Foraging - Natures Food

rachbc

a wild plum - they are smaller and sourer than cultivated plums - I used some to make a chinesey plum sauce - yumm

adelight

HariboJunkie wrote: »

Managed to get out yesterday and gathered masses of chanterelles as well as some oyster mushrooms and hedgehog mushrooms. There are HUGE amounts of all 3 just coming ( in spots they have never thrived before) so we will go back next weekend for more. We shared our bounty with our friends too.
I'm going to dry the hedgehogs and chanterelles today.

Where abouts in the country are you? Me and OH saw quite a few mushrooms around today but not sure what they are, but they were mostly huge funnel ones.

Spotted loads of sweet chestnut and crab apple trees today, far from ripe. Took photos of some berries to look up at home, one is red elder but not sure of the rest yet.
OH used to go on mushroom walks and pick wild mushrooms with his mum so he is going to have a chat to her, borrow some books and we're going to go mushroom hunting.

rachbc

been meaning to ask - seen a few trees recently with small green 'fruit' they look like tiny tiny apples about 1.5 cm across but hanging in bunches like elderberries so don't think they are a type of crab apple - the leaves are similar to beech. Any ideas what they might be - hope its something edible as there are loads!

Horace

I was taken to a special place for sloes yesterday, I would have picked blackberries too but the heavens opened and I thought that wet blackberries would soon go mouldy. I managed to pick 2lb of sloes which I pricked this morning and shared them between 2 x 1.5ltr bottles, added 4oz sugar to both together with a bottle of vodka (I used Tamova from Aldi as it was only £8.97 a bottle). The sloes will be given a daily shake until all sugar dissolved and then they will be getting a shake a week.

I have plans for the sloes then I have finished with them - they will be stoned and then dipped in melted chocolate to make fruit liqueur chocs:cool:

Whilst foraging yesterday I saw loads of rose hips and some other bright red berries which may have been rowan but I left them well alone in case they were poisonous.

mrgravell

Oops - just started a new thread when I should have added to this one...

I've recently started putting my favourite foraging sites on a map at urbanforager.org.uk - would be great to get a group of people contributing to the map so we can share foraging locations and find more free food.

If any of you are interested in logging locations head over to the site and get in contact (there's a form on there). I'm based in London but the map is available for the whole of the UK.

annie-c

Horace wrote: »

I have plans for the sloes then I have finished with them - they will be stoned and then dipped in melted chocolate to make fruit liqueur chocs:cool:

Choc liquer fruit sounds lovely, but does it work with sloes? They are so bitter!

poppy-glos

annie-c wrote: »

Choc liquer fruit sounds lovely, but does it work with sloes? They are so bitter!

hi, i've tried this before. Also, sloe(flesh after making sloe gin/vodka) is lovely in vanilla icecream (sort of sloe ripple). The only thing putting me off making more than a token amount has been how to stone the fruit.. i have cut slivers off but not had any success finding an efficent way to get alot of fruit minus stone. Any suggestions welcome (i guess easier when sloes are big rather than small ones i've found last couple of years)

Horace

annie-c wrote: »

Choc liquer fruit sounds lovely, but does it work with sloes? They are so bitter!

I have been told that choc liqueur sloes will work - they will have been steeped in vodka for a few months by the time I use them, they probably won't taste like sloes then which are tongue curlingly bad (I know because I tried a raw one on Sunday to see what they were like).

I cannot add my sloe patch to the map because it is on private land, however, I have made a note of other sloe bushes and can say that there are some along the A38 between Rubery village and Lydiate Ash island nr Bham..certainly on the inbound side right next to the layby.

I may try a cherry stoner to get the stones out..it might work.

Churchmouse

Thought I'd report back regarding my idea for local foraging maps to be featured in the community magazine. I'm happy to say the editor is really enthusiastic :j He thinks it's too late for this year but wants to look at it in the Spring and gauge interest He was amazed nobody has thought of it before, and commended me for being so thoughtful. I'm blushing under his praise :rotfl:

Not had much success foraging of late, but just haven't had the time. I have harvested blackberries, and spied some more just coming into ripeness in a new location.:D Still looking for nut trees, other than sweet chestnut.

D&DD

On the subject of nuts...I was walking doglet yesterday and came upon a little old lady she must have been around 80 who was harvesting all the hazelnuts and I mean ALL she had her own bodyweight contained in two large sacks next to her..I checked them the other day and they looked nowhere near ready is there something you can do with under ripe cobnuts I'm not aware of??
Not that there is one single one left this year there anyway now :rotfl:

The one walnut tree has also been stripped already and to top it all off we found 4 new apple trees but have had the travellers arrive again and set up home right next to them..

Churchie glad they liked the idea