Wild Edibles, What, Where, When

[Fraxinus]

Off the back of Samon's thread as it seems he is a tad shy to start it up ( Mods feel free to adjust this thread as deemed necessary ) I shall take up the idea and try to promote it onwards.

19/01/16 Kent

Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)

Taste and smells like apple peel, sour Bramley apple to my taste buds, nice in a salad or can be cooked.
Found in meadows or grassy openings in woodlands throughout the UK.
The poisonous plant Lords and Ladies can be mistaken for this although L&L have a larger leaf with rounded lobes rather than the pointed lobes at the lower end of the leaves where the stalk meets.

(If anyone has more info to share or there is an error in the above please make it known, Ta.)


Rob.

 

[Fraxinus]

Marsh Samphire (Salicornia spp)
July 18 2015 (available june thru' september)

Salt marsh areas around the coast, often used with fish dishes but goes great with braised lamb shanks too. Can be pickled or preserved in olive oil for use later.
I picked mine from a kayak but caution is advised when foraging by foot on marsh areas, Leigh Robinson posted a very good video on the tube about this ...
[video]https://youtu.be/ZTmh8JNgPlo[/video]

I hope others can add to this thread that was Samon's great idea, I'm just trying to give it some legs to run with...

Rob.

 

[acheter]

Nice video Leigh! A pleasant change to see foraging in a different environment.

 

[Adze]

One of my favourite wild plants is the humble ramson or wild garlic. It is another one you can confuse with arum, but only when they're both young. Pretty much everything is edible of the ramson, leaves can be added to salads, or wilted as part of a stir fry (great with sardines on toast) the flowers can be dipped in tempura batter and fried or added to salads and the roots/bulbs used like garlic or onions. As far as I know you need permission from the land owner in England and Wales (not sure about Scotland, anybody else?) to gather the bulbs but not the leaves or flowers - disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and I may be wrong, heed your own advice.

 

[E3Nomad]

One of the distinguishing features of Lords & Ladies is the tell-tale line around the edge of the leaf, easily visible on the upper surface, even on young leaves. (Image from www.ukwildlife.net)