What do you want to know about Coastal Survival?

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May 6, 2010
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www.coastalsurvival.com
Easy shellfish foraging:
Where to look and how to collect.
Any bucket or tub with a handle is a good vessel for carrying the forge in, along with a small net bag. Old onion sacks are ideal and can be used for both carrying and catching with in the flooded gullies and pools. As storms often pound exposed headlands and rocky shore lines most of the larger specimens may have been washed off the rocks. They can be found hiding in the deeper sheltered gullies, sometimes lightly covered with sand or seaweed, especially the larger muscles. Use the end of your foraging stick to carefully poke around the pools and gullies to expose what hides within them.
Note:
Never use your finger for fear of cuts from sharp broken shells, or the nip of an angry crab!

Muscles and winkles can be prised from their footings with relative ease. Limpets need slightly more persuasion to retrieve with a good swift strike needed from the stick or suitable pebble. If you fail to remove them with the first blow leave them alone as the initial shock will cause them to hold fast and firm, making them almost impossible to remove in one piece, not only resulting in wasting valuable energy but also smashing them to smithereens. Don’t worry if you do, save them for bait for hooks or fish traps.

When to forage:

During the warm summer months or the months without an “R‘s” in, shell fish is traditionally reputed to be unsuitable. This takes its foundation from 2 sources, firstly that months without “R’s” are generally speaking the summer months when higher concentrations of blooms and algae’s are present. These sometimes contain slightly toxic bacterial properties, sometimes referred to by fisherman as “May rot”. Secondly during hot weather the complex protein’s of shellfish bio-degrades quickly and therefore in times before refrigeration it would not have been possible to transport the shell fish safely over great distances. If you do want to transport you find home a cool bag and ice packs are ideal. Cover your shell fish in wet seaweed or a damp cloth.
Note: They will die is submerged in water, or if allowed to dry out.
One of the best times to forage are on or around a new or full moon on the Spring tides. This is when the tide is at its highest and also its lowest, exposing more of the rocks, gullies and deep pools

'Preparing and cooking'

Note: never collect or eat shell fish that are not obviously alive or firmly attached to the rocks. In regard to muscles or bi-valves also including scallops and oysters, these should always be firmly closed when alive and should open when cooked.
If the shell fish is to be boiled in a pan, the shell must first be scraped and scrubbed in the sand or gravel before cooking.
The convenient thing about shellfish regarding cooking in a bush craft situation is that the shells act as individual cooking vessels. Muscles can be placed around the edge of the fire until they open and are cooked. Don’t put them on top of the fire as they hold within them seawater which will put out the fire as they open. Winkles can be cooked on either hot rocks or cooked directly in the embers if no pan is available, simply boiling them for a few minutes in salt water is ideal. They will require a small pin or large thorn to persuade them from their shell.

Limpets when up turned can easily be laid along smouldering logs and will cook simply in their shell with their own juices. When cooked they will become detached from their shell as they shrink slightly. The dark part or intestines in the crown of the shell can now be easily removed from the thick muscular part you eat, this is the part that holds it to the rock. (some people eat the stomach)

All the internal parts of the muscle excluding the “beard” can be eaten, the “beard” is the stringy part with which the muscle attaches itself to the rock. This can removed prior to cooking with a firm tug.

There is nothing finer then a foraged shell fish breakfast, the clean delicate proteins are easily digestible and their rich mineral contents leave you feeling clean and energised.

Recipe suggestion.
The Mussels are cleaned and placed to cover the bottom of a pan, loosely pile on top with leafs of ‘Sea beet’ or ‘Wild Spinach’ . Cover with a lid and cook gently for approx 5 minutes or until the mussels are fully open. The water in the mussels will steam the sea beet perfectly. ( One of my favourite foraging breakfasts)


Note: always insure the area you forage is free from man made pollutants, estuaries may contain reminisce of industrial activity such as heavy metal deposits and pollutants.
 
May 6, 2010
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0
uk
www.coastalsurvival.com
Hi,

Here a link to a video clip on foraging for seaweed and limpets, more to come soon, getting a little HD camera and external microphone (sorry about the quality in this one)

Hope you like it [video=youtube;pZoNUO7FTP8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZoNUO7FTP8[/video]

Cheers

Fraser
 
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May 6, 2010
123
0
uk
www.coastalsurvival.com
Salting - Preserving - Pickling.
The process of salting fish for food, and storing it, was responsible for allowing many a distant sea voyager and vastly populated fishing grounds of old to taken advantage of and returned to home shores, many country's and cutlers around the world still favour salted food and “salt cod” is still a popular dish in Portugal and southern Spain. Pickled seafood is always a familiar site at most holiday beaches, with the usual Cockles. Pubs have had pickled eggs on the bar in the past, so the idea of pickling and preserving is not uncommon. I urge you go forth and try some of your own designs.

