Foraging for Free Food!

Living_proof

Is there anyone in the DN15 area who would like to go foraging? I can provide the transport if you can provide the local knowledge. I don't know that it's the sort of activity to do on your own these days.

cyclonebri1

I can't think of many edible looking fruits that would seriously injure/kill you if eaten. (thinking wild cherries, crab apples etc), please discuss?

Steer clear of green potatoes and yellow snow.

antrobus

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

I can't think of many edible looking fruits that would seriously injure/kill you if eaten. (thinking wild cherries, crab apples etc), please discuss?.....

There is quite a long list of "edible looking fruits" that will kill you, or at least make you very ill, should you have the misfortune to consume them. Of course what you should be doing, is to pay less attention to how edible the fruit looks, and more attention to the plant on which it's growing. That helps you identify whether or not said fruit is safe for human consumption.

One could also follow what I understand is the practice in Italy regarding the gathering of wild mushrooms. Which is, never eat all of them. Allways leave some to one side. That way, if they do turn out to be the wrong mushrooms, at least the doctors have a chance of identifying what it is that's poisined you and adminstering the correct treatment.

I dare say the same principle could apply to fruit.

Kernow666

loads of blackberries here in cornwall , i go on regular walks round a local resivoir and take a small clover tub with me and have filled it up for the last 2 weeks , take them home and wash then lay on a chopping board and freeze then into another tub and in freezer

Ken68

Had a brilliant foraging few days.... some hard apples to keep, dessert apples for the freezer, hazelnuts galore, blackberries and elderberries.
Mirabelles a week ago. Plus stuff from the garden, plums, taters, broad beans, and yet to come dried runner beans and loads of pears.
A good year.

Floss

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

I can't think of many edible looking fruits that would seriously injure/kill you if eaten. (thinking wild cherries, crab apples etc), please discuss?

Deadly nightshade? Elderberries if not cooked can make you quite ill, rosehips need to be cooked & the hairs filtered out as they are an irritant.

cyclonebri1

Any case of elderberry poisoning on record??

Ken68

Not here, have been eating elderberries for several years. Discard the green and red berries which float to the top when washing down.
I microwave them with porridge and other fruit.
And there is a deadly nightshade looking plant where the berries are edible.Forget the name.


Huckleberries.

RAS

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Any case of elderberry poisoning on record??

Have seen projectile vomiting of fresh undiluted juice; made a heck of a mess.

Not poison; actually sold at great cost as a cough medicine but needs to be dilute (whether in food or liquid).

WantAnOrange

Do you live near the sea? Winkles and Mussels are fun to collect with children.