Who else forages?

medsdemon

I’m a bit new to this foraging lark ( except blackberries).

But having in the last year just acquired a campervan and so get out and about a lot more this year I’ve foraged so far:

Wild garlic ( used in lots of meals when we were away in the van)
Clams from a beach we were camped near used in our paella that night
Wild bilberries just scrimped and eaten on a walk.
Gorse flowers used on salads and also to steep in vodka.

Im hoping to go on a mushroom Foraging day as I’m scared to pick and eat any I see except field mushrooms. Also need to learn about seaweed because I’d like to give that a go.

And I know I’m going to pick sloes this year as I’ve found a couple of trees at my local country park.
Obv blackberries too.

DigForVictory

vintageteainmywardrobe wrote: »

I don't know whether anyone else has experienced this but I am sure there has been a shift in the world. 10 years odd ago it would be ok to pick blackberries but I've been told off by loads of people for being so "stupid" to forage for my own stuff when I could buy it. Sometimes I even make sure noone can see me now as I hate having the "talk"!!

I get some very odd looks, but when I blackberry down by my Aunt's I blackberry along the canal, in her canoe. Much less foolish chat, a bit more negotiation to get the canoe over to where I can land the berries before narrowboats pass!

DigForVictory

Just "foraged" two kilos of goosegogs from the hedge & eyed the working-on-it blackberries...
Locations tagged for ease of deploying hungry teenagers in a few weeks time.

thriftwizard

Lots of blackberries coming along down here too; I just spotted a good crop in our very own hedge! I'll start picking down at the riverbank later on this week. It looks like I'll be pretty busy with our own plums, apples & quinces this year, even a few crab-apples off my little Golden Hornet, so I may not need to go out & about too far this year!

Well_Preserved

I can't check as away from home at the minute, but I believe it's in the 'Preserves' book in the River Cottage series. There are about 14 books in the series now, if you know the one I mean - small hardbacks. I think it's by the lady they are calling 'Pam the jam' who has a book of new book out recently.

snilloct1957

Last week my wife and I harvested 20kgs of rose hips from local hedgerows and fields. Made a syrup and will dry the rest for rose hip tea. May sell some whole dried online. :j

klew356

The only thing I pick would be brambles or sloes…. For gin. The sloes are in a well kept secret place, I actually have 3 spots for them - lucky lucky. i would like to do more for crumbles etc

Paula_Smith

Blackberries, sweet chestnuts, hazel nuts, wild raspberries and mushrooms.

Take care with mushrooms though - we will only take home what we are absolutely sure of and are agreed that we have a positive identification from 3 different books. If there is any doubt leave it alone.

buildersdaughter

I too was raised to pick food from the countryside (we didn't call it 'foraging'!) and certainly knew which mushrooms were edible or not (and, I have to say, which were hallucinogenic, common knowledge in my part of the world 60 years ago, but only picked by a few old eccentrics)
I just want to raise the issue of rose hip 'hairs' - you need to pass the cooked hips through a fine sieve to get rid of them - which is why hips are mostly used as syrup or jelly. I also wonder how many on here remember picking them for the Ministry of Food for 3d a pound?
OP mentioned picking cranberries - I have never, to my knowledge, seen them in the UK. I don't expect to learn their location, but am interested as to whether they are found here.

pattypan4

I`ve got my eyes peeled for porcini, probably not quite yet but a bit more damp. not seen many fungi yet. I spotted several roadside apple trees yesterday and a hedge in a country lane dripping with unripe loganberries