste all that great on its own.

 

[lofthouse31]

again most of us know it but some might not,
in its weight division its a contender.

one of the most widely recognisable, available and usefull plants we have in this country.

the young leaves are a tasty salading, older ropier leaves can be boiled, the flowers can be added to soups and stews or fried in batter.
the roots can be pan roasted and eat, or dried roasted and ground to make a drink called dandelion (its not coffee, coffee is from coffee beans, dandelion is from the dandelion root.) just add hot water,
roots can also be sliced and fried ****ake style(wonderfull)

theres lots of folklore about the white moisture contained in the dandelion flower stems, but not sure on the medicinal uses of it if any, i usually add the stems to the pot aswell,

available at a stretch on a good year for ten months or so, roots are best and biggest in autumn.

minimal digging required but roots can be small, but having said that within five of ten minuites in any field or park you can gether enough for a self contained meal.

not sure of the vitamins etc