With food costs amongst others are rising endlessly, preserving natures wild harvest is not only cost effective, but it can be called upon, should the local shop (if you still have one) ever run out of food! Alternatively they make great gifts or something other than the usual picked onions and red cabbage at Christmas.

When your lucky enough to find, catch or collect a good source of food its good idea to keep some for travelling or saving for leaner times in respect of the “hunter gatherer” and the self sufficient types among us.

Smoking food is the popular method for short term preserving, but for storing for longer periods Salting, pickling or storing in oil, will allow you to keep foods stored right through out the year.

In early spring through out the year, a multitude of plants and seafood will reappear as if by magic from there long winters nap. Or returning from the deeper warmer waters. This on set of so much food can be found in the rock pools, along the seashore and in the green lush hedgerows and woodlands.

These are some of the foods I have recently found that are well worth the weight in salt or in some cases vinegar, oil and even honey! The time the foods will keep for is dependent on several factors, cleanliness and hygiene being one as is where you store you goods. Its well worth sterilising in boiling water if you can, the container use for storing and keep them in a cool dark area.

Pickled early (red) sea kale:
First wash and place the sea kale in boiling salted water (1 table spoon of salt per pint of water ratio) reduced to a simmer and count to 20 , this process is some times referred to as “blanching” it destroys some of the enzymes that will normally degraded the food. Remove from the hot water and plunge into fresh cold water to arrest the cooking process. Now dry as best you can the Kale with a dry clean cloth and place it in a sealable jar or similar receptacle (old jam jars cleaned in boiling water are ideal) slightly squash it down until it fills the jar and cover with cider vinegar or similar add a good pinch of sea salt, several pepper corns and a tea spoon of dark sugar. Seal the jars and leave to rest in a cool dark area.

Brined Alexander’s:
After washing the pre flowering tender steams of the Alexander’s. Blanch them only briefly for 30/40 in simmering salted water as above, then dissolve a good table spoon of sea salt in approx half a pint of pre boiled water allowed to cool slightly, place the Alexander’s in a thick heat resistant jar and cover with the brine solution until it fills completely, store as above or in a fridge if you have one.

Pickled Carrageen moss (seaweed): This diverse seaweed often associated with thickening qualities is excellent pickled and much favoured. Half fill you chosen jar for the seaweed with vinegar and pour in to a pan together with some diced garlic or onion, a few pepper corns a good pinch of salt and a small finch of all spice or similar. Bring to the boil and add the Carrageen moss. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before transferring to the jars (spices can be added)

Pickled limpets.
Limpets are probably the most over looked and under rated shell food on our coast and most defiantly the most accessible. After carefully collecting them give them a quick wash to get rid of any loose grit or sand. Place the in boiling salted water at the one table spoon of salt per half pint of water ratio and cook until they part from there shell, careful remove them from the water and dry them on clean cloth place them in ajar and top up with vinegar, add a god pinch of white pepper and a pinch of sugar. Store as above.
(you can remove the stomach if you wish)

Colts foot honey.
Colts foot can normally be found on turned over or slipped ground, it’s a good “lung herb” that can be preserved in a pot of honey and kept by for the months, when colds and coughs are about next year. The scents of the flowers transfers almost over night to the honey, giving it a light floral flavour.

Salted white fish.
White fish after its cleaned and filleted will take salt well and its a fairly simple process to achieve. The clean dried fillets are laid on a bed of salt on a large plate or tray, then cover the fish with a liberal amount of salt. Place in a fridge or cool dark area for approx half an hour, by then most of the water in the fillets will have been drawn out by the salt, pour off the excess water and add another hand full of salt to the fish, repeat the process until no more water is present. Hang the fillets in a cool dark, but well aired spot to dry and finish curing, you may want to put a tray under them to catch any final water that can still be present.


Wild garlic purée.
This lush and sometimes plentifully plant can be found on the edge of woodland and hedgerow banks, it has a distinctive familiar garlic flavour and smell as you may imagine of “Garlic” when the leaves are big and slender, just before it flowers the leaves can quickly be gathered in good numbers, just after its rained is a good time to collect when the plant is clean of dust and grit etc. Roughly chop or tare the leaves and place in a blender if possible to finely chop or crush in pestle and mortar with the addition of some good vegetable oil, i.e. Olive oil, ground nut, or sunflower etc until it all comes together in a smooth paste or puree. Add a good pinch of sea salt, and black pepper and transfer to storage jars.

