Foraging Challenge

Badrick

Free for Kindle at the moment.
How To Forage For Free Food - Let's Get Foraging

Gigervamp

1lb to 1L is the wrong ratio. It should be either 1lb sugar to 1 PINT of liquid, or 450g sugar to 600ml juice.

jumblejack

Gigervamp wrote: »

1lb to 1L is the wrong ratio. It should be either 1lb sugar to 1 PINT of liquid, or 450g sugar to 600ml juice.

Aargh. I'm following the jelly guidelines in Richard Mayers book

Will let you know how it's worked out. The pan will need water reboiling inside it as it is like toffee now on the sides :rotfl:

Edit:

Just checked. My mistake! It is to 1 pint in the book. I did follow his recipe to the T do I've done it right then. Phew!:D

Now I'm waiting for the results.......

Gigervamp

That's lucky!

jumblejack

Badrick wrote: »

Free for Kindle at the moment.
How To Forage For Free Food - Let's Get Foraging

Thank you!!!!

You can download this on the iPhone too!
There is a kindle app. You just need an amazon account and you're laughing!

Cheers.

Can't wait to look at it!

Edit:
There aren't any pics at all but the chapters seem well ordered.... Seaside.....rivers......urban etc.

Thanks for sharing!:T

jumblejack

Collins gem version of Richard mabeys food for free book is £2.99 on iBooks. Just checked

splodger_seedswapper

on the subject of books - this morning a mate of mine lent me a book called "poisonous plants and fungi" by marion cooper, anthony johnson & elizabeth dauncey - isbn 0-11-702861-4

i've just had a flick through and it's well worth reading
as there has already been chat on these plants - thought i'd post a few snippets - might save a few belly aches or something

on cherry laurel it says: "mistaken use of cherry laurel leaves for bay leaves as food flavouring can cause poisoning. symptons develop within a few hours and include vomiting, flushing of the cheeks, rapid breathing, headache, fainting and convulsions, unless treatment is started quickly, the patient may die"

on horsetail it says: " there are several potentially poisonous substances in horsetails, the one most likely to cause problems being an enzyme, thiaminase (also found in bracken) that destroys vit B. the toxicity remains after drying and storage but is lost after heating."

on elder it says " human poisoning is most likely to occur from eating raw berries, even a few berries coulde lead to nausea, vomiting, stomach pains and diarrhoea. severe poisoning is unlikely, but there could be an irregular pulse, dizziness and coma. in 1983, fruit juice, prepared by crushing berries and leaves, caused syptoms of poisoning within 15 mins'....note heating destroys most of the toxicity so that using flowers and berries of elder for winemaking or in pies is not harmful."

on comfrey it says: "regular consumption of comfrey leaves, and drinking tea prepared from them, or particularly the roots, can be harmful. there are usually no immediate effects, but the alkaloids are carinogenic; regular consumption over a long period can lead to liver damage"

on ramsons it says" all parts of the plants contain various disulphides, including n-propyl disulphide, allyl propyl disulphide and dipropenyl disulphides as well as other related volatile compounds, which cause the breakdown of red blood cells, with consequent anaemia"

on that joyful note - i don't think i'll forage anything today :eek:

PennyGrabber

Thanks for info on kindle book - I shall download in a moment!

My collins gem food for free book arrived yest, and I've not even had a minute to look at it yet! That's my bedtime reading for tonight.

I was researching buying some jam jars (I know - I haven't bought any yet though), and I came across this http://www.jamjarshop.com/makingjam/ which has a few foraged recipes on and I thought might be good for a read.

PG x

jumblejack

Penny grabber,

Thanks for the link!:j

Glad you are now a happy owner of the food for free book:T

Splodger,

The information you posted has its uses as it's always good to have knowledge but I really think such alarm is unnecessary.

All the examples you cited have edible uses.
The cherry laurel is the one requiring greater caution but can still be used to an extent:

Unlike the rest of the plant, which is poisonous, the cherries are edible, although rather bland and with a somewhat dry smack compared to the fruit of apricots, true cherries, plums, and peaches

To use in a jelly or something in which the seeds and pulp are removed would be perfectly fine.

The other examples are extremely nutritious and are valuable food resources.
Google horsetail, elder, comfrey and ramsons individually for their health benefits!

There are lots of foods that we use everyday that require caution. Lots you have already mentioned in a previous link such as rhubarb and potato which have poisonous parts but we use them responsibly and readily.


Even 'innocent' common fruits such as apple have a poisonous element in the seeds:cyanide! (The amount you would have to consume though to pose any risk is bordering on impossible.)

Oxalis acid is in lots of foods that we regularly eat such as asparagus and broccoli but again, the amounts required to pose any kind of harm is never gonna happen in a healthy balanced diet.

I will definitely keep on foraging:j

Yesterday was a pleasant day. I went to a Garden Lovers Gathering in the afternoon. We shared plants, seedlings, etc and shared knowledge. It was great!

I took along some of my herby cheese bread (made with my garden herbs), filled with nasturtium leaves and deli ham. They looked really pretty when sprinkled with the flowers too:


It was particularly useful to me as my host had a mahonia plant in the garden:j
The fruit is known as the oregan grape and apparently is great for conserves:j

I had heard of it but never seen it so now I know what I can look for. You find it often used in urban areas and is now in season for picking so definitely one to look out for!

splodger_seedswapper

jumblejack wrote: »

Splodger,

The information you posted has its uses as it's always good to have knowledge but I really think such alarm is unnecessary.

so alarming that you felt the need to edit / remove the comment you made about using laurel leaves instead of true bay leaves

i don't want to put off anybody from foraging - but i do worry that enthusiastic yet inexperienced foragers harvest things that could harm them and may give false advice to others.

as an experienced forager with a great knowledge of plants - i was hoping that i might help "would be" foragers - or at least point them in the right direction - especially with plant id

i don't forage for the sake of it - i only take what i can make good use of - and i only harvest what i enjoy the taste of

maybe i'll just keep my mouth shut from now on