Wild edibles

[Toddy]

Sounds kind of scary, but I just mean the 'uncultivated' ones.

My short list (Spring's 5 weeks late according to the hill farmers, I don't live up a hill but it's really slow here too) of this week's...and I have a miserable cold so haven't wandered far.

Lesser celandines,
Hairy bittercress,
Hawthorn leaves,
Assorted wild onions,
Ransoms,
Beech leaves,
Young tansy leaves,
Chickweed,
Fat hen seedlings.
Nettles,
Heartsease flowers,
Dandelion leaves,
Meadowsweet leaves (easing my cold)
Young dock leaves,
....and already up and ripe, fresh rhubarb though I admit that's cultivated.

For teas I have blackcurrant, raspberry and strawberry leaves, chamomile and mints.

What's in season near you? what are you finding to munch ?

M

 

[Broch]

What's in season near you? what are you finding to munch ?

M

Wood sorrel
Sheep's sorrel
Reed mace (OK, that's all year round)
Brooklime

A lot seems to be coming up all at once now

 

[Robson Valley]

Been too cold, too snowy, for far too long up here.
Even the rhubarb is afraid to sprout.
Guessing that we are 2-3 weeks behind last year.

About the only spring wild food will be fern fiddleheads (croziers) by the ton.
They ought to be coming soon in the valley bottom.
Our season is extended by driving up hill on logging roads.
Every 1,000' is a whole new ball game!

Raw is barely OK with a squirt of lemon juice. Steamed with lemon & butter.
Cream of fern fiddle head soup with a dozen for garnish.

The licensed pickers have a big site west of me. They airfreight daily to the Paris markets.

 

[WealdenWoodsman]

Wood Sorrel as well as Cuckoos Flower popping up everywhere.

 

[Leshy]

I see some ransoms are starting to sprout too, the smell is marvellous and I can't wait to start using it in my kitchen ...

And me and the kids already had a nice nibble on some fresh young Hawthorne leaves that have come out on the hedges...

Spring is definitely here

 

[Broch]

Unfortunately we don't have ransoms in our wood

 

[Nice65]

I see some ransoms are starting to sprout too, the smell is marvellous and I can't wait to start using it in my kitchen ...

And me and the kids already had a nice nibble on some fresh young Hawthorne leaves that have come out on the hedges...

Spring is definitely here

Been up in the Dorset/Wilts area a lot recently, Ramsons are rampant, have been for a few weeks. Going to try Ramson wrapped lamb in foil. That’s about the limit of my foraging at the moment, though I’ve munched a few Hawthorn leaves.

 

[Broch]

Been up in the Dorset/Wilts area a lot recently, Ramsons are rampant, have been for a few weeks. Going to try Ramson wrapped lamb in foil. That’s about the limit of my foraging at the moment, though I’ve munched a few Hawthorn leaves.

We can't get away with foraging the lambs around here

 

[Leshy]

Been up in the Dorset/Wilts area a lot recently, Ramsons are rampant, have been for a few weeks. Going to try Ramson wrapped lamb in foil. That’s about the limit of my foraging at the moment, though I’ve munched a few Hawthorn leaves.

Aye that will be nice , lamb is good with anything in my opinion

I like the wild garlic (ransoms) leaves sprinkled on top of a pizza too ..
And omelettes ...and come to think about it almost anything even on top pesto toasties...

Nomnom

 

[Nice65]

Aye that will be nice , lamb is good with anything in my opinion

I like the wild garlic (ransoms) leaves sprinkled on top of a pizza too ..
And omelettes ...and come to think about it almost anything even on top pesto toasties...

Nomnom

It makes an excellent and very punchy, pesto too.

 

[Robson Valley]

Can you harvest the ransom leaves, blanch and roll, then freeze, them in bundles for later use?
I've done that with great success with tender grape leaves to make dolmades in January.

 

[Leshy]

Can you harvest the ransom leaves, blanch and roll, then freeze, them in bundles for later use?
I've done that with great success with tender grape leaves to make dolmades in January.

Sure , and you can also keep the petals(that are delicious on its own too) in some olive oil and let the infusion take place over several weeks or months .
Garlic flavoured olive oil presto .

 

[Leshy]

It makes an excellent and very punchy, pesto too.

I'll try that , together with the basil so it cuts out some of the "punch"...
Good shout

 

[Toddy]

If you have loads of ransoms (grow them in a pot for instance, they seed prolifically) the bulbs are lovely just sliced and quickly fried in butter. I cooked them like that and flash fried venison in the jus at one meet. They're a tasty addition to bubble and squeak and they work really well in canned coleslaw.
If you use the flowers in sweetened vinegar, and strain it, it keeps really well and is a really nice salad dressing later on too especially if you can add some raspberry juice.

M

 

[Leshy]

If you have loads of ransoms (grow them in a pot for instance, they seed prolifically) the bulbs are lovely just sliced and quickly fried in butter. I cooked them like that and flash fried venison in the jus at one meet. They're a tasty addition to bubble and squeak and they work really well in canned coleslaw.
If you use the flowers in sweetened vinegar, and strain it, it keeps really well and is a really nice salad dressing later on too especially if you can add some raspberry juice.

M

That sounds amazing!

 

[Chomp]

This is an area that I need to up my game. I forage wild cherries, hazelnuts and berries and I know wild garlic when I see it but I've got a lot to learn.

 

[Toddy]

There are some brilliant foragers on the forum, I only know the ones that grow nearby me, and I've lived in this area all of my life. It's a lack, it really is, I just don't know enough.
Typha brought something like sixty different wild edibles to a meet we had in Perthshire one year. Absolutely wonderful and there are folks like that right through the country.
There are online foragers though, like Fergus Drennan and Geoff Dann (fungi).....we could maybe compile a list of recommended folks and their sites ?

M

 

[Chomp]

I'm learning as I go, I'm too feart to dabble in the mushrooms, I wouldn't be averse to a trip but don't fancy the whole death thing.

60 odd wild edibles is pretty impressive Toddy, Let me know next time there's a meet, give me a shout, I'll happily sit and their feet and learn.

 

[Nice65]

Ok, here’s another.

No more ransoms, flipping auto spell is doing that. The Ramson flowers can be dipped in a light cornflour batter and deep fried for a few seconds. I’ve been spending time on the Rushmore Estate, owned by the Pitt-Rivers family of whom conservationist Major Michael Pitt-Rivers was the last of his line. The estate passed to the hands of William Gronow-Davis, his lover. The fried Ramson flowers were one of his favourites, cooked by his chef Richard.

The flowers are yet to come, so be aware and use them in your food.

 

[Nomad64]

Unfortunately we don't have ransoms in our wood

I’ve just planted some in ours much to the bewilderment of my mother who is in Somerset and complains bitterly that the woods around her have nothing but ramsons growing in them.