Sea spinach/beat sauerkraut.
Chop the leaves of this abundant and wild relative of the cultivated spinach roughly. Then pummel it down with the end of a rolling pin or similar in a bowl until it is well bruised. Add a desert spoon of salt per half pint of smashed and bruised spinach and transfer to a clean jar and seal. The mixture of salt and spinach will natural ferment making this slightly tougher leafed plant more digestible and excellent uncooked. (store in well sealed containers in the fridge for long storing)

Happy hunting and please remember not to collect any wild food you can not correctly identify or are familiar with, the recipes above can be applied to other plants and seafood that you may or ready be familiar with, or are indeed hold as firm favourites.

Be safe, Be lucky, Be happy.

By Fraser Christian.

Coastal Survival School.

www.coastalsurvival.com
 

Asa Samuel

Native
May 6, 2009
1,450
1
St Austell.
Hi there,

I would really like to learn about the resources of coastal areas - not just foraging but uses for coastal plants and things like that :)

Thanks,
Asa
 
May 6, 2010
123
0
uk
www.coastalsurvival.com
id like to know whats safe to eat wild plants wise wise and whats not, and the technical details of this.

Hi

There are luckily more safe edibles than not, but this is something that requires 110% certain identification before confidently consuming anything, there are many books on the subject listing the vast technical details, but from my own experience, it's always best to be show first hand from an experienced forager. There are many available. Why not come on one of the forum courses?

"We have just a few places left on the next two bcuk courses so grab yourself a place and have a fantastic time with some of the UK's best instructors.
Foundation Skills Week - 30th May – 3rd June 2011
Wild Foods Week - June 20th - 24th 2011
Have a look in the Expeditions and Courses forums for more information. "

I hope this helps for now

Fraser
 
Where do you teach/instruct?

I was contracted to Trueways.

Any thing specifically about algae or any types? Its not the most exciting or dangerous at the best of times!

Really? I was under the impression that the toxins associated with cyanobacteria were pretty nasty. The age old advice to not eat bivalves unless there is an R in the month seems quite sound and based on something bad. Are you saying that there is nothing to worry about?
 
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Thanks for the shell fish guide

Limpets when up turned can easily be laid along smouldering logs and will cook simply in their shell with their own juices. When cooked they will become detached from their shell as they shrink slightly. The dark part or intestines in the crown of the shell can now be easily removed from the thick muscular part you eat, this is the part that holds it to the rock. (some people eat the stomach)

My fave way of cooking these is to collect them onto a new flat rock, this is not only very easy, but provides a nice platform on which you can light a quick grass a fine stick fire. This is very useful for cooking on the spot when no fire is established.
 

Ronnie

Settler
Oct 7, 2010
588
0
Highland
I was talking to some people in Scotland who basically used large vacuum cleaners and compressed them, but that's not getting a bit off topic. :)

All those midge massacring machines don't make a blind bit of difference. Lots of campsite run them and proudly display how many kilos of midges they've zapped over a season. I know one guy whos Mrs insists on them around the house burning LPG to produce CO2 to lure them in and kill them - he only runs them to keep her happy. The reservoir of biting beasties is massive and they have a very short lifespan anyway. If you have 10% less midges in a cloud around your face it doesn't really make any difference.
 
May 6, 2010
123
0
uk
www.coastalsurvival.com
I was contracted to Trueways.



Really? I was under the impression that the toxins associated with cyanobacteria were pretty nasty. The age old advice to not eat bivalves unless there is an R in the month seems quite sound and based on something bad. Are you saying that there is nothing to worry about?

Ah that sort of algae,
Shellfish, particularly bivalves are occasional affected by cyanbacteria. These are contained in blue green algae, there presence is related to sun light levels, and also in April showers and times after heavy rain fall when there is land run off, supplying large levels of nutrient in to shallow coastal waters, agricultural fertilizers and outfall defuser's(?) don't help either, also it is found in lakes, the water is also affect (poisonous) as it contains this unicellular algae. Millions of this algae give the water a greenish colour by there shear mass, but are hard to detect in low levels. The "dead mens fingers" in crabs will also be effected by the dreaded blue/green stuff, they are the filtration part of the crabs body, filtering its exterior environment, and become poisonous due to a Bio-accumulation.

The "R" in the month thing, directly relates to the warmer months, when the algae are generally found, although this may also, some what have to do with the no refrigeration years ago ???

There may always be a point that occurs when the algae is present but hard to detect, there's evidence that some early hunter gathers (sorry cant remember which) used to watch the sea birds first and weather they were eating the shellfish. Even professional oyster and mussel outfits, get caught out by the sudden arrivals of the algae. I know of a famous restaurant that had two dozen or so guest poisoned by Oysters from a trusted and well qualified supplier.


I hope this helps, please feel free to ask any more questions. Tom Lichfield our Seashore consultant is always on hand for any question relating to these subjects, Please find his details on our website http://www.coastalsurvival.com/instructors.html

Cheers

Fraser
 